What's the deal with 2nd Avenue Deli?
Arthur Schwartz (the Food Maven.com) has just lambasted the 2nd Ave. Deli and indicates that a great many of his fellow food critics feel the same way even though they've publicly glorified the reopened deli.
1. How do you really feel about the quality of food and service at the 2nd Ave Deli and...
2. How do you REALLY feel about food critics who publish one opinion but express the opposite privately?
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4 Comments:
Thanks for posting that link. I can't address your first question, not having been there since ... oh, gosh, the late '80's. But I can the second. While there is one publication in our city that only publishes "nice" reviews, our major paper and alternative paper are more apt to speak freely. Both Mr. Meatloaf and I have been reviewing restaurants for various newspapers, magazines and companies since long before we married, and now mostly work together. We say what we think, although I admit we try to say it politely, unlike the current crop of London restaurant reviewers, for instance. Our city is small enough that if a reviewer for a well-known publication talked out of both sides of his/her mouth, word would get around pretty quickly. Ditto taking freebies. Our credibility is based on our reputations.
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. I wonder if Regina Schrambling, at gastropoda.com will discuss it. She can be somewhat acerbic about such things.
lemons at 11:31PM on 03/30/08
1. Well, I haven't been to the new 2nd Avenue Deli, because honestly, the old 2nd Avenue Deli had really fallen to pot. I used to love the place, and I'm not a real big fan of Jewish deli food. It's too heavy, too greasy, too much for me. But I kinda liked it in the old days. My friends and I would hang and eat enormo sandwiches and wonderful pickles and try each other's stuff and it was great. But it got really awful towards the end and we stopped going there. I express zero surprise that 2AD2 has not exactly risen from the ashes.
2. Regarding critics expressing one view publicly and one view privately - a friend is a friend, but a job is a job. If you find that a restaurant sucks that you are somehow emotionally tied to and you can't bring yourself to say anything bad about it, don't do the review. You're not lying that way. You're not abusing the public's trust. If you're found out (and I really want to know who is being dishonest so that I can ignore all their reviews from this point on), you will have lost all credibility.
It's tough. I know that. Years ago, I did a lot of writing about food on various up and coming food or sponsored websites. I occasionally found myself in that position. Could I say something bad about ?????'s product since they were sponsoring the site? No, sometimes, I couldn't, so I'd just forego the $200 and not do the review. I took some small measure of pride in knowing that at least I wasn't misleading people, and that if I said something good about a product, I actually meant it. Luckily, I had a day job. :-)
chisai at 8:28PM on 04/01/08
From all reports I'd seen until now the new 2nd Ave is the real deal, which makes me glad-- and makes me sad about Schwartz’s review. Jewish deli is close to becoming a lost cuisine. In New York there are probably fewer than a half dozen places still in business, and if you want kosher you are really going to have to hunt.
It's not really food that can be reproduced at home, either, so if you want a nice corned beef, or a good knish, you should be prepared to travel. Katz's and the Carnegie are great, but not always convenient. Junior's is passable, and there are a couple of other spots, but you've got to hunt.
Outside of New York the situation is even more dire. Wolfie's in Miami is closed, and although I'm told that LA is a safe haven that's a bit of a schlep for me-- and who wants a pastrami sandwich when you're in LA?
In the provinces, like where I live, there are no real options apart from JetBlue.
outsidecounsel at 12:30PM on 04/02/08
I was there in February with my sister on a Saturday afternoon. It was crowded and there was a queue out the door, but service was quick and attentive. We had chopped liver, pastrami, matzo ball soup, and fries. The fries were pretty terrible, but everything else was great.
thebasilqueen at 3:10PM on 04/02/08