The Amateur Gourmet on More Nuanced Blog Restaurant Reviews
In a post titled "Going Back," Serious Eats contributing editor Adam Roberts (aka The Amateur Gourmet) starts sounding dangerously professional when reconsidering his protocol for writing about a restaurant on his blog. On the perennial question of whether food bloggers should visit multiple times before dishing—like newspaper and magazine food critics do:
What do these three experiences have to do with food blogging? Well, if that third time had been my first time at Chiles & Chocolate in Park Slope, I would have written a savage review. If the second time had been my first time, I would have written it a love letter. But since my first time was my first time, I gave it a half-hearted nod and that's the review that remains in my archives.
That's a problem. Those three experiences add up to a fuller picture of the restaurant. Now I know that Chiles & Chocolate is inconsistent--a word that professional food critics use all the time. I know what stands out on the menu: the agua fresca, the chile relleno, the flan. And I know what to avoid: anything with chicken breast. If I were to write a review now, it would be more thoughtful, more measured, more complete and ultimately more useful.
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1 Comment:
interesting observations. i think this is a great idea, though something that might be difficult to implement on the part of food bloggers, because it would require 3x the investment. but perhaps this is just something that separates the more dedicated and/or serious writers from the rest.
after reading this it starts to make sense why amateur reviews on citysearch, yelp, dodgeball, etc. are so skewed toward either glowing or downright ranting.
j at 3:43PM on 08/20/07