Gerald Ensley: A tip of the hat to Tallahassee Democrat restaurant reviewer Ashby Stiff

(This column was first published in the Tallahassee Democrat on Aug. 2, 2009)

No more hats. No more wine "the glass." No more Friday night mobs at a spotlighted restaurant.

Ashby Stiff has retired after 25 years as the Tallahassee Democrat restaurant reviewer.

There's a grumble in the stomach and a tear in the eye of every reader who cares about good food and great writing.

"It's been a great ride," Stiff said. "I am grateful to the Democrat for that privilege."

Stiff, 78, published his last review May 29. He was in the middle of his usual summer hiatus, when nagging health issues convinced him it was time to retire his column, "A Matter of Taste." It follows his 2001 retirement from the Florida State University faculty and his recent retirement from selling real estate.

Stiff wrote more than 1,200 restaurant reviews for this newspaper, starting with a Jan. 12, 1984, review of the now long-departed Steak and Ale (four hats), rating each restaurant on a one- to five-hat scale for food, service and ambience. He succeeded Lorrie Guttman, now an editor with the Denver Post, who inaugurated Democrat restaurant reviews in October 1979 and wrote "Eat Beat" for four years.

When he began, Stiff felt Tallahassee had so few "reviewable" restaurants that he explored for restaurants in a 100-mile radius and expanded into breakfast and lunch restaurant reviews. By the end, it took four years for him to review a restaurant a second time and he rarely needed to venture beyond Leon County because "the increasing quality of restaurants in this town is amazing."

His reviews were published weekly in Friday's Limelight magazine and, like the Yogi Berra aphorism says, nobody went to that Friday's reviewed restaurant because it was too crowded.

"He's a legend," said Tallahassee restaurant owner Andy Reiss. "I always valued his judgment in palate and service. He always picked up on what people should pick up on (in judging a restaurant)."

History on the menu

An Ashby Stiff review was always about more than food. Stiff infused reviews with his personal research, knowledge of the restaurant industry and deep affection for Tallahassee and Big Bend history.

A review of Cooey's included history about the fishing village of Steinhatchee. A review of Subway discussed fast food trends. A review of Kool Beanz or Mozaik was a profile of local chefs and a treatise on modern restaurant decor. A critical review of a new restaurant provided a primer on how to create good service. A review of the Silver Slipper or Talquin Inn recounted tales of legislative powwows within their walls.

A college writing and speech major, Stiff brought a lively, entertaining writing style to his reviews. Aside from his signature description of the cost of wine or beer as "the glass" — "I thought 'by the glass' or 'per glass' was boring" — Stiff enchanted readers with colorful descriptions and clever one-liners:

"After blowing the whistle on The Homecoming (restaurant), we'll be as popular along the Thomasville-Meigs-Camilla (Ga.) corridor as that Yankee pyromaniac, William Tecumseh Sherman."

"Daintily speaking, one could say that Jim&Milt's Bar-B-Q has a well-cured mien, layered with the patina of the years. Less poetically put, the place looks like a Korean War field kitchen-turned-juke joint."

"Everything at Tally's (Grille) is as clean as a line of wash in Bucks County."

Some readers may not have known his expertise was solidly backgrounded by his career as an immensely popular and innovative professor in the FSU hospitality program.

Son of a Baltimore corporate attorney, he graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1951 with plans to follow his father into law. But faced first with a military obligation, he enlisted in the Air Force and was assigned to manage military clubs in the Caribbean. The job exhilarated him and four years later, he enrolled at FSU's then-new hospitality program for a master's degree.

Upon graduation, he was asked to "teach for a year." That was 1957. It was four decades before he left what is now the Dedman School of Hospitality.

"So many (professors) hate the kids and think they're a nuisance," Stiff said. "I liked to teach. I liked the kids. I think they taught me more than I taught them."

In 1958, he created the Little Dinner Series (now named for him) in which students plan, cook and serve a themed dinner to the public. In 1972, he founded the Switzerland program, in which students spend five weeks abroad, studying European restaurants.

Teaching full-time until 1983 and running the Switzerland program until his retirement in 2001, Stiff was revered as a confidant, mentor and confidence-instilling instructor.

"Ashby was so genuinely caring about every single person he interacted with. He single-handedly created the family atmosphere we've enjoyed at this school," said Jane Ohlin, a former student who is now director of the Dedman program. "His reviews always blew my mind. They were so creative."

Stiff strove for anonymity when reviewing — which was difficult in a mid-sized university town where he had taught several generations of restaurant workers. Though he made reservations under his middle name, "Gordon," Stiff estimates he was recognized "at least 50 percent of the time." Some would argue it didn't matter.

"Yes, we'd all get pumped up when he walked in the door," said Reiss, a former student. "But you've only got 10 to 15 minutes to serve the meal. You can't make new sauces or buy new fish."

Accentuate the positive

Stiff, a lifelong bachelor, eats every meal at a restaurant. When reviewing, Stiff took a companion so he could try several dishes. He surreptitiously spoke notes into a handheld recorder. He kept notes on each review in a red leather-bound book to which he referred on future reviews. He always visited a restaurant twice — "three times if it was bad" — before writing a review.

And he footed the bill. When he started in 1984, the Democrat paid him $50 a review; at the end, he was paid $200 a review. But he paid all meal costs.

"There was no way he would ever take anything (for free)," said Jan Soto, a friend of 40 years and occasional reviewing companion. "(Those who recognized him) would offer him a slice of cake or something and he'd say, 'No, this is my job.'"

Some thought Stiff was too generous with his reviews — and were often mystified how a white tablecloth restaurant and a funky oyster bar could both rate four hats. But Stiff rated restaurants within their scope: If a hole-in-the-wall eatery was a good hole-in-the-wall eatery, it could earn the same marks as a top-flight restaurant .

"I always thought to do comparisons was wrong," Stiff said. "I asked, 'How well do they meet what they set out to do?' If they do it well, they get four hats."

Certainly, the words "lousy," "awful" and "tiresome" peppered many of his reviews and more than a few restaurants earned bad marks. Julia Mae Putnal once "cussed me out" for a less-than-glowing review of her Carrabelle restaurant and owners of a short-lived Tallahassee restaurant demanded the newspaper make him do another review after he gave them only 11/2 hats.

But having worked in the industry (he spent several summers managing hotels in two national parks) and having taught hundreds of restaurant owners, managers and servers, Stiff tried to look for the positives.

"I think some critics are scathing because it's entertaining. But I don't like to tear up a place," he said. "I know some guy has put his blood, sweat and tears into building a business. If he does a lousy job, I'll say it. But I try to be fair."

He more than succeeded — and the only unfair thing is, he is retiring.

Gerald Ensley was a reporter and columnist for the Tallahassee Democrat from 1980 until his retirement in 2015. He died in 2018 following a stroke. The Tallahassee Democrat is publishing columns capturing Tallahassee’s history from Ensley’s vast archives each Sunday through 2024 in the Opinion section as part of theTLH 200: Gerald Ensley Memorial Bicentennial Project.

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