He's battled--and beaten--throat cancer, but love him, hate him (or say that you hate him but never miss a word that he writes), the "colymnist" is back, penning once again in Bergerese, and if the length of Wednesday's online piece is any indication, he's got plenty to say. So how does his reemergence affect those of us who report on the food and dining scene? Plenty.
As the long-standing gossip reporter for the Post Dispatch, Berger often wrote what he heard, heard from others...or overheard. That's what gossip guys do. So when he tells us in that piece that "bossman at Chez Leon, Leon Bierbaum said, "If the sale of the restaurant (to Gerard Craft) is a done-deal, I will scout for a location in Clayton," he's officially voiced the rumor that's been swirling on the street for months, and forcing the rest of us scribes to shuffle and admit "well, yeah, sure, I knew that too, but..."
And when Berger reports that Pasta house principals Kim Tucci and Joe Fresta are launching a new concept "and it will be called Fresta and Tucci's Pizzeria and Bar," he leaves it to the Bonwich's, Froeb's, Sauce-ettes and guys like me to scrounge to fill in the details, which at this point are few. The PHC boys have not introduced a new concept since the fast-casual Pronto! in 2004.
The Bergermeister entertained us for years with juicy societal tidbits that no one else could--or would--touch and I'll admit that on the days his column appeared, I would page back to the P-D's 'Everyday section to get the daily dish, even before I read the day's weather forecast. He was a must-read then, and now that he's resurfaced on the Interweb, he's a "favorite" of mine again...if only to garnish his devilish scoops with some rather mundane sprinkles. -- George Mahe
