Restaurant reviewer busted

Melba's wrote on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:21:53 -0600:






Grade inflation again! A Michelin three-star restaurant is one of the
best in the world and I think only two restaurants in the US have
received that grade. Even a mention without stars in Michelin would
merit a two-star or more rating in the Washington Post. I'm not
particularly fond of the opinions of Tom Sietsma, their critic.
--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not
 
On Mon, 3 Jan 2011 10:00:47 -0800, "Steve B"
wrote:


What are you talking about, you raving right-wing rectum?


Why not give us your opinions about UFOs, too. I'm sure they'll be
almost as intelligible as what you wrote above.

No, they do not. Would you like to try the $25 question next? How
about a lifeline call from herr in the CashCab?

What ARE you going on about? I'd say it was a slippery slope you on,
but it seems to be more of a ski resort...take your pick of slopes.

Boron
 
"ImStillMags" wrote in message
news:0a736885-2a11-4a65-8bb7-74cba71faf08@j19g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
On Dec 30, 10:22 am, aem wrote:

Obviously that restaurant won't be open for very long.
If they will treat someone who is there to inform others about the
menu and service like that....I wouldn't want to eat there at all.

They just shot themselves in the foot. IMHO

IMHO, IDGAS. I have liked restaurants that reviewers didn't. Does that
make me a tasteless cad? I have liked movies that reviewers didn't, and
vice versa. If I need my Mommy (or equivalent) to approve where I eat and
what I watch, you have permission to shoot me.

Steve
 
On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 09:54:57 -0500, Dave Smith
wrote:


Or even from around the block. Some folks put stock in critical
reviews, some in online posts or Zagat type reviews (the latter of
which are paid, by the way, by sending out free copies of the guides
or allowing free online access. Ask me how I know...)

No one is forced to read or pay any attention whatsoever to any sort
of review. That is not the point of the discussion, although some
posters insist that it is the profession of restaurant critic that is
the point of all this. It is not. If you wish to get into a discussion
about unbiased reporting and customer satisfaction, I would be happy
to talk about it, as I have conducted customer satisfaction studies
for almost 3 decades.

Nope...all of this is how about how one merchant treated another
merchant or treated a customer...whether she was a merchant herself or
a customer depends on whom you are reading in this story.


And upon what do you base your conclusion that this woman is a "snotty
critic"? May I see the source information that led to such
condemnation? She is known as tough,. but fair, at least according to
several other restauranteurs who have weighed in on it all and allowed
themselves to be quoted.


Then you haven't been reading much about this online, either in the
news reports and spread out in the blogosphere, nor talked to anyone
on the food scene or business in LA. I have investigated the latter
myself though family connections.

Boron
 
On Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:43:02 -0500, Boron Elgar wrote:



I've given up trying to read all the posts in this thread (sosueme), but I
think the restaurateur was being a tad paranoid here - to say the least.
Talk about negative publicity - I wouldn't go to that restaurant if they
paid me to eat there after this little fiasco...

I've been to many lunches/dinners at restaurants that were arranged/booked
by friends/working colleagues so they gave their names/numbers when making
the reservations - nothing untoward there.

As for restaurant critics "remaining anonymous" - IMHO that's the way to
go. If I was a restaurant owner and I *knew* one of them was coming to
suss out my restaurant, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'd pull out all the
stops to impress said critic, which (again IMHO) would not give him/her a
true indication of what "private" Mr/Ms Diner could expect.... FWIW, if
I'd been kept waiting for 40 minutes - even though I had a reservation -
I'd probably have gone elsewhere (BTDT) - so I take my hat off to Irene
and her party for having the patience of saints.

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy
 
On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:21:23 -0500, Boron Elgar
wrote:


I read the first article and don't understand why this happened in the
first place. So she's a restaurant critic, so what? One of the first
respondents had the right idea. Restaurant critics go incognito, so
they knew who she was... they could have stacked the deck by giving
her the best of everything - service and food. Instead they threw out
a group of paying customers who wouldn't have been asking for special
service because they were there to experience what kind of food the
general public gets and how they are treated. Poor business practice
on the restaurant's side. If it fails, we'll know why and it sounds
like a business that *will* fail if the person with that kind of
attitude continues to be the in charge.

--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.
 
On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 09:58:12 -0500, Dave Smith
wrote:


I read restaurant reviews and movie reviews, but I find I usually
disagree with certain reviewers. So, if the reviewer *doesn't* like
something, it's pretty much assured that I will. It's actually kinda
fun to compare my opinion with the reviewers.


The restaurant got some exposure and maybe a temporary boost in sales
from the lookieloos; but the only way to extend it is to offer a
worthwhile product. The restaurant business is cut throat on the West
Coast, especially in the Cities. Restaurants that would be a smash
hit anywhere else in the USA can fail miserably very quickly here and
the Ego running that place will be the one to do it in.

--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.
 
On Thu, 6 Jan 2011 22:57:01 -0500, "J. Clarke"
wrote:


Correct. If someone takes money and then writes a review, that person
would be employed by the restaurant and we could call it an
"advertising campaign".

--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.
 
On 30/12/2010 2:42 PM, Steve B wrote:



I don't bother much with what reviewers have to say about restaurants. I
have gone to places that they have rated highly and been disappointed,
and I have been to places that reviewers have panned and enjoyed them. I
know that you can't please everyone but one would expect a reviewer to
be a little more reliable.

My mother and I never seemed to see eye to eye on restaurants. She never
seemed to appreciate my favourite restaurants. And then is one of my
sisters in law. She has never liked any of the restaurants that I enjoy,
and I never liked the places she goes.
 
blake murphy wrote in
news:[email protected]:


What's all this Kenyan crap? I suspect most USAians have no idea where
Kenya is, let alone what happened there.

--

On the first day God created the sun - so the Devil countered
and created sunburn. On the second day God created sex. In
response the Devil created marriage. On the third day God created
an economist. This was a tough one for the Devil, but in the end
and after a lot of thought he created a second economist!

http://www.blabbinit.com/content/god-created-economist
 
notbob wrote on 3 Jan 2011 16:49:45 GMT:





That reminds me of the Flanders and Swann song ("Reproduction" or
something) that ends with the lines:
But I never did care for music much
It's the High Fidelity"

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not
 
In article ,
"James Silverton" wrote:


I think it was a little more complicated than that, but some of my
sympathy went with Bose. They made their speakers to sound different,
and they did. CR downgraded them for that. The Bose speaker systems
had some of the speakers pointing forward, and some pointing back at the
wall. The wall became part of the sound system.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
[email protected]
 
On Sat, 01 Jan 2011 11:58:22 -0500, Dave Smith wrote:


strictly speaking, no it was not censorship (and the first amendment does
apply only to the government). but the restaurateur did say he wanted to
prevent her from reviewing his restaurant. call it 'prior restraint.'

your pal,
blake
 
sf wrote:


Sad for me? YOU'RE the one who isn't laughing! Life is better when you can
laugh. You should try it sometime.

Bob
 
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