tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post5297609906093726936..comments2024-03-28T13:58:37.846-04:00Comments on The Passionate Foodie: Rant: Restaurant Reviews Ignoring Drinks?Richard Auffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03948647697847819742noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-58663104259670128652013-02-06T16:28:56.198-05:002013-02-06T16:28:56.198-05:00Thanks for the comments Anonymous. At a major news...Thanks for the comments Anonymous. At a major newspaper, their main restaurant reviewer should have an adequate grasp of drinks to write a complete review. And their reviews are plenty long enough to devote sufficient space to drinks.<br /><br />I understand the difficulties of smaller papers, as I wrote a food/wine column for a small, town newspaper. Though I usually was able to include info on drinks in my restaurant reviews. It is tougher though than writing for a large, major paper.Richard Auffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03948647697847819742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-66441714126726291462013-02-06T16:22:45.578-05:002013-02-06T16:22:45.578-05:00Someone who knows a lot about food does not necess...Someone who knows a lot about food does not necessarily know a lot about drinks, and vice versa. There are also space considerations...if you want to talk enough about the food, will you have enough room to adequately cover the drinks? I am an editor at a much smaller paper. I have issues with reviewer expertise, costs for reimbursement, and space. Just a few thoughts from the other side.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-47687100987593679062013-01-28T03:17:47.266-05:002013-01-28T03:17:47.266-05:00She really doesn't have the luxury of limiting...She really doesn't have the luxury of limiting her reviews to one segment. She must cater to everyone, and that means including sufficient coverage of drinks. <a href="http://www.inkatrailsrestaurant.com/" rel="nofollow">Restaurant in Claremont CA</a>inkatrailsrestauranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01821687462097637872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-69835209547026672872012-09-10T16:04:13.731-04:002012-09-10T16:04:13.731-04:00Hi MC:
I agree with you that Nadeau does a very ...Hi MC:<br /> I agree with you that Nadeau does a very good job of addressing the drinks programs in his reviews. <br /><br />Plus, it is more difficult to fully address a drinks program when your review length is so limited. 450 words is challenging.Richard Auffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03948647697847819742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-34513924301030384462012-09-10T16:00:59.578-04:002012-09-10T16:00:59.578-04:00Hi Richard:
Devra is a professional restaurant ...Hi Richard:<br /> Devra is a professional restaurant critic writing for a major city newspaper with a circulation of 310K-480K, plus with a web presence. Her audience is quite huge, and it not limited to any tiny segment. She really doesn't have the luxury of limiting her reviews to one segment. She must cater to everyone, and that means including sufficient coverage of drinks.<br /><br />Far more people seek a restaurant based on their drinks rather than decor. I don't think anyone has ever asked me for a restaurant rec based on the decor. <br /><br />As I said, it is also a disservice to the restaurants to review them but ignore such an important aspect, one the restaurant may have invested much time and effort.<br /><br />Devra is free to comment here, to discuss why she gives such short shrift to drink programs. But I don't think there is a valid reason why a professional reviewer should largely ignore the drink programs.Richard Auffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03948647697847819742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-3750639448853375902012-09-10T13:22:31.712-04:002012-09-10T13:22:31.712-04:00I think Robert Nadeau at the Boston Phoenix is a u...I think Robert Nadeau at the Boston Phoenix is a useful counter-example: he writes beautifully about wine and beer in just about every review, and has recently started to take note of craft cocktail programs, too. I try to give a worthy drinks program a nod in my Stuff Magazine reviews, but it's awfully difficult to allocate much space when you're limited to 450 words.MC Slim JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10410085368658693000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-45855401348798019172012-09-10T12:56:44.311-04:002012-09-10T12:56:44.311-04:00While, like you, I hope for some description of th...While, like you, I hope for some description of the drinks program in a restaurant review, I don't necessarily consider it a failure on the part of the reviewer. For one thing you have to consider her intent, or who she thinks her target audience is. Your stated primary elements of what constitutes a good restaurant review include the drinks program, but you consider decor/space a minor aspect. The reviewer whose articles you point out as examples may consider the drinks program as secondary and the space she is dining in to be more of a concern to her and the average diner. The average diner either doesn't drink or could care less about what they drink as long as it is familiar to them. I think people like us, who care passionately about what they are drinking with what they are eating, are in the minority.<br /><br />I know that your piece is a rant and that by definition it is a one-sided wild or vehement oratory, but I feel you could have contacted the Boston Globe writer to find out her reasons or motivations. I feel as if that would've been more informative for me and your readers. That being said, I would like to see more attention paid to wine lists or drink programs in restaurant reviews.<br /><br />Cheers.Silenushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16412664711078086147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-9591557936959811372012-09-10T11:59:49.372-04:002012-09-10T11:59:49.372-04:00Sediment,
I would say "dining" is an ...Sediment,<br /> I would say "dining" is an expansive term that includes both restaurants and drinks. No matter what the generic title of the food section states, it is obvious Devra is writing restaurant reviews, and she is considered a professional. So she should properly cover all of the major elements of a restaurant, which include drinks,Richard Auffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03948647697847819742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-72094567693673534682012-09-10T11:57:55.218-04:002012-09-10T11:57:55.218-04:00Hi Jason:
It may be an American thing, as we of...Hi Jason:<br /> It may be an American thing, as we often divorce food from wine, unlike Europeans who have long seen wine and food as an essential pairing. There are very few blogs out there that blend a good mix of food and alcohol. Though I have seen a bit more food blogs now trying to add more alcohol coverage.Richard Auffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03948647697847819742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-86481416244402389082012-09-10T10:59:05.604-04:002012-09-10T10:59:05.604-04:00Well actually, that newspaper column is headed &qu...Well actually, that newspaper column is headed "Food & Dining". Not "Restaurants", nor "Food & Drink".<br /><br />On that basis, the drinks are probably an accompaniment to the food and the dining, n'est ce pas?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sedimentblog.com" rel="nofollow">The Sediment Blog</a>Sedimenthttp://www.sedimentblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-69090439186744079892012-09-10T08:49:34.775-04:002012-09-10T08:49:34.775-04:00Sadly this doesn't surprise me at all. One of ...Sadly this doesn't surprise me at all. One of the things I found so odd about the larger food blogger (recipe, restaurant, vegan, home cook, etc) community was how few people included or talked about drinks at all. I think there is an arbitrary division for a lot of blogger folks that you either blog about food or drink, but not both. While many bloggers do both I think it is quite easy to find ones that specialize. <br /><br />I've often pondered if it is an issue with motivation or experience or just an outright choice to favor one or the other. Considering the historical significance of food and drink together this result seems misguided to me. <br /><br />As a beverage slanted blogger I am more likely now to feature food as part of a pairing or experience post rather than food on its own. <br /><br />JasonJason Phelpshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14877600888412262376noreply@blogger.com