Big Burrito excellence

In response to the letter "Your choice: good food or service," I was dismayed by the ad hominen attack on Bill Fuller, the Corporate Executive Chef of the Big Burrito Group.

When I moved here from Washington, D.C., almost eight years ago, in my opinion Pittsburgh was a restaurant wasteland except for the Big Burrito Group. While we now have many more high-quality restaurants like the Capital Grille and Bistro 19, if I want to compare them and others for excellence in service and food quality I only need to look to the standards of excellence that the Big Burrito Group sets for the others to follow.

Whenever I travel and eat at restaurants in New York City and even as far as away as San Francisco, when they learn that I am from Pittsburgh, they ask if I have ever eaten at Kaya or Eleven. That speaks volumes about how others without an ax to grind feel about Bill Fuller and his restaurant team.

Joseph Grimes
Mount Lebanon

Alice's 'Killer' music

By and large I agree with Scott Mervis' list of "Dozen acts that deserve induction" (March 15), although perhaps he should spend a little more time listening to Alice Cooper.

A lot of Cooper's albums, in particular early ones like "Killer" and "Love It to Death," when Alice Cooper referred to the entire band not just Alice himself, contain some of the rawest in-your-face music ever recorded.

Which brings me to Kiss, who, in spite of its popularity, should not be inducted. Kiss's music is some of the most cream puffy ever set to pyrotechnics. Listening to a wimpy Kiss tune emphasizes to me just how strong and important good songs and albums were to Cooper and his stage theatrics.

Bart Donnelly
Mount Washington

Hall of Fame misses

Nice article on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I liked all of Scott Mervis' picks for who deserves induction and it was nice to see Rush at the top of the list.

Rush was a band that as a drummer in my younger years started me in the more technical direction with my listening. From there I went to Zappa, King Crimson, Dixie Dregs, Return to Forever and more jazz artists and players, but really many of the styles and more complex music I listen to now started back then by listening to Rush.

Funny, I had thought Kiss already was in, so I was not aware the group had been excluded once again.

There are some others on the PG list I am also pretty shocked are not already in there. And isn't Michael Jackson in there twice now? That committee needs an overhaul in general. I understand if they don't like a band like Rush, but to ignore their career entirely is a bit facetious and ignorant of them.

John Brainard
Mount Lebanon

PG to blame for Clapton show

Everyone has their own opinion of who are the greatest guitar players. I might even agree with Scott Mervis' article on Eric Clapton (Feb. 25), but I would never tell that to Mr. Clapton before he did his show. The next time Mr. Mervis wants to write a less-than-complimentary article about an artist, please wait until after the show. Mr. Clapton's performance that night was uninspired and workmanlike. I think he got wind of Pittsburgh's opinion, as expressed by the cover article that was in the PG before the show, and it diminished any enthusiasm he might have had for being in Pittsburgh. Mr. Mervis spoke for the city, and made us out to be whiners.

Part of the enjoyment of live music is the interaction between the artists and the crowd, even at a venue like Mellon Arena. I don't think Mr. Clapton spoke a word to the crowd. He just stood up, played well, and that was it. I am afraid that the article foolishly criticizing him before he ever got to the Mellon Arena stage set the tone for the evening. Next time, let me know if you plan to do this before I drop a couple of hundred bucks on tickets.

Ed Beatty
Bradford Woods

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.