Restaurant reviews are both easy and hard to write. Look how may food writers we have in Madison, both in print and in blog form. The barrier to entry is low–just go to a restaurant, take a photo or two and tell the world what you think.
On the other hand, the inherent difficulty is that what you write is open to intense scrutiny. Half the readers will agree with every one of your opinions, and the other half will think you’re an idiot–I know this personally.
Really, to have an “accurate” review, you need to visit the restaurant several times on different days/meal times and have your opinions corroborated by others. But, who has the time (and money) to do that?
Anyway, I was reminded this week of the scathing November New York Times review of Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar (owned by Guy Fieri of “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”). I remember thinking, “wow, this author is really laying on the hatred of this place,” but I didn’t think there was any malice behind his thoughts.
Subsequently, Guy Fieri defended his restaurant to the likes of the Today Show and E! News, saying that the writer, Pete Wells, had an “agenda.”
What I see is that Wells was brave enough to write negatively–albeit in extreme abundance–on a popular establishment (or more to the point, a well-known chef). In Madison, we have several restaurants that have such a loyal following that I don’t think we’ll ever see a negative review from any writer for fear of the backlash.
If you have a chance, read the comments that follow the story. They’re fairly polarizing and entertaining, and a lot of great points are made.
Here’s Fieri’s Today Show appearance:
