Name: ______
Miss Jordan
English Essentials – Period _____
Date: ______
Looking at Some Reviews
Here are two professional reviews – one a restaurant review from Food & Wine magazine, the other an Automobile magazine commentary on the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Read them and consider what they have in common.
Eating Out: Brasserie Le Coze, Coconut Grove
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John Mariani
Having made a big splash in New York when they opened the deluxe seafood restaurant Le Bernardin in 1986, Gilbert and Maguy Le Coze have achieved much the same impact on the Miami dining scene with the debut of Brasserie Le Coze, a very chic but convivial homage to Paris’s grand brasseries.
The décor is immediately reminiscent of classic Parisian brasseries – butter-yellow walls, big tilted mirrors, a long zinc bar, brown banquettes, frosted glass and rattan chairs – yet this is a fresh-looking, stylish place and a welcome relief from the pink and aqua Art Deco that has glutted the current Miami restaurant landscape.
The short menu includes many of the cherished staples of bistro-brasserie fare, starting with platters of glistening shellfish (also served at a raw bar as you enter). The rib eye with béarnaise (for two) is full of beefy flavor, and the frites are near perfect. There is even a hearty leg of chicken stuffed with mushrooms and herbs that’s roasted to a succulent turn and served in a reduction of herbs with tomato Provencal garnish.
But the Le Cozes are best known for their imaginative seafood dishes, and you’ll find out why here. Seviche of grouper with olive oil, dill and a touch of jalapeno gets the appetite going, and the same fish with potatoes in a light saffron aioli is a satisfying entrée. Codfish with white beans, tomato and basil-garlic pistou makes for elevated comfort food.
Every dessert is memorable, especially the rich, smooth crème brulee, the frozen melon sorbet and the Le Cozes’ famous chocolate soufflé cake with vanilla ice cream.
Brasserie Le Coze has really upped the ante for exciting dining in Coconut Grove and may well start a rage for the French bourgeois cooking this town has too long been lacking. [Brasserie Le Coze, 2901 Florida Ave., Coconut Grove, FL; 305-444-9697. Dinner entrees $14 to $19.50.]
Harley-Davidson Sportster
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J. M.
Finesse has never been a part of the Sportster’s repertoire. Even back in the late Six-ties, when I wanted one so badly my teeth hurt, I had no illusions about its abilities. Handling and braking didn’t rank in my list of priorities; all I wanted was that lusty V-twin. With its huge engine, tiny gas tank, and loping idle, the XLCH looked and sounded as if it had been forged in God’s own foundry.
By that time, the Harley’s styling and reputation were well established. Based on the K-model, a four-speed, flathead V-twin brought out in 1952, the 883cc XL-series Sportster was introduced in 1957. The CH, for “competition hot,” XL came out a year later, designed as a lightweight off-road model, and with it came the famous 2.2-gallon “peanut” tank that has been a Sportster trademark ever since.
But the XLCH made its mark as a street model during the 1960s. Brutally fast for its day, the CH was capable of thirteen-second quarter-miles at a time when anything approaching fifteen seconds was considered quick. And, if that wasn’t good enough, an entire industry devoted to hot-rod XL parts was willing to take your money and help out.
By the early 1970s, the Sportster had been surpassed as a front-line sprinter by Japanese in-line fours that became more and more powerful. The bike grew to 998cc in 1972; other Seventies updates included disc brakes and electric starting. An unsuccessful shot at the growing sport market, the 1977-78 XLCR Café Racer, turned H-D away from sport bikes. The Sportster was groomed as an entry level Harley custom, designed primarily for urban use. Its pullback handlebar and pseudochopper styling became the Sportster’s calling card.
During this period, H-D’s owner, American Machine and Foundry (AMF), had let the product line stagnate and kept improvements to a minimum. Quality plummeted, and so did the company’s reputation. In 1981, a group of H-D executives, led by board chairman Vaughn Beals, bought the company from AMF.
The new management introduced a bare-bones model, the XLX61, in 1983. Priced under $4000, the stripped XL sold like popcorn at a matinee. The same year, H-D accused the Japanese manufacturers of “dumping” cut-rate models in the United States. It applied for, and won, a temporary tariff from the International Trade Commission on imported motorcycles larger than 700cc.
In 1987, with its own sales running strong, Harley-Davidson asked that the tariff be lifted one year ahead of schedule, making the company lots of public relations hay.
Further investment paid off with two new Sportsters, introduced in late 1985. Both versions sported aluminum heads and cylinder barrels to replace the cast iron pieces, with hydraulic tappets and all-new crankcases and engine covers. Using the XLX chassis, the smaller XL marked a return to the original 883cc displacement. It was joined by a larger (1101cc) model. For 1988, both XLs received a stouter front fork, and the larger engine was bumped to 1204cc.
In thirty-one years, H-D has sold more than 300,000 Sportsters, making it Harley’s most popular model. And my teeth still hurt when I look at one.
Harley-Davidson Sportster XLH883
Base price/price as tested $3995/$3995
General:
1-passenger motorcycle
Powertrain:
OVH V-twin, 54 cu in (883cc)
Power SAE net 55 bph @ 6000 rpm
4-speed manual transmission
Chassis:
Damper-fork front, pivoted swingarm rear suspension
11.5-in front disc, 11.5-in rear disc brakes
MJ90-19 front, MT90-16 rear Dunlop K181 tires
Measurements:
Wheelbase 60.0 in
Dry Weight 463 lb
Fuel Capacity 2.25 gal
CONSIDER…
- Each reviewer subtly lets you know what the expectations for the restaurant or the motorcycle are. What are the standards against which the Brasserie Le Coze and the Harley are matched?
- Notice also that each review has a significant amount of detail. Why is the detail useful for the reader? What particular details stick in your mind?
- Look at each review again. About what percentage is summary or description? Point to words, phrases, or passages that indicate evaluation.
- Most published book reviews begin with a heading that includes the title of the book being reviewed, the author, the publisher, the date and place of publication, the cost of the book, and notations to tell the reader if the book has illustrations, maps, charts, or graphs. What equivalent “product information” do you find in these reviews?