Bruni "review" of Charles in today's NYT
Anyone else feel like this was ghost written by Maureen Dowd (or at least heavily influenced by her gimmicky style)?
I give it a meh.
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18 Comments:
I read it earlier today and though I don't live in NYC I do like to read his reviews. This was unusual, that's for sure. Maybe he dropped some acid or something. Or maybe he just wanted to mix it up a bit and do something different. I'm not really sure what he was up to but I do think this review is going to give the restaurant more publicity than it might normally get.
arm1970 at 1:45PM on 04/15/09
I am an ex-NYC resident, and I still read his review's every week. Sometimes he is snarky but still smart and witty, and sometimes, well, there's this. I get what he was trying to do. I think it just didn't work.
cdp1223 at 1:47PM on 04/15/09
He was trying to write a review from the perspective of the stereotypical vapid boozehound NY nightlife diva who might actually frequent a place as superficial and pretentious as Charles, and I think he was spot-on. Graydon would be proud.
DanielJ at 5:24PM on 04/15/09
Have you ever read Vanity Fare or spoken to Graydon Carter? There is about as good a chance of him liking this review as their is finding him standing in line for a Magnolia cupcake. Bad writing is bad writing. Gimmicks is gimmicks! This guy has been an embarrassment from day one and this week he hit rock bottom. It's time for the Times to wake up and fire this queen... NYC deserves the best. this is oh so far from even good. its downright humiliating!
dariat84 at 5:43PM on 04/15/09
I wonder why this place was reviewed in the first place - it's not a place most people would ever even hear of, let alone visit, to begin with. Plus, the review was almost entirely about some other restaurant (waverly inn was reviewed in this same Vanity Fair style ). I kind of don't see the point of devoting a whole review and writing process to a place that, lets face it, is a blip on the screen.
loulou at 6:02PM on 04/15/09
It doesn't make it right, but this was the format used for his review of the Waverly as well.
craig_g at 6:03PM on 04/15/09
Who's in for voting Frank off the island?
angrywayne at 7:06PM on 04/15/09
then he goes and writes things like this http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/hold-tight-to-your-favorites/ ...rar...who's the real bruni...i guess the later. We'll keep you for now.
angrywayne at 7:25PM on 04/15/09
That review was freakin' brilliant. If you who can't appreciate it you probably don't get most of the references.
dash3456 at 7:32PM on 04/15/09
Lots of restaurant critics do 'creative' pieces, like The Insatiable Critic Gael Greene and Ruth Reichel. The question is whether the execution works and gives you an idea of what the food was like, in between the dialogue, or the persona assumed by the reviewer. In this case, I'm afraid, the answer was no.
HeartofGlass at 7:33PM on 04/15/09
Surely this review was ghost written by 'Countess Louise J. Esterhazy'. And just as flabby.
dbird at 7:36PM on 04/15/09
I happened to find the review quite entertaining and rather accurate. I happen to work in the nightlife and restaurant industry and know numerous people who have been to the restaurant and everyone says the same thing: 'if all you want is to be cool and say you have been there then go, if you like good food stay away'. All of these scenester restaurants have their place and people need to understand that when these people are reviewing they are from the school that looks for food first. This is not a food first venue and never will be. Maybe that's the reason they dont take down the paper and tape, then everyone will know they are being hoodwinked. It's not a trendy club or speakeasy its a restaurant and if you cant even call or see inside then the food is probably just as mysterious as the facade.
NYCEATSALOT at 1:37AM on 04/16/09
Here is Frank's bio:
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/dining/bruni-bio.html
It's quite clear that he never should have been appointed Food Critic (that he was a movie critic once before is a dead giveaway). And, yes, I got all the references, and it's still a poor piece, as is most of his stuff.
Ruth Reichl was completely immersed in the food industry for at least 10 - 15 years before becoming the LA Times and then the NY Times Food Critic. She knows, loves and appreciates the industry; she is one of them.
After his non-food journalism career, it seems that Frank wanted a cushy job and an ego boost, and had an inside connection. Why would the NYT, with its incredible reputation, give their readers this guy???
Also, how fiscally responsible is it for the NYT to pay for dinner for 2 - 8 people 6-7 nights a week, mostly at hugely expensive restaurants? Fire him, and save that money for real reporting (or at least real food reporting!).
serious1 at 2:21AM on 04/16/09
It gave me a giggle.
Kerosena at 12:54PM on 04/16/09
Am I the only one who believes that food reviewing is extremely difficult? When I consider how large and important food is in our lives, I'm impressed with how few adjectives there are to describe food. It's not an easy job.
I think that Bruni does an outstanding job. Almost as good as Melissa Clark, who is unmatched when it comes to food writing.
Give Frank a break. Yes, today was off note for me. But his columns and his blog are articulate, entertaining and useful more than 99.9% of the time.
ChefTonee at 1:24PM on 04/16/09
The only real issue I noticed was that there was no review...a few passing comments on a small selection of dishes, and price complaints regarding the wine. I don't mind when a writer wants to experiment or be a little creative, but this piece totally missed the point of the column.
RudieCantFail at 2:17PM on 04/16/09
All Frank did was give the place more publicity:
http://nymag.com/daily/food/2009/04/charles_owner.html
arm1970 at 7:44PM on 04/16/09
count me in as a staunch bruni fan. his writing is always highly entertaining, and it's simply not true that he doesn't know about food.
cybercita at 8:27PM on 04/16/09