Improving the Restaurant Review

On a fairly regular basis, I get intelligent off-the-record emails and IMs from food writers and editors at other publications telling me about this bad meal or that bad meal. And I’m always like, “great, write a review, tweet it, put it on Tumblr.” Never happens. “Oh I don’t want to hurt my relationship with chef Gary Gabbagoul from Bayshore who might give me an exclusive on Cartilage, his sinewy new Japanese kaiseki joint on Central Park East.”

It’s unfortunate, because those off-the-record emails I receive often contain studied, laser-sharp, and level-headed observations. And truth be told many of these individuals simply aren’t allowed by their editors or executive editors to criticize publicly, because “that’s not what their publication does.” I wish that weren’t the case, because I know a lot of chefs would love to hear what those smart folks have to say, rather than have those folks be industry cheerleaders when it’s convenient and then disappear when it’s not.

Ryan Sutton, the New York food critic for Bloomberg News, has a critique of the restaurant review on his blog saying that we should be skeptical of what’s written in glossy food magazines — which tends to focus on trendy restaurants run by well-known chefs and doesn’t always include the full viewpoint of what food writers actually believe.

I like reading restaurant reviews, but I mostly decide to go to restaurants based on recommendations from friends who can speak candidly about their experiences who can convincingly explain why they hated or loved a place.

Photo: Javier Lastras

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