Proof + Pantry is a new restaurant at One Arts Plaza (Staff file)
On Friday afternoon, D Magazine’s Nancy Nichols wrote a post on the magazine’s SideDish blog recounting events that transpired Thursday evening at Proof + Pantry and Friday morning at The Dallas Morning News. Nichols was not present at either event, she did not contact me nor anyone at the paper for comment, and what she wrote is filled with inaccuracies and mischaracterizations. DMN deputy managing editor Lisa Kresl, vice president and editorial page editor Keven Ann Willey and I together compiled a list of corrections, which I posted in a comment on SideDish this morning.
In a nutshell, here’s what happened. On Thursday evening I dined at Proof + Pantry, a new restaurant in One Arts Plaza, with my husband, Thierry Peremarti, Keven and Keven’s husband, Georges Badoux. As always, I had made the reservation using a pseudonym. As frequently happens, I was recognized. The newspaper’s policy regarding restaurant reviews stipulates that critics’ visits are made unannounced and that expenses are paid by The Dallas Morning News. You’ll find a complete explanation of our restaurant review policy and star rating system here. A link to it appears next to every online review, and it appears every week in the Guide section. As I have noted many times in the past in interviews and online chats, I am frequently recognized when I dine; still, I do my best to dine incognito. The most important part of that is visiting unannounced so that the restaurant cannot prepare for my arrival.
Another important requirement of the job is that I pay for meals my guests and I consume. The Dallas Morning News reimburses these dining expenses. For me to accept a comped meal would be a serious breach of journalistic ethics — whether I wind up reviewing the restaurant or not.
So we dined at Proof + Pantry. When the check landed on the table, each item on it was marked “food promo”; the receipt had a $0 grand total. I asked for a check with the full cost of our dinner — $446 — but owner Michael Martensen would not accept my credit card. Our insistence on paying the bill and trying to get them to accept our credit card went nowhere. In the end, we left $500 in cash on the table and departed. The entire episode was cordial. The next morning, Martensen and Proof + Pantry co-owner Sal Jafar II showed up unannounced at The Dallas Morning News with the stated intention of returning the $500. Keven Ann Willey greeted them downstairs, refused to accept the cash, and invited them upstairs for a conversation. They were joined by Lisa Kresl and acting managing editor Keith Campbell. After they talked, Keven escorted them downstairs. Martensen and Jafar left with the $500.
Here are the corrections I posted to SideDish:
1. Keven Ann Willey’s title is vice president and editorial page editor at The Dallas Morning News.
2. Georges Badoux is a former chef, restaurant owner and tour operator; he’s retired now.
3. I didn’t demand a bill; I asked for a bill.
4. My husband wasn’t furious, and he never said he writes music reviews for the Observer. He didn’t mention the Observer, and he didn’t say that music writers pay for their own tickets. What he told Martensen is that he’s been a music journalist for 29 years. For the record, he’s a columnist and U.S. correspondent at Jazz News, a French magazine. He has written occasionally for The Dallas Morning News and has contributed two stories and one photograph to the Observer.
5. There was no yelling on either side at the restaurant; the exchange remained cordial.
6. At the meeting at the Dallas Morning News, Martensen met with our acting managing editor, Keith Campbell, in addition to Lisa Kresl and Keven Ann Willey. That meeting was cordial, as well. Things did not “get ugly.” In fact, when Keven greeted them at reception, they said they came to drop something off, but Keven invited them in for a conversation.
7. If Martensen and Jafar left the meeting feeling threatened, they certainly didn’t show any indication of it. In fact, Jafar described the meeting as “positive” while waiting for an elevator after the conversation. Everybody shook hands, and far from being threatening, Lisa said “It was a pleasure to meet you in person.” Again, things remained cordial the whole time.
8. Finally, we want to make sure it is clear that Martensen and Jafar left The Dallas Morning News with the $500 in their possession.