"RestaurantReviews" news and stories

Ever since anonymous masses were granted the power to push a "publish" button, there's been debate over the validity of consumer-generated restaurant reviews. Fueling the skeptical fire early this month, Time's NewsFeed blog reported on a restaurant in Chicago that received a poor review on Yelp before the restaurant even opened.

According to Sylvia Rector, a Free Press restaurant critic on Freep.com, people who frequently use these types of sites "develop a critical eye for reviews, factoring in the writer's experience and history." Besides poorly informed bloggers, one should be especially wary of phony reviewers like PR people, competing restaurants and other biased parties. So what should you look for?

"If a restaurant opens and gets three or four glowing reviews the first day," Rector says, "you have to wonder if they were written by the owner's friends and relatives." Also, question reviews that are outdated (restaurants do change), those that are "different from most other comments" or those "with an absence of specifics." You can't drop a bomb without a reason -- if the food was intolerable, why? If a review is particularly out of place, check the poster's profile or other reviews he or she made on the site.

Frank Bruni (left) and interviewer John Berman. Photo: ABC News "Nightline."

Restaurant devotees tuning into Wednesday night's edition of ABC News "Nightline," slavering for juicy tidbits from the upcoming tell-all penned by departing New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni were treated to an intimate portrait of ... uh, the poignant tale of ... OK, the dude wants to sell some books. This was his infomercial.

It's hard to blame the guy. For the past five years, the admitted former bulimic who once sported a 42-inch waistband was the most fear-inducing eater in all of New York's five boroughs, his deft, often hilarious and scathing reviews packing the power to loft or condemn restaurants' fates -- around 270 of them during his tenure at the Times -- despite his intensely conflicted relationship with food and the constant pressure to maintain anonymity by means of unflattering wigs, stick-on facial hair and fake reservation names he'd sometimes forget upon arrival at the host's stand.

In his first network interview since taking on this trencherman's task in 2004, Bruni -- publicly revealing his face on video for the first time to a national audience -- talked about his lifelong battle with overeating and the extreme, often unsuccessful measures he took to combat his epic binges.

"Bloody poop" anyone? The toilet aesthetic is nothing new in Asian restaurants. We have a post, from a few years back, about a toilet-themed restaurant where people actually sit on toilets at a table. Recently, Time magazine had an article about a Taiwanese restaurant chain that's opening up restaurants in China and other parts of Asia. Modern Toilet serves dishes, with names like "green dysentery," in toilet-shaped plates. Food is presented in the shape of excrement.

Modern Toilet interestingly combines the vulgar, the obscene, the scatological with the high-end. As the Time article states: "Every customer sits on a stylish acrylic toilet (lid down) designed with images of roses, seashells or Renaissance paintings." In this way, the restaurant is enticing patrons and receiving positive feedback. Jennifer Finch, an American who dined there, described the experience as tasteful and clean.

The cuisine is an eclectic mix of Asian foods, including curries, pasta, fried chicken and Mongolian hot pot. Patrons comment that despite the disgusting descriptions, the foods are great. Apparently, China's comfort with (and interest in) toilet creations beyond the bathroom are not new. Time points out that a flush toilet was found in a tomb of a Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 24) king. The Chinese invented toilet paper in the 6th century! But, while toilet dining may be less shocking in Chinese culture, Westerners seem to be gravitating to these restaurants as well.

This week on "The Martha Stewart Show" (11 a.m., syndicated), "domestic diva" Martha tours some of her new favorite restaurants, all located on East 10th Street in the East Village of Manhattan. The restaurant tour seems appropriate since it falls during Restaurant Week, when many high-end restaurants, such as Mario Batali's Del Posto, offer reduced fixed price menus.

The New York Post explains that Martha's fascination for E 10th st. began this summer at Graffiti Food and Wine Bar, a tiny four table restaurant. In fact, the tour kicks off tomorrow with a tasting of 15 small dishes from Graffiti's chef Jehangir Mehta. The tour then goes to the ramen noodle counter at Rai Rai Ken, ChikaLicious dessert bar, and of course the hip and trendy Momofuku Milk Bar.

These restaurants offer a refreshing diversion from many of the larger restaurant establishments that will be offering discounted meals for Restaurant Week. In fact, the prices at some of these East Village restaurants are just as inexpensive. Check out Martha' website to find out more about the restaurant tour and to view some of chef Mehta's recipes.

There are numerous reasons why I enjoy going to restaurants that serve local food. When traveling it's an exciting way to discover the foods that different places have to offer. Atlantica in Camden, Maine is an excellent restaurant that incorporates local ingredients.

I started off dinner with salad of organic red and yellow beets and Jasper Hill blue cheese. Then, came the masterpiece of the meal: the salmon. The salmon was so tender that it seemed to slowly dissolve on my palate. It's surprising how many restaurants cook salmon to the point that it's completely dry and all you taste is the sauce on it. The fish at Atlantica was superb.

The restaurant is run by a husband and wife team: Ken and Del Paquin. Ken graduated from the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park New York. He strives to make use of the finest and highest quality ingredients, both organic and sustainable. He searches for the best local purveyors. So, it's no surprise that it was at Atlantica that I discovered Maine's many cheeeses. Atlantica is also an excellent place to enjoy Maine's incredible lobster. Be sure to order their hard-shell steamed lobster.