When restaurateurs fight back: Chodorow vs. Bruni

by Nicole Weston, Posted Feb 23rd 2007 @ 10:29AM

Restaurateurs have a love-hate relationship with food critics. They love them when they get a good review and hate them when they don't. A lot of seething goes on in the kitchen when the review is bad, but that is usually as far as it gets. Once in a while, however, a restaurant owner will be pushed over the edge, as Jeffrey Chodorow was when he read Frank Bruni's review of his Kobe Club. Chodorow took out a full-page ad (rumored to have cost around $40,000) in this week's NY Times Dining section blasting Bruni ("in crazy-person tiny type") and accusing him of being biased, unqualified and, essentially, of having a personal vendetta against him and/or his restaurants.

The letter was addressed to Pete Wells, who recently came to the NY Times as the editor of the Dining section, possibly in the hopes that Wells would take some sort of action against Bruni. Wells has since said that the Times will take no action and Bruni himself spoke to the NY Post, saying that he has no vendetta against Chodorow. Nor does New York magazine's Adam Platt or The NY Post's Steve Cuozzo - both of whom gave the restaurant less-than-flattering reviews at the same time as Bruni.

[thanks, alanna!]

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Filed Under: Business, Newspapers, Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants
Tags: ad, ads, bruni, chodorow, frank bruni, new york times, ny times, restaurant, restaurateur, war

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-23-2007 @11:11AM calamari said... Ah... so Chodorow is playing the "great chefs are often demented" card.

It may be time to send him up to glad-hand at the front of the house and keep him away from the cleavers.
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2-24-2007 @11:14AM doodoolemonque said... Better keep Chodorow in the back of the back of the house, like the office. The bully's day is over in the restuarant business. Keep Jeffrey out of the public eye and doing what he does best behind the privacy of a closed door. He's as dangerous in front as he is with a knife.
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2-23-2007 @11:36AM Liz Newcomb said... Maybe I'm clicking on the wrong links, but is there one that would take me to the full text of Jeffrey Chodorow's letter?
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2-23-2007 @11:38AM Liz Newcomb said... I can't seem to edit my previous post, but here's a link to the ad: http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/pdf/Response_NYTimes.pdf
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2-24-2007 @8:48AM jerzeetomato said... I would not eat in any China Grill restaurant ever. I don't care what he says. He is a drama queen and frankly I don't believe a word he says. If he is so "battle hardened" then why do people losing their jobs even phase him? It never would, he's also a huge BS artist. When I saw the show the Restaurant I decided I could not contribute to the glaringly obvious need for plastic surgery his wife is hooked on. None of my money is going to enable her problem. A restaurant is a business to this man full stop. I don't like him period. If anyone actually cared about their culinary career they would not work for Jeffrey (China Grill), he made it abundantly clear what kind of employer he was on the show. Nothing earth shattering is ever coming out of any of his projects.
Look out Jeffrey, Steven Starr is coming and he's better than you and he is taking over. http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/24739/
I think you are seeing the machinations of a man on the verge of the trip back down. Enjoy the ride.
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