Some people don’t think much of the UK’s restaurant critics. In this country, however, it’s generally accepted – at least by those who write for the major newspapers – that critics shouldn’t pre-advertise their presence, and that bills should be paid.
The US, however, is a land of extremes. At one end you have the likes of the NY Times, whose reviewer tells us that his ‘statutory’ three anonymous visits before writing a major review are often insufficient, and that he often goes back a fourth time, just to be sure.
And at the other end, you have, well, the likes of New York-based critic John Mariani. At least if this rather, er, critical piece in the Menupages Chicago blog is to be believed. We can’t comment on the allegations, but we do know that Mariani’s newsletter is one we always read with interest.
(Here at Harden’s, incidentally, we apply standard UK rules: no booking in our own name, and always paying our own way.)
PS (18 May) And now you can read Mariani’s editor’s – arguably not quite complete – defence.
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