If I had  my way, my reviews would disappear from the Sun's archives three months after they appear. But I'm beginning to wonder if they aren't often outdated long before that.

What started me thinking about this is the recent moves by several chefs who have made a name for themselves in this area. I was all set to go to the new three... near Patterson Park when I heard it was closed on a Saturday night; one of the owners who was also the chef had left. It reopened the next week with a new chef. (See previous post "Call It Two.")

Then I got an e-mail from Mark Schek (l.), who had a loyal following as the owner/chef of the now-closed Rooster Cafe in Columbia, He had resurfaced at Abacrombie near the Meyerhoff, only to leave again. I wasn't able to get in touch with him by phone, but it sounded legit. I called the bed and breakfast, and the innkeeper hadn't known anything about who was cooking. (The restaurant is now under separate ownership.) He promised to have someone call me back, but so far no one has.

The point of all this is simply to state the obvious: The restaurant business is incredibly volatile these days. Use reviews as guidelines, not gospel.

(David Hobby/Sun Photographer)