 Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is no stranger to jabs at his over-the-top persona. From his first appearances as a contestant on "The Next Food Network Star" to his cross-country speaking tours and swelling empire of restaurants across California and on Carnival Cruise Lines, the spike-haired, flame-shirted, gravel-voiced 44-year-old has been a ubiquitous and polarizing presence on the American culinary (or in Fierian parlance, "kulinary") scene. Fieri has taken his share of heat from comics, fellow chefs and critics alike for his bombastic delivery and monumentally macho food fixations - but perhaps never so pointedly and deftly as in New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells' review of Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square. Wells' scorched-earth review - which not only gave the 500-seat restaurant zero out of a possible four stars, but also designated it as "poor" - blazed across the internet, with websites like The Awl, the Village Voice's Fork in the Road blog, Grub Street and Gawker rounding up the most brutal lines from the review and the fast, furious, and mostly gleeful response from Twitter. A few highlights from the review, which consisted of 34 rapid-fire questions, save for the closing line, which was "Thanks."
Everyone's a critic, some just call it their day job Blistering quips, to be sure, but at the core of the review, was perhaps the most relevant question: Does Fieri's televised evangelism of "no-collar" cuisine actually translate to the food he's serving in his restaurant?
Wells, in turn, was taken to task by Guy's fellow Food Network stars like Alton Brown and Michael Symon, as well as The Today Show for being too harsh and personal. Others assert that Wells' perceived elitism got in the way of his enjoyment of the food, Fieri was an obvious and easy target, or that the restaurant itself shouldn't have been targeted for a New York Times review to begin with. To that, Wells (a longtime friend of mine) responded in an e-mail exchange, "Sure, there are restaurants that should probably be exempt from the rigors of a New York Times review. Some little joint that is just minding its own business, servings its neighborhood without making any great claims for itself, for example. Times critics generally don't go out of their way to pan places that nobody's heard of. But this is not the case with Guy's American Kitchen & Bar." And is he an elitist, indeed? Wells said...sort of. "If wanting nachos and fries that taste good and don't make you want to avert your eyes makes you an elitist, then I guess I am." Are professional restaurant critics necessary? One question remains: Will the negative review have any effect on the restaurant's business, or will Fieri's Kulinary Krew keep dropping dollars on Donkey Sauce-drenched fries and erroneously spelled Roasted Pork Bahn Mi sandwiches as they roll up to Flavortown? No, seriously - this is a question we'd love to have you answer. Do you pay attention to professional restaurant reviews, negative or positive, and do they have an effect on where you decide to eat? Let us know in the comments below and we'll share your answers in an upcoming post. Thanks. Previously - Written in the stars: the art of the bad review |
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I just kind of have to laugh, I'm sorry, lol! I don't see myself ever eating as his food establishment, but that's probably because I am not going to NYC any time soon....... And I think I would like to try Tom C's restaurant first!
Going out on a limb here, but I'd bet that Guy Fieri has never stepped foot inside that place, nor has he even seen the menu. He's just selling his name, to be put on a corporate vision of a tourist eatery that reflects the public persona of the namesake. It's kind of like how Donald Trump licenses his name to grace crappy office towers around the world.
This, of course, is far worse than if he was more directly responsible for the disgustation described in that review.
The NY Times was nothing compared to the bashing done of Guy Fieri by The New York Observer's Joshua David Stein. He was BRUTAL. It was not a review – it was a personal attack. Stein's "review"'s lowlights include:
- he STARTED by defaming Guy's family name by claiming it was originally "Ferry" and Guy changed it to "Fieri" to be more "ethnic sounding". (Hey Stein, many names were massacred at Ellis Island and had to be changed back to their original spelling later).
- Stein then went on to claim Fieri's food was "public defecation" (and therefore a crime citing Public Health statutes);
- Stein then spent 2 paragraphs destroying the decor – inside and out – even writing, "Embedded in the bar are vials of Mr. Fieri's semen." HUH? This is a restaurant review?
- then it gets really ugly as Stein spends the next FOUR paragraphs blaming Fieri solely for the country's high cholesterol and obesity; he then cites reams of obesity statistics and writes, "For if he were truly ignorant of the effects of his actions, Mr. Fieri would simply be a fool. Instead, he’s a villain." Huh?
