When I was a waitron (to quote Anthony Bourdain) I had the dubious pleasure, twice, of waiting on Food Critics. In both instances they were NOT known to be food critics. I just had a feeling. With the second one, when his article came out, my words about the menu were duplicated in print, and I was grateful I had guessed rightly and gave my best possible service.
Whatever happened to the days of the anonymous food critic? Here in Vegas our food writers are HIGHLY recognizable, one and all. Their styles vary drastically; one tries to write only positive things; one complains about nearly everything; one seems to write only what the advertisers of the rag he writes for WANT him to say and yet another vacillates between styles 1 and 3. I agree with all of them from time to time, some more than others. To a one they are all visible on the food scene, and if I recognize each of them on sight, I am quite sure all the waiters and Maitre D’s know them as well.
Is it possible for them to write really honest reviews or critiques when they are so recognizable? I am certain that I, and the public at large, don’t get the same service they do. I am vaguely convinced that they get perks from the house from time to time. Do these perks influence their opinion of the dining experience? When the Chef makes a special appearance at their table to say howdy, the house buys a round of drinks or the kitchen sends out amuse bouche not on the menu, how can their dining experience be equitable to that of the anonymous diner who experiences none of this? On the writers’ side of it, do they REALLY want to write a bad review and hurt someone’s feelings? Do they really want to piss off people who may need to serve them in the future? With some people, I know they are only happy when they are complaining, but for the most part I think the writers WANT to say nice things.
I am NOT saying these folks know nothing about food – they DO! That is why, for the most part, they are so highly respected and sought after diners. Because of their popularity and visible presence on the food scene, restaurants LOVE to have them be seen eating in their dining rooms. It’s kinda like having a celeb at your party. If you invite the cast of the Avengers to your party (Moment of Truth – I am not sure if I want to be Black Widow or Pepper Potts – Black Widow has the better costume, but Pepper has the better man), you KNOW people will be excited to be there and everyone will show up and have on their best party attitude, and your NEXT party is sure to be a success as well because everyone wants to be seen with someone famous. The same is true for celebs in the food world and make no mistake about it, Food Writers have become celebs. People like me who know who’s who will always spot the writers and wonder, “Are they eating here because they LIKE it, or because they are getting ready to write about it?”
My question is, “How can a regular person trust that he is going to get that same stellar treatment when he reads a glowing food review?” You may say there are other means to determine if a restaurant is a good choice for you. And there are, but none of them are really reliable when you consider that some of the people commenting on the online sources don’t know what good food is really supposed to be. Don’t even get me started on Yelp!
I long for the days of the Gael Greene of old. Reservations made under an assumed name, no one knowing for sure who is doing the writing. Then I could be assured of getting the unvarnished truth and the writer could be assured of getting the same food and service that Average Joe gets.
Gael Greene
This week was a stay at home, cook and be loved kinda week including gnocchi from scratch. Nothing really exciting other than being with my 2 fave guys, so the Food Memories are a little on the boring side.
Next week? Yankee Stadium and the food therein!
Until next time, go out and make your OWN Food Memories!
