kvmunion.blogg.se

We do it because if I, for example, walk into a restaurant and announce I'm there to rate the food and service, I promise you it will all be perfect. We at The Journal make reservations under other names and disguise our appearances. Many readers don't know how important anonymity is to fairly reviewing a restaurant. Every time the door opened, she saw her picture, big as life, there on the wall.Įat out: Don't wait for summer, travel for a delicious off-season Cape Cod adventure She told about the time she was reviewing a place and had a table by the kitchen. She wore wigs and glasses to mask her look, but some restaurants actually had her picture. Sheraton explained that one of the reasons she left the restaurant-critic post at The Times was because she felt it was becoming too difficult to remain anonymous. Too often, I fear, newspaper reporters take for granted that readers know the why for what we do. But I couldn't get rid of one thought: If Sheraton couldn't explain the why of her work to parents who loved her, how can any of us hope to make the public understand the mission we take so seriously? And she continued to regale us with other fun tales. We all had a good laugh at Sheraton's story. If you don't like it, go somewhere else." "What is it your business?" she would inquire of Sheraton. Imagine a happy family running a restaurant, she would say. "Today, you're a maven of dreck," Mom would tell Sheraton.

"My father was afraid I'd be killed," Sheraton said.įrom familiar names to new tastes: 7 places opening in RI this spring to please taste budsĪs for her mother, well, she had another reaction to her daughter's critical reviews.

Now you might assume that her family, native New Yorkers, would be mighty proud of a daughter who held such a high-profile job. She held the post at The New York Times for eight years - that's like 56 in restaurant-critic years - giving it up in 1983. One of the best couple of hours was spent listening to Mimi Sheraton, one of the giants among restaurant critics. It was a great chance to talk about food and writing, and how and why we do what we do. Last month, I spent a few days with my colleagues at the annual Association of Food Journalists conference.