- Stein concludes his assault by divulging Fieri's income ($8.5 million – maybe), that he's on vacation in Italy with his family (instead of being with Stein – attention all burglars);
- Stein wraps up his "review" with these 2 lines (that clearly describe the restaurant's cuisine):
"Mr. Fieri is the culinary equivalent of the gun lobby, which cloaks its self-serving interests in the garments of freedom and peddles them to an older rural white population (while it is young urban black men who suffer disproportionately from gun violence)." HUH? And then
"With Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar, Mr. Fieri joins these deeply anti-American Americans in shouting out, “Give them liberty and give them death.”
This was not a review, it was an EDITORIAL – and character assasination. Guy – lawyer up!
Food critics are the dining world's version of politicians, out of touch with the masses.
Yes. They need to TCOB better.
Holy cow, for those prices I think anyone...ANYONE, no snobbery needed...would expect well-executed food. If they can't get nachos and fries right, well, that's worth mentioning. Details matter, and poor service and cold food are part of the whole experience.
Maybe there was an agenda going in, but if the food quality lived up to the prices I'll bet the review would've gone differently.
I have run a few kitchens, and if you are serving regular fare, it's hard to screw up. If you do, it basically has to be intentional, a result of indifference, which is what I seem to be reading here. I don't think there's anything on his menu that requires a chef from the CIA. You just have to care – if you do, the food will always be good. Maybe not great, but good.
if pete wells' well-written, humorous, bad review was the only one that panned the restaurant, i think that it would be easier to disregard it. but because his review is but the cherry on top of dozens of bad reviews, it is easier to accept his assessment.
defending something that no one likes suggests that everyone but the defender has a bias. this is absolutely possible. but, to me, at least, it would seem that a recommendation to actually go to guy's restaurant would be like someone telling me to see Gigli.
Just another overpaid wanabe snob, who burns water when he tries to cook paning someone else's food for a buck.
1 bad review isn't a warning sign, 100 bad reviews is.
I ate there– it was horrible. Just because they exist, doesn't make tourist traps that serve crap accetable.
the celebrity chef restaurant days are over
if the chef is hawking his restaurant and not actually in the kitchen doing the cooking, the chef deserves all the criticism
"where's the beef?" it needs to be on the plate; not in the celebrity chef's wallet
A bad review from a professional restaurant critic is generally a good sign that it's not that bad. Food critics tend to be and like all flash and no substance. If not, then why should one shrimp on a bed of endive cost $100.
All flash and no substance.
I don't read restaurant reviews. I'm just a blue collar guy with blue collar tastes. I haven't been exposed to fancy restaurants very often, and when I was I just wanted simple food. Put squid parts on my plate and I'll get sick. Guaranteed. When I have read a few reviews they always seemed like pretentious people trying to be cutesy at the expense of someone's business. I'm sure there are terrible restaurants we need warnings about, but reviews like the one being discussed here just seem snotty. I've never been to Guy's restaurants, but my first guess, given the nastiness of the wording in the review, is that this reviewer just has some kind of grudge. Maybe if reviewers didn't come off so catty I might take some of what they say seriously.
True dat.
Good food at good prices is always the best.
Sounds like a greasy food kind of joint, what the he## did a food critic expect?? Think that guy had a beef with Fieri to begin with..
Food critics are just movie critics with a better vocabulary. What they write isn't worth the paper it is printed on.
I've been to 2 of the places that Guy reviewed on Diner's Drive Ins and Dives and have to admit-he did get it right. One of them I never would have set foot in! However, I use Yelp and Trip Advisor's reviews more than professional reviews
The pc driven ppl with all this phony hate is comical...........
must be his nascar theme. or maybe he's a conservative.
typical liberal lynching.
rotflmao
;)
So because it was in the New York Times you're assuming this had something to do with the Fox-perceived and idjit-approved "liberal agenda" conspiracy theory. I've met food and music critics and not one of them had a political thought in their heads. Guess what! Nobody's planning the future of America as a socialist country behind the doors of the NY Times.
