"reviews" news and stories

It used to be fairly common for restaurant reviewers to receive notes penned by chefs after a review came out. If the review was favorable, the handwritten missive would be polite and congratulatory. If the review was negative, sometimes the chef -- perhaps oblivious to his posterity -- might unleash invective.

Later, of course, the pen dried up in favor of email as the medium of choice for irate chefs to write to critics, and the practice has continued. In my work with the Village Voice, I personally have received angry emails from chefs, though polite thank-yous still predominate. The waters have further been muddied by the ascendance of blogs as a medium of review, and the rough-hewn quality of criticism they often exhibit. Many chefs have commented, both in public and in private, of their distaste for blog reviews, which often occur just days after a restaurant opens for business, and are hence deemed unfair by the chefs.

Restaurateurs and chefs have decided to fight back. New York chef David Chang banned food photography in his restaurants, in an apparent attempt to keep bloggers from taking pictures of food and posting them with reviews. In a 2008 roundtable discussion conducted by the Chicago Tribune, chefs Graham Bowles and Bill Kim expressed irritation at instantaneous reviews of their restaurants that appeared on foodie websites like Yelp and MenuPages, igniting a debate in the Windy City that continues today.

The holiday season usually means plenty of us will be saying "cheese!" But the smiles it brings doesn't only have to be for family photos.

Consider mail-ordering a festive cheese platter for holiday events or as gifts. From one-time cheese platters and cheese-of-the-month clubs to special cutlery and distinct pairings, the gift offerings available from some of the nation's top cheese stores can't be beat. Here are three of our favorites.

Wheel of Lunch. Photo: wheelof.com/lunch

Too tired or hungry to decide what to eat for lunch today? Soup sound boring? Already ate sushi yesterday?

Ponder no longer! Let the Wheel of Lunch make your mind up for you. Simply punch in your ZIP code and give the wheel a spin by clicking your mouse. The mighty wheel will pick a place near you, give you a link to its Yahoo review site, and send you out the door. Don't like the choice? Spin again -- especially if the wheel tells you to skip lunch (who does that?!).

[Wheel of Lunch]

There's been all sorts of debate these days over whether restaurant critics should even attempt to remain anonymous. It started with the outing of Philadelphia Inquirer critic Craig LaBan, but then continued with Danyelle Freeman, the blogger-turned-critic for the New York Daily News (her picture is all over the internet). Does the visual identity of a restaurant critic need to be concealed them to be able to do their job effectively? Many are weighing in on the debate these days, what do you, oh wise Slashfood readers, think?

Some seem to think that restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow's grudge against NY Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni runs deeper than just one bad review. Chodorow has, after all, said that he feels his restaurants have always gotten the short stick from the reviewer. A recent piece on Page Six of the NY Post seems to confirm this, as Chodorow has just announce that Bruni is banned from all of his 29 restaurants.

For those of you wondering how the Chodorow plans to ban someone whose looks are supposed to be a secret, just know that restaurant staffs make it their business to unmask restaurant critics whenever possible, many kitchens will have a wall of critics and other notable people to keep an eye out for. Chodorow's employees have an extra reason to look for Bruni because Jeffrey has offered a free trip for two to the Caribbean to the first person to recognize him. As insurance to make sure he is seen, Chodorow plans to post a photo of Bruni on his personal blog sometime soon.

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