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POINT/COUNTERPOINT - The Importance of Restaurant Reviews
It is fact: When dining at a restaurant, if you were to clandestinely listen in on most conversations at the tables around you, I guarantee
that at some point during their discourse, patrons topics would ultimately fall upon the restaurants they have recently visited, followed by an extensive elaboration and evaluation of each. My wife and I dine out very frequently and I admit that I do my share of eavesdropping when the subject I overhear is the culinary adventures of others. Not long ago, the commentary from a four-top next to us had me fascinated:
Wife #1: "We had dinner at that new place - that Pan Asian spot that
just opened in Old City."
In the span of about a minute, the four of them had succinctly
reviewed three different dining establishments!
The public as a whole is an armchair restaurant critic, and as much as
we enjoy chatting about our own dining experiences, we have always
appreciated the good, the bad and the ugly, dished out each week by
the savvy, legitimate restaurant reviewer. It is this salient fact
that has made names like Mimi Sheridan, Ruth Reichl and Elaine Tait,
renowned throughout the world of journalism.
Never mind the veiled advertisements written by "critics" at smaller
local papers, the real thing fulfills a niche that is pervasive
throughout American culture. Whether it is the new Bruce Willis movie,
an entertaining Broadway show, our town's professional football team
or the latest sport sedan from Chevy, the public as a whole lives by
and trusts in the all-important critiques we read in print; those that
categorize and measure most every product and service we may consider
using at one time or another. And just because "Consumer Reports" has
given your electric razor a fair to midland review, it doesn't mean
that no one will ever buy that particular model ever again. It's just
good sense in knowing how it rates compared to the others out there on
the market.
The same may be said for restaurant reviews. They serve as a true and
valid evaluation of a property and ultimately, can serve in the
overall improvement of a site being focused upon. From the honest
dining report, management will glean perceptions of their
establishment from the viewpoint of the everyday patron, as reported
through the eyes of the critic. Hence, one can better understand the
positive and negative variables of his or her site and work to amplify
or correct them.
A good example of this is the fairly recent review of one of
Philadelphia's top French restaurants. The critic had great praise for
the chef and his gastronomic masterpieces, but he harshly and
repeatedly criticized the service staff for a series of inexcusable
gaffs. From that column, the general manager now surely realizes where
to further initiate training procedures and what is needed to rectify
the problems he may never had known before.
Ultimately, the public enjoys and expects to read and hear the truth
about a restaurant - warts and all. And for all the arguments stated
against dining critics, especially from the restaurateurs themselves,
the proverbial proof is in the pudding: People swear by the stars,
diamonds, bells, numbers or spoons the reviewer bequeaths upon an
establishment. Just ask Nina and Tim Zagat. The covers of their survey
guides may be red, but you can bet it has put them well into the
black.
COUNTERPOINT/The Detriment of Restaurant Reviews
Rather than elucidate on the many pitfalls produced by the food
critics critique, I relate a true story regarding such; one that I
feel illustrates the title of this piece perfectly. The counterpoint
here is in the very last line, so please bear with me as I give it due
buildup:
This past July, I decided to tour several dining operations in and
around the Wilmington, DE area. The region was a bit foreign to me and
as a concierge, I felt it was high time I became more familiar with
that culinary territory, so that I might feel more comfortable with my
Delaware dining suggestions. Besides, with the advent of the popular
Nickolas and Alexandra exhibit, I knew my clientele would soon be
bombarding me with queries on where to eat before or after the
exhibit.
I visited five different yet thoroughly enjoyable restaurants during
my two trips down to the area, but it was my last stop that captivated
me most of all. It was there I met with the owner and general manager
of a highly rated, very popular and wildly successful restaurant along
the outskirts of town. Being my first visit to the property, I entered
without too many preconceived notions regarding the site.
The food was fabulous. It was creative, satisfying and affordable
without being too haute, or in contrast, simple or basic in taste and
preparation. The decor was convivial yet sophisticated, but most of
all, comfortable and relaxing. The service, while not formal by any
means, was friendly and genuine and I noted that my server, along with
most of the others present that evening, knew a great many of the
patrons by name. It was a very enjoyable experience.
More importantly though, literally everyone dining there that night
seemed to be having a really good time. And while I surely did not go
to tables taking polls of people's own impressions of the place, I
believe that the consensus would have been unanimously positive which
is why, on a hot Tuesday evening at 9PM during the slow summer season,
the restaurant appeared to be booked solid.
Through all the revelry that night, I spotted a man who looked vaguely
familiar to me. "I know you." I remember saying to myself, but
couldn't quite place a name with the face. I forgot about this until a
couple weeks later when I opened the Sunday paper, turned to the
Dining Out section and read the abysmal headline and following
commentary that basically annihilated every aspect of this same
restaurant. I realized then that the man I could not recognize was
this very same critic, mercilessly relating his own experiences
from that Tuesday night.
Three thoughts went through my mind at that moment: 1. If a restaurant
is that popular and successful, shouldn't it mean that people are, for
the most part, quite happy with their overall experience there? 2.
Literally everyone seemed most content that night. Whose reviews
should I believe; the praises sung to the owner by dozens of his
clientele that night, or the lone remonstrations from the man with the
food column? 3. I was there too, sampled many of the same dishes as he
and enjoyed them all. Am I that uneducated a diner or did he simply
stumble upon a singular kitchen lapse compounded by a server who had
an hours worth of bad mood in him?
Fast forward now to a convention and visitors bureau food show.
Staffing a booth there, representing his restaurant was the affable
general manager of this aforementioned property. I had not seen him
since that infamous evening, over two months prior.
"Nick" I said, " I'm sorry to have read such a negative review of your
restaurant." "Oh that's okay Ken." He replied cheerfully. "It really
didn't hurt us. If anything, business has been better than ever!"
"Maybe" I retorted, "but what if you were a brand new restaurant just
starting out, with no prior allegiances built up with clientele over
the years?' He looked at me solemnly, his voice lowered. "Then I
would probably not be here talking at this show with you right now"
And then..."That review would have killed us"
*****
Page One (Bonnie Boots, Phil Nieukirk, Joan Stewart, Paul Buck, Rosie Saferstein)
A FOOD CRITIC LOOKS AT RESTAURANTS -- Do You Ever Look At Yours? - By William Fox
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