I generally take food critics reports with a grain of salt. Everybody has different tastes in food. But if the report states that a restaurant is dirty and unsanitary, yeah, I pay attention to that. I would probably never check that restaurant out, due to the report.
From the review:
"Why augment tortilla chips with fried lasagna noodles that taste like nothing except oil? Why not bury those chips under a properly hot and filling layer of melted cheese and jalapeños instead of dribbling them with thin needles of pepperoni and cold gray clots of ground turkey? "
Ugh what? That sounds terrible. From Arizona here and if you mess up NACHOS (really pasta, pepperoni in Nachos? WTF) this badly...well I can believe the rest. I'd also be miffed if I got cold, limp fried. Hate that.
Don't worry America , You all will be eating Chinese food in the not to distant future .
Authentic Chinese food, I hope.
How "authentic" do you think it will be on non Chinese soil, Gomer?
He has to pay for all the hair gel somehow!!
Enter Chef Gordon Ramsay publicity stunt.
I decide what I like to eat and don't depend on others perceived notion of what I should like. Where do critics get off being so high and mighty that they think they know what is best for others. Everyone should think for themselves and make their decisions based on what they experience not on what is decided for them by some know-it-all! I have little tolerance for people who act like cattle, following in line behind all the others. Come on people, think for yourselves!!!
That's good and all, but if you're purporting to offer up foods of Americana (fried calamari, Louisiana chicken, Nachos, meatloaf etc.) then it should be as authentic and decently represented. I think the issue the reviewer had was that these supposed dishes are not even remotely close to the real stuff but they advertise as comfort food. If you mess up Nachos, I dunno what to tell you, yeah you're doing it wrong.
All I can think of is "Life of Brian" –
"You are all individuals!"
"We are all individuals!"
So glad Americans have willfully traded their "two cents" for "common".
I was a chef for fifteen years and I have always said that 'professional food critics' are nothing more than line cooks who couldn't keep the job. Often embittered and always speaking from their own stomachs rather than any true depth of knowledge, what is the difference between a 'professional' food critic and your neighbor who doesn't like garlic mayonnaise on their fries? Absolutely nothing! And they should be treated as such; merely a stranger who is telling you about a restaurant they went to. It has nothing at all to do with professionalism except they get a paycheck for eating out while the rest of us pay the bill.
I only let the professional food critics affect my choice of restaurants when I'm going for something really special and expect to spend a significant amount of time and money on the experience. Otherwise, at a place like Guy's? Not at all.
DDD may be popular, but I always thought a lot of the food looks gross. Everything's oversized and greasy-looking. Bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to a hamburger.
And Guy (and Paula, and Giada, etc.) – please stop talking with your mouth full. Swallow first, and THEN tell me what you think of the food. Otherwise you're ruining my appetite.
OK, why is my comment still awaiting moderation? Is it because I used the word g r o s s?
Don't take it personal.
It's a computer.
Sounds like part of a Repugnican conspiracy to get back at the liberals that liberated their country (sic). Sticks and stones will break my bones, but good food will never hurt me.
Awesome response ! And the best part is this is only giving Guy SO much free publicity and people will WANT to go there just to try it now..so what this guy intneded for his harm, will actually be used for Guy's good. :)
Since when is electing the same idiots again, liberating the country?
And since when is an elitist New York critic, a Republican? Sound more like a d-bag liberal to me.
Dave's not here.
And to me, the 2004 Presidential election verdict was more mortifying than 2012.
We barely escaped that regime with our country still intact.
The election's over, politards! GET A LIFE, LOSERS!
Yeah, politics on a food blog.
Sheesh.
Wells, good show. Fieri, did they spell it right?
Let me interject: Armed drones are killing civilians with your tax dollars, but the "socialists" are going to cut Social Security. Tar Sands pipeline for profit, not independence, and carbon laden atmosphere, so Evolve! Donkey Sauce?? Try "clean coal" in the twilight of your civilization, so-called. As if.
Oh, and rad the Onion on Afghanistan, where General Cuckolder the Adulterer was running a live, violent War, ostensibly "for your freedom."
