DonRocks Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Someone just bought me a copy of this massive book, which I have spent about twenty minutes leafing through. It contains 500 full-page reviews for Washington DC-area restaurants, and employs "The Fearless Critic's 'brutally honest' philosophy," which they say "can be summed up in one sentence: our duty is to the readers, not the restaurants." I’ve read through the list of “Fearless Critics,” and don’t recognize a single name (although I do recognize the name of one of the fifteen Contributing Editors). So anyway, I'd love to know what people think about their reviews and ratings. To get you started, let me highlight a small sample from the index that ranks the “top 100 Kitchens judged from a pure food perspective.” (Ties are ordered by "feel rating.") This is culled from making a single pass through the list: 11) Hank’s Oyster Bar 12) Citronelle 13) Marvin 14) Tosca 17) Posto 18) Vidalia 26) Roger Miller 31) Restaurant Eve Tasting Room 33) Al Tiramisu 34) Central Michel Richard 35) Marcel's 36) The Source 37) Palena 39) Shashemene 40) Corduroy 44) New Big Wong 45) BLT Steak 52) Granja de Oro 53) Café du Parc 56) Rasika 57) Liberty Tavern 62) Kabob Palace 63) Zaytinya 66) Bobby Van's Steakhouse 68) The Oval Room 69) Sushi Ko 71) Costa Verde 74) Buck’s Fishing and Camping 77) Proof 78) Restaurant Eve Bistro 79) Kaz Sushi Bistro 84) Pollo Granjero 87) Hook I suppose I could do further cross-referencing (such as Al Crostino (#14) vs. Comet Ping Pong (not in the Top 100, but with a lower food rating than Potbelly Sandwich Works (*) (which, incidentally, is ranked higher than DC Coast (which, incidentally, is ranked the same as Chinatown Express (which, incidentally, is ranked the same as Kinkead's (which, incidentally, is ranked much lower than both Myanmar (#100) and Meaza (#58)))))), but for that level of detail, you'll just have to buy the book and explore for yourselves! Cheers, Rocks. (*) Yes, that's right. Potbelly Sandwich Works has a better food rating than Comet Ping Pong, DC Coast, Kinkead's, PS7's, Bourbon Steak, Evening Star Cafe, Heritage India, Jaleo, L'Auberge Chez Francois, Mio, Nicaro, Rustico, Oya, Spezie, and Teatro Goldoni. P.S. One other thing before I go: La Baguette (in Dupont Circle, for those of you who have never heard of it) and Weenie Beanie have the same food rating as Inn at Little Washington. Ben's Chili Bowl is ranked higher than all three of them. Mind you, this is just the food rating, which does not take price into account. "Honey! I'm taking you out tonight for our anniversary!" "Great, sweetie - I want to go somewhere that's just absolutely delicious." "Really?" <bats eyes> "Really and truly." <winks> --- 366 Days Later: Bailiff: "All rise." <all rise> Judge <walking in and taking a seat>: "Be seated. <shuffles papers> The case of Johnson vs. Johnson. You two have been separated now for a full year?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 My initial reaction --> But come on, you've got to give us at least the top 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Blume Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 This is why universities insist on peer-reviewed publications. The principal author has an undergraduate degree from Harvard, a J.D. from Yale, and this is his fourth collection of restaurant reviews. Amazon page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lydia R Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 This is why universities insist on peer-reviewed publications.The principal author has an undergraduate degree from Harvard, a J.D. from Yale, and this is his fourth collection of restaurant reviews. Amazon page. Thanks for the Amazon page. It lead me to their site. Using "upmarket restaurant" as a qualifier returned a list that's better than the Washingtonian's choices pre-Kliman. Not sure there's much value in an annual website subscription though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBK Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Hmm. This guy wanted me to be a Fearless Critic and I passed, after meeting him and skimming his Houston guide. I sort of thought it would turn out like this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Using "upmarket restaurant" as a qualifier returned a list that's better than the Washingtonian's choices pre-Kliman. I don't agree with this statement. Also, it's important to note that it's much easier now to come up with a restaurant list than it was just five years ago, due to the resources available on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waitman Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Nothing says "fearless" like boldly trashing Applebee's. You don't see many food-board types courageous enough to take on the suburban chains. I'm predicting that the next lead post will be a bitter, biting takedown of Ruby Tuesday's. Unless it's a painfully legalistic take on Alan Richmann's pizza piece. (Maybe these guys should get Ericandblueboy on the team. He's certainly a more interesting read.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferhat Yalcin Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 hard to beat the chicken and waffle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe H Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I haven't read it. But this, for me, speaks volumes: "Robin Goldstein has authored four books of restaurant reviews and has written for more than 30 Fodor's travel guides, from Italy to Argentina to Hong Kong. He has an A.B. in neuroscience and philosophy from Harvard University, a J.D. from the Yale Law School, a certificate in cooking from the French Culinary Institute in New York City," Let's see, this is probably four years in Boston, two years in New Haven and additional time spent in New York. And, he has written a 600+ page book about D. C. restaurants while also authoring travel guides about Italy, Argentina, Hong Kong and as many as thirty other cities and countries among others. I'm guessing he hasn't lived in any of them. Or D. C. But he has found a gullible publisher who doesn't care about credibility. OK, I am going to Slovenia for the first time in three weeks for two days. With an experience like this I should be more than qualified to write a thick volume on Slovenian restaurants enlisting a number of others' contributions for restaurants I have never heard of in towns and cities I have never heard of either. Of course, I must confess, I just threw away my Fodor's Slovenian travel guide... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Slater Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Robin Goldstein is the same guy who exposed the Wine Spectator Award scam last year winning a Grand Award for a wine list full of low scoring wines for an imaginary restaurant in Italy. I tried subscribing, but you can't get out of the PayPal screen. I bought a copy from Amazon for $10.85 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jparrott Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Robin Goldstein is the same guy who exposed the Wine Spectator Award scam last year winning a Grand Award for a wine list full of low scoring wines for an imaginary restaurant in Italy. Hey, one out of two ain't bad, then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pressley Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I just don't understand what is so fearless about being a critic in the first place. Seems to be contradiction in terms there... Shouldn't it be the ones who are being publicly criticized who should be the most fearful? The people that throw down their life savings to "put their money where their mouth is" in a knowingly highly-criticized business platform? It's more than a job for us. It's our entire lives. A fearless critic is comparable to a shy pornstar. There isn't one. ETA: I don't consider anyone on this site a "critic" so I'm not taking jabs here. This is an online community where opinions are shared and the restaurant operators can choose to defend or accept certain criticisms. This is a forum that I've appreciated for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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