Tom Colicchio

“The idea that religious leaders are continuing to shape state law is just wrong.”

Remember last fall’s boycott of El Coyote restaurant in West Hollywood by supporters of same-sex marriage after it was learned an owner had donated money to the campaign to pass Prop 8?

El Coyote had a sizable gay clientele on Thursday nights, the unofficial “gay night” at the restaurant, which packed the place. That all changed in the aftermath of Prop 8′s passing when the owner’s name appeared on donor lists that were available online and publicized by some media outlets.

Demonstrators appeared in front of the restaurant, business fell off on Thursdays, the pilloried owner did herself no favors when she tried to explain herself, saying if she had a chance to do it all over again, she would do the same thing, citing her religious convictions.

Such a mess for such a mediocre restaurant.

Enter Tom Colicchio, Bravo TV’s Top Chef lead judge and owner of Craft, his first venture into the  Los Angeles restaurant world, located in Century City. Read the rest of this entry →

Ok, I’ll admit, I wrote one of these bad reviews for El Coyote on Yelp.

But I really thought this place was only worth 2-3 stars in the first place, so it’s not like giving them a 1 star review over the whole Prop 8 thing is a huge stretch.

I took this screenshot a few days ago.  My favorite is the “Rating over time” chart on the right.

It kind of tickles me, actually.

Here’s video of a tearful, stammering Marjorie Chrisofferson, one of El Coyote’s owners who donated $100 to the campaign to pass Prop 8, apologizing for the donation and pleading with gays “to understand” and not boycott her business at a meeting held yesterday at the restaurant.

In the second video, another owner says Chrisofferson “would take back” the donation if she could. Things unravel when Chrisofferson, flanked by her daughters, is asked if she would make a donation to the effort to repeal Prop 8, as an “ovation to the gay community.” Shouting erupts as her daughters lead her out of the room.