Reader complaint leaves him flat

In her criticism of your headline for the review of the North Shore Burger restaurant, reader Marla Fogg seems to have missed a few points (“Restaurant headline doesn’t sit well,” Jan. 2).

She thinks that your use of the term “flat” was primarily trying to reference a surfing term when it merely reflected the reviewer’s opinion that the restaurant was not exceptional. Lisa Dupuy wrote that the food was good, but far from great — her sandwich was overcooked and gave her heartburn, and the size of the bun didn’t proportionally match the meat of the burger.

While Fogg claims that your headline will be “detrimental to this new business,” any potential problems must be attributed to the owners, which the reviewer generously described as having potential that needs to be met if the restaurant is to succeed.

We all like to support local businesses, but Fogg seems to be blaming the messengers — which in this case are the copy editor and the reviewer — rather than honing in on the actual problem of the food.

Phillip Hain

Glendale