tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post5868663465776300655..comments2024-03-26T04:26:04.911-07:00Comments on Lost City: How to Review Landmark Restaurants, and How Not ToBrooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-11088309718000883532012-10-28T09:12:45.424-07:002012-10-28T09:12:45.424-07:00Somehow I doubt that people pay much attention to ...Somehow I doubt that people pay much attention to newspaper restaurant reviewers anymore. Yelp is much more influential, for the record it gave 21 Club three and a half stars.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266094188872421777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-59495593791604194092012-10-25T11:15:49.298-07:002012-10-25T11:15:49.298-07:00Well said, well said, by Mr. Wells, and by you, Br...Well said, well said, by Mr. Wells, and by you, Brooks. May damnation fall on the heads of the Kummers of the world who completely fail in the art of criticism because they do not know the difference between "critical" and "criticise." For Kummer, Locke-Ober did not meet his PERSONAL approval, and so it was savaged for the GENERAL audience. True critics know excellent cuisine (and that which is merely "good", "fair", or "poor" as well) on the basis of the criteria derived from norms held by the "community" of that cuisine. Therefore, a true critic should be able to accurately review a restaurant that serves a cuisine the critic personally abhors, because the critic has the experience to know the standards by which to judge the food. What we see too much of today are "critics" who know very little about food and cooking but who know (as we all do) what they like. These "critics" write "reviews" that are no more than a recitation of their subjectivity without objective content or even much content to guide or educate the reader.<br /><br />Here's a tip o' the hat to Pete Wells, who knows that there's more to a great dining experience than enjoying the magic act of molecular gastronomy. Judged by cuisine alone, 21 cannot stand up to the likes of Per Se, but if I were to use the strengths of 21...the history and cultural association with the city, the ambiance of the architecture and appointments, the "feel" ...then I would find Per Se by far the weaker sister. Mr. Wells seems to understand this.upstate johnny gnoreply@blogger.com