City Newspaper Archives - 12/2007

MEDIA: A tribute to Adam Wilcox

Published on Dec 04, 2007
I have always been impressed that among its many distinguishing features, City Newspaper gives more space to the review of the incredibly rich cultural life of Rochester than any other newspaper in the area. Equally impressive is the quality of those reviews, and although I understand that your prior restaurant and food writer, Adam Wilcox, is now pursuing other journalistic challenges, I would like to pay special tribute to the legacy of his excellent work which he has given to your readers.

Adam's contributions were not merely reviews of restaurants in the area. He was able to capture the background and history of not only the food presented by the restaurant but also the passion and excitement that drove various owners and chefs into the restaurant business in the first place. His intellectual curiosity, coupled with his fresh, clear, non-idiomatic writing, developed some remarkable essays I will never forget - such as the unique background of owner-chef Peter Gekas of the Olive Tree Greek restaurant, the 3000-word description of a year- long search for Rochester's best hamburger, and a stunning appreciation of "The Corn Man," Robert Gentle of Penfield, in his quest to produce truly unusual sweet corn.

I am sure your readers are pleased to see that the food column is being continued by James Leach, and I hope that the rich legacy of his predecessor will continue in his writings.

WILLIAM D. SMITH, ROCHESTER