Who cares whay one critic says? What are the yelp reviews?
I visit NYC several times a year. I avoid Times Square in general, restaurants in Times Square explicitly.
But no, I do not take the advise of Food Critics, I do however read what other, non food critics, say about a restaurant if I am looking to see if I will try some place new.
its clear he opened the restaurant to cater to the sheeple who dont think about the food they put in their bodies. Just that its owned by a celebrity. Thats good enough.
And he's laughing all the way to the bank.
Would ever eat there. He recommends some of the worst places. Been to 3 and only 1 was ok, the other 2 were just not good.
Never
All this because of one man's opinion? Crazy world we live in...
I used to like Guy before I learned what a bigot he is.
I heard that too. And a homophobe, and creepy dude who stares at womens chests without meeting their eyes. His beer-butt chicken recipe is da bomb though....
It's in TIMES SQUARE! It's competing against Planet Hollywood for crying out loud. It is what it is.
Planet Hollywood's burgers are good. Their nachos are pretty decent. Their food descriptions do not turn your stomach before you insert fork, or French fry, in your mouth. I have no problem with this review.
This guy's idea of good food is a quarter pounder covered with blue cheese, moose meat chili, bacon, salt pork, lard, and a side of fried onion rings.
And a diet pepsi.
I'd rather have a root canal.
Now I wanna eat there.
Depends on who the critic is, honestly. I don't agree with all critics, and even specific criticisms of those I like, especially when you base it on an overall collection of reviews. Dining, ordering, and eating are incredibly subjective processes and an "experience eater" has a unique palate tuned to certain levels of salt, acid, spice, etc. of their own preference. But, when it comes to the finer points, I'm usually (internally) haggling over a star or so.
We won't all agree, but I will say that I'm not interested in eating at Guy Fieri's spot in NYC. There are too many amazing restaurants in the city to worry about adding that one to my hit list.
Guy Fieri is well known as a liberal and a supporter of Barack Obama, so I would not patronize his establishment. For that matter, I would not trust him to tell me the time of day.
Good lord shut up.
rofl! I loved your response.
Obozo is da prezidet fo da nex foe yeas.
Get ova it.
Godda go. A'm studyin' foe da next spellin exam at screwl.
Well done. Bringing politics into a food critic story. Still p!ssed are we?
Thanks for your two cents! Now do you actually have anything to say about food?
the presidential election has nothing to do with this...get over it!
@Pliny
I was going to give Fieri's place a pass, but I'll make a point of eating there twice now if only to cancel out your vote *and* your inane commentary. You're setting back your political & culinary goals at least 5 years.
This is cute. A boorish American food "expert" serving boorish American "food" to boorish Americans. How can this fail?
Americans ALL have such unsophisticated tastes. Who better than Fieri to serve them?
Of course, there's nothing boorish about you.
Or is there?
Really, Jeann, what an ignorant statement. This is a country of over 300 million people, MANY of whom love good food. If you actually knew anything about food, you would know that it doesn't have to come out of a Michelin -starred kitchen to be fabulous. Categorizing Americans and our cuisine as 'boorish' tells me that you have either never been here, or if you have, you have been too lazy to go anywhere except the 'chain' restaurants.
I chose Other. If I read a bad review, especially of a trendy place that may be over priced, I'm likely to be swayed. I don't have many opportunities to go out – why would I risk going to someplace that got a horrible review? How stupid would I feel then?
On the other hand, there are plenty of young people who go out all the time, are just out to people watch, and a bad plate of nachos just means they'll get a slice of pizza down the street later.
You get what you pay for....ever heard of "Toby Keith's I love this bar and grill"? Restaurants serving average to horrible food just using a persons likeness to get people through the door. It's pathetic how most restaurants operate these days. But the only way for you to see how they are is to go for yourself and to not listen to the critics that are paid for their opinions.
I'm not surprised his restaurants are bad. Diners, Drive-ins and Dives seems to be him and his friends driving around looking for free food in exchange for pointing a camera at the cook's face. His other show never impressed me either. I don't even remember the name of it. He seems like a real guy's guy, someone to hang out with during a football game, but that's about it. Wasn't he caught up in some divorce/child custody scandal a few years ago? Guy's brother took the kids to Canada and refused to bring them back to the US (and their mother) until the divorce was finalized?
