This is my last official post as the Portland Mercury‘s food editor. Here are some final thoughts:

Every time I mentioned my “dining companion” in my reviews, it was code for “my lovely wife, Kitty.” To the woman who ate every meal with me, who was my co-conspirator, my assistant, my unpaid co-worker, and the unsung hero of my reviews: Thank you so much for putting up with it. I love you very much.

When I was hired, I stepped into a column that was already well cared for by Alison Hallett. The food column you read every week would not be Last Supper without her. She has been a confidant, an advisor, and a giver of encouragement. I’d like to thank her for all of her help.

As a whole, the Mercury editorial team are some of the greatest people I’ve ever worked with. You gave me shit. I gave some back. You know I’ll miss you all desperately. Call me!

I’d also like to thank my mentor, Camas Davis, who I learned a good deal from as an intern at the Portland Monthly. Check out her work with the Portland Meat Collective.

Portland’s dining scene is one of the greatest in the U.S. and I was blessed to cover it. I’m happy that I’ll still be in the thick of things. To all the servers, chefs, cooks, bartenders, and dishwashers who make this restaurant community work: Thanks.

Finally, there were people in the food community who loathed my work. One restaurateur even went so far as to imply I was illiterate on a public forum (maybe not the smartest idea, but, whatever). What I wrote wasn’t for them, obviously. Thankfully this town has food writers as diverse as the eaters they serve. Here’s to a respectful discourse about the way we eat. Here’s to maybe not taking it all so very seriously.

Well, I’ve got some washing up to do. But I can’t forget you, Blogtownies. I’ve saved an extra special treat, just for you, after the jump. Better check it out now, because it’ll only be there for a limited time. With love to you all…

[Editor’s note: If you missed PAC’s extremely seductive nude dish washing photo, well… it sucks to be you. Patrick said it would only be up for a limited time. However! We have replaced it with an image that is startlingly similar. You’re welcome!]

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Your friend, PAC. XXXOOO

16 replies on “My Life as a Critic: Parting Shots”

  3. aw shucks, thanks patrick. it’s been a pleasure working with you, and not JUST because you’re a good sport about letting me give you shit in the comments.

    You’ll be especially missed around TBA time. I literally do not know how I’m going to manage that without you–where the hell else am I supposed to find someone so smart, knowledgeable, and capable of, on 3 hours of sleep, turning out a coherent blog post about incoherent art? (The first time we met was in line for a TBA show… I remember it well. You were wearing a leather vest.)

  5. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

    I’ll miss your typos. Sorry I’m also missing tonight’s do.

  6. PAC Desktop eHow: right click>save picture as>save to desktop>right click on desktop>display properties>Desktop>browse>select file 1286400318-dlr_2400

    Good luck Patrick!

  12. It was a pleasure meeting you during Round-Up, please stop in and say hi if you’re ever passing through. I’ll buy you a beer or three and we’ll sing the Star Spangled Banner!

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