Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

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.

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.

It gave me a giggle.

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.

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.

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.

It doesn't make it right, but this was the format used for his review of the Waverly as well.

How about none of them? Here's an idea.....what if the TV powers to be (PBS , Food Network, Travel Channel, Fine Living Network-I don't really care) re-ran the old shows from Julia Child, Jeff Smith, Justin Wilson, Marcia Adams, Graham Kerr, Earl Peyroux, Joyce Chen, Madeleine Kamman, Natalie Dupree, the Romagnoli's, Marcel Desaulnieres, Biba Caggiano, Nick Stellino, Mollie Katzen, the 'Great Chef's series', Anne Willan (cooking from LaVarenne) et al.......if for no other reason other than the newbie generation of foodies can experience the kind of cooking shows that paved the way for this current wave of cooking shows? My daughter (in her 30's) has no idea of what a cooking show on TV is other than the crap we see on these reality shows and 'most' Food Network shows.....did I just have an epiphany or will be I be flamed?

You know what? I'm tired as hell as of the new "cooking shows" and I'm not going to take it anymore. I have a remote control. And I can read books.

Steingarten was on White's show? Eff. So, original programming isn't such a big deal to Steingarten. Still think he'd balk at hosting a show that has a tired, cooking competition format.

Love him or hate him, Steingarten is the only one of the three who could move the ball forward in the world of food shows. Can you imagine him putting on a fake persona or doing something unoriginal? Not me. He's believably and genuinely crabby -- unlike Ramsay -- but he's also humorous and an astute professional eater from whom we could learn valuable lessons. His books certainly suggest this. And you know he'd rather eat a preservative-laden salad before appearing on a reality show with a unoriginal format. White did just that by appearing on another show with the GD kitchen competitions. If the viewing public is feeling anything like me, they're tired of celebrity chefs involved in competitive cooking events. Something new would be nice!

Steingarten would be the ultimate surly moderator for a weekly roundtable series, a la The McLaughlin Group, where guests with different culinary viewpoints hash out food issues in an intelligent yet often comical manner. Could also see him hosting a culinary Jeopardy-type show, where he'd get to make hilariously bitchy quips in response to people's answers.

So, I'm all in for Steingarten. He's one-of-a-kind and real. Real smart, real funny and could be truly great on his own show . . . maybe a reality show. Or not.

Ramsay - He's pretty rough on Hell's Kitchen, but if you ever see Kitchen Nightmares, you get to see a different side of him. I find him honest and while pretty raw sometimes, and I watching him.

At this point it's pretty easy to see through Ramsay's shtick--I'm finding him entertaining again.
MPW's 'power' finger approach is the new joke around the house.
As much as I like Steigarden as a critic I worry about him being wasted as a host--this happened to Ted Allen; having to carry the ball still haunts Emilio at times.

An aside: Chilean Sea Bass is no longer considered endangered; there are other reasons activists recommend that you avoid it.