Whoa. Can you please give credit to his 1st generation convertible Camaro. I do not know if it is his, but maybe we can give him the benefit of the doubt. stan
I'm WAYYYYYY more persuaded by actual consumer reviews like people on Yelp than I am with professional food critics. Food critics aren't looking for the same things that regular people who actually love to eat are looking for.
I don't trust Yelp – it's too easy for a restaurant owner to post a bunch of great reviews under different email addresses.
Go on yelp.com, there are people leaving reviews on there saying that they are huge Guy Fieri fans and couldn't wait to eat there who said the place was terrible. The reviewer might have been harsh, but normal folks on yelp are saying pretty much the same thing. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is $13 for god sakes. I understand it's time square but if I'm paying $10 for some onion rings and $25 for a burger, they better be some of the best I've ever eaten.
Okay. This is pretty rough. But if what you are saying is true, then it is pretty tough. But true. stan
Critics are known for not only being WRONG but being mean spirited in their reviews to help their REPUTATION of being a critic with discerning taste. I would listen to my friends long before I would listen to a critic about a place to eat.
And remember, a critics job is to pan things. If all they did was say everything was great would tey really have any cedibility?
The show critics panned OKLAHOMA! when it came out as a terrible cowboy show, and it went on to be one of the most successful shows on Broadway in its day.
I think Mr. Fieri's food may be mediocre because he spends so much time being a television personality (remember he hosts a game show, too) that his food is bound to suffer.
I was in NYC about a month ago. I was in a hotel near Times Square. My friend and I saw Guys restaurant and decided to give it a try....it was predictably expensive. As for the food.... it was OK...not great but just OK. I wouldnt go back to an expensive place for just OK food. I thought the interior was fine.
I don't pay any attention to food critics whatsoever. I like to formulate my own opinions about a restaurants' fare.
If Guy said that he likes a dish, but does not in reality, or if the chef demonstrates a dish, but does not offer it to his guests, then there is room for criticism. We should not criticize him just because of his personality. He is over the top, loud; a lot of us are super low key and quiet. But neither one is better. He is just in the public specter, we are quietly living our days (me in a loft in downtown Los Angeles.) He did visit the Nickel Diner on Main, which was pretty cool. Bon Appetit.
I'm familiar with Guy Fieri's cooking. I used to live in Santa Rosa, CA and have been to his Johnny Garlic's chain. I won't go back.
The bad review doesn't suprise me.
I agree, the locals compare it to a local cheap chain restaurant. Lots of hype with VERY average food!
I find critics and experts like on Chopped to be such pretentious clowns. Who would even read the NY TIMES but silly clowns hoping to pretend they are people! FOOD does not have to look good But it has to have taste. Guy`s triple D gives us non snobs an alternative to crapolia !
If Guy said that he likes a dish, but does not in reality, or if the chef demonstrates a dish, but does not offer it to his guests, then there is room for criticism. We should not criticize him just because of his personality. He is over the top, loud; a lot of us are super low key and quiet. But neither one is better. He is just in the public specter, we am quietly living my days in a loft in downtown Los Angeles (he did a piece on
Sorry about this. My complete thoughts are somewhere above.
Considering Wells has to dine out to get a meal because he cannot fend for himself, his criticisms should be all but moot. Wells reminds me of sports writers who never played the sports they write about.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I am here to tell you that Pete Wells can cook his ass off.
That does not sound very appealing!
HEY HEY! LANGUAGE, young lady!!!!!1111!11
If a "review " has to be explained to the public, you aren't very talented as a writer or critic. There is a distinct difference between criticism and an attack of a personal nature. The attack is out of pure jealousy and pettiness. The criticism should be constructive in nature. I see neither from Wells. His elitist attitude towards the "mom and pop" neighborhood restaurants makes him suspect of his true intentions. Most Americans do not dine in five star eateries, and if they do, frequency does not become part of the equation. Most of blue collar America dine in reasonably priced venues, that provide a menu we can relate to.
