Time Out New York has just done something a bit unusual. They have turned the tables on New York's critics and have given them reviews using a panel of distinguished experts in each of the various fields covered. Of course, at Slashfood, we're more interested in what they thought of NY's finest food critics, than of the art or theater reviewers. All were scored on a scale from 1 to 5 in the following categories: Knowledge, Style, Taste, Accessibility and Influence. Those scores were then averaged to reach a final score. A star rating might have been a little more appropriate, but this seems like a balanced way to quantify their performances.

Topping their list with a score of 4.08 is Peter Meehan, from the New York Times. He is usually featured in the "$25 and Under" column. His reviews were described as "smart, witty and very sensible...fair and almost always [place] the consumer first." Number two, with a score of 3.78 is Steve Cuozzo, from the New York Post. "Entertaining as hell to read... it's just too bad that he works for the least credible outlet in town." The other reviewers reviewed were: Adam Platt, multiple publications, 3.72 (No class at all: The words subtle and elegant are not in his vocabulary."); Irene Sax, NY Daily News, 3.68 ("The best cheap-eats columnist ever."); Frank Bruni, The New York Times, 3.64 ("Bruni is the George Bush of restaurant reviewers: He's a little man in a big job who got lucky but has never acknowledged the need to learn on this big job.... He's got an unfortunate, clear bias toward the Italian palate, and it shows in print."); Robert Sietsema, The Village Voice, 3.4 ("A joke."); Moira Hodgson, New York Observer, 3.3 ("stylish and congenial")