Let Them Eat Sushi! 14,000 Layoffs, But Pfizer Lobbyist Dines on $15 Raw Fish Rolls
Pfizer has laid off 14,000 people over the last two years, doubtless causing some folks to cut back on discretionary expenses. But Pfizer lobbyist Donna Kaylor is still eating $15 sushi rolls in Sacramento, Calif. Kaylor got herself named in the Sacramento News & Review’s restaurant section when she accompanied SN&R scribe Greg Lucas to Ju Hachi:
The first visit to Ju Hachi is with my favorite sushi-phile, Donna Kaylor, a lovely woman who lobbies for Pfizer. She orders. Of the 30 rolls on the menu, our waitress recommends the Ziggy, a soy wrap of deep-fried soft shell crab. The menu says the sauce contains garlic and avocado and is also spicy and creamy. It is indeed.
We dig Ziggy, which, though generously portioned, weighs in at $15.
A favorite from Donna’s and my dining adventures at Nishiki Sushi Bar on 16th and P streets is albacore sprinkled with jalapeños in a citrus ponzu sauce. At Ju Hachi, it’s the $12 B.T.S. and tastes just the way it’s supposed to. Donna delights in the deep-fried jalapeño rounds. She wonders if it’s fair to criticize the sunomono, since it’s complimentary. I assure her I spray 360 degrees. A sweeter dressing and less skin on the cukes, please.
No one is suggesting that Kaylor has done anything wrong. Not everyone is unemployed. And, certainly, for employed people to avoid eating out in the recession will only make the economy worse. However, as Pfizer’s paid mouthpiece in Sacramento, Kaylor has a role in safeguarding Pfizer’s image. Which is why getting press coverage of her sushi habit while thousands of her erstwhile colleagues collect unemployment was a needless faux pas.
Image by Flickr user wendalicious, CC.
Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email.
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