I came across an article about CF Folks in your Feb. 24 edition (The Feed) that is curiously similar to an article that was posted in your newspaper on July 20, 2004. I’m thinking of having “Floury Shrimp Creole” chiseled on my tombstone.

Normally, one does not argue with food critics, but we were certainly tempted do so in 2004. The critic, Todd Kliman, made note of a “floury shrimp Creole” and a chocolate bread pudding that was salty. I’m not aware of a shrimp Creole sauce that includes either a roux or flour as a thickening agent. Ours certainly does not, nor has it ever. However, if the critic ate a shrimp gumbo—which includes a dark roux, the better to remove the floury taste—I can attest that at times this dish has a bit more of a “floury” taste than it should. Making a dark roux is a time-consuming process. Perhaps Kliman was confused as to what he ate.

The salt in the chocolate bread pudding was another baffler. No salt is used in the recipe. Not one pinch. Nor have we ever received any such complaint. Given that we are a lunch counter, we are not adverse to taking instant complaints and “making the problem go away.” We’re practically in your face, watching every bite, emoting “seat turnover,” and snatching empty plates at a dizzying speed. Why didn’t Kliman simply tell us? We would have made an exchange at no cost. That’s what most restaurants do on a daily basis.

Now, let’s have a little reality here. We have been serving food in this wonderful city for 25 years this May. There is no food product that we haven’t undercooked, overcooked, over- or underseasoned, or just plain screwed up. We bow to no other restaurant with disappointing results. We dare our colleagues to even approach the stupidities that we’ve committed over the years. When it comes to screw-ups, CF Folks is without parallel. We’re the best!

But as a business that looks forward to greeting its customers each and every day, (of course there are a few we’d like to choke), we set out to make simple food, freshly prepared, with an honest effort and at a fairly moderate cost. That’s what we do, and that’s what we will continue to do.

So we invite one of your critics to come back for a visit. And if he doesn’t like what we’ve served, he can ask for something else. Our customer base is not of the “shrinking violet” variety.

The very worst thing that can happen is that you’ll visit on one of our “screw-up” days and print those results. At least then the criticism will be current.

Owner, CF Folks