RJ Cooper Responds To Blogger's Criticism Of NY Pop-Up

Here's a made-up controversy to take you through the weekend: Yesterday afternoon the Washington Examiner published an op-ed from local blogger Jana Erwin, calling out RJ Cooper for carpetbagging his Rogue 24 preview to big, bad New York. Erwin writes that, "For the foodies and clients eagerly awaiting Cooper’s 24 course fix prix fare, hearing that NYC and it's disdainful outlook on the DC food scene has been given first rights is infuriating." And she adds that Cooper's move just proves the New York Times' point that DC's food scene is behind the times since, as she says, the pop-up trend "won't be hitting DC anytime soon." (You know, except for all these.)

Anyway, after Grubstreet poked the hornet's nest a little, Cooper decided to respond to the criticisms. In Erwin's column today, the chef explains that his goal in bringing the Rogue preview to New York is to get people "to open their eyes and see DC for what it is, a top-notch dining destination.” The explanation seems to mollify Erwin, who admits to being "a little touchy" when it comes to defending the DC food scene. She even concedes Cooper's point that there is no comparing the New York and DC dining scenes.

So there we go, a feud over before it even truly begins. But what do you think? Does DC really get no respect or are we just being sensitive? Let us know in the comments.

· Rogue 24 Pop-Up Preview In NYC, Not DC [Washington Examiner]
· DC Critic Finds RJ Cooper's NYC Pop-Up 'Infuriating' [GS]
· RJ Cooper: Showing NYC What DC Has To Offer [Washington Examiner]
· All Rogue 24 Coverage [-EDC-]