Here's the thing - Guy's restaurant is really not hole-in-the-wall, mom 'n' pop or cheap at all! It's a 500 seat place in the middle of Times Square. Mac & cheese is $15, ribs are $26.50 and onion rings are $10. For that, it should be the best version of each of those that you've ever had.
Last time I ate Guy's cooking my thought was, "I can do better at a quarter the cost".
If I have that opinion of any restaurant, I don't go back.
Generally, food and art "critics" are elitist narcissi-cysts (yes, spelling intentional). Unless the service was rated as horrible, and you think the menu is interesting, it is always worth a try.
I agree.
Those who can't "do" end up teaching or critiquing....
Ouch!! A grand spanking for Wells!!
Over the top, no need to be that vicious to anyone.
I'm sure he is a likable fellow however, I tried watching his show and can't do it. I can't handle seeing someone stuff their face like that and especially all the greasy foods. Turns my stomache to watch it so, I don't. Large obesity issue in the US from all that grease and the size of the portions are huge. Don't get me wrong, I'm no health nut and like junk once in a while however, he may as well dive into a bucket of lard and start chowing down.
Guy Fieri is someone I enjoy watching. He has fun with DDD, and is easily the biggest Food Network Star to come from the show. I've tried a few recipes and they aren't bad. Do you think Emeril was successful on TV because his food was fantastic or because people liked him?
I tried a LOT of stuff he cooked and some of it was really, pretty bad.
If I was Guy, I would blow it off and continue doing his show. He'll be around long after the food critic is gone.
LOL.. Well this is cool. I've thought this guys food 'sucked' and he had poor taste... With all the fake media hype on the FN on this guy, I thought maybe it was 'only me'. Glad to know I am not in the minority..
I wouldn't eat there for many reasons, the largest of which is that it's in Times Square! Walking there is like swimming through people, it's just not enjoyable. Go find somewhere else to eat and actually enjoy the meal.
Guy Fieri has purposely developed a character that is big, bold and brash. And good for him because you won't forget him. You may like him or you may dislike him and that is your right. I like the fact that he goes out and finds places where he can heap compliments on the food they serve. In doing so he has helped many small independent restaurants more than any amount of advertising they could ever hope to purchase. In doing so he has made a career for himself and good for him.
The food critic on the other hand has done nothing of value, contributed nothing of worth and has merely come across as a complete and contemptible ass. Clearly at odds with everything encountered, his review lacked any degree of objectivity and merely served to display himself as a subjective and bitter person. He may in fact be a great person, but his review has served him as poorly as the review painted Fieri's new restaurant.
So eat at Fieri's place or don't. It's still a relatively free country and the choice is yours to go or not, to return or not and to like it or not. Speaking personally, I'd go to the restaurant because of the review. And even if it is bad, I'll still have more respect for Fieri than any critic of any kind in any place at any time. Period.
I love Guy Fieri as a television personality. His triple D is a lot of fun to watch, and whenever I travel I make a list of the restaurants featured that I would never have otherwise discovered. I have had many extraordinary meals because of that.
BUT......I have watched a few of his Guys Big Bite cooking shows, and I rarely find his recipes appealing. I would not patronize a restaurant based on his style of food.
So, TV personality: A+.
Chef whose restaurant I would patronize: D...maybe C..
The review was just plain mean. The people who eat at Fieri's restaurants also eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, Cheeseburger in Paradise, and all the other super touristy restaurants.
Douchebag review about a douchebag chef and his garbage food. With so much great food to be had in NYC, if you choose to eat at this gilded turd of a restaurant you get what you deserve. Most of the tourist bovine will think it's great.
It might matter if I lived somewhere within a 1-hour drive of a nationally-known restaurant – and Mickey D's, BK, etc. don't count. Only national (maybe regional?) here is Sizzler! I'd KILL for an Outback, Black Angus, even a Hometown Buffet (don't hurt me!) ☺
Before going to a place I've never been before, I will browse online reviews from regular people. I trust their opinion and tastes more than a professional food critic. Same with movies – critics will often slam and hate movies that the general public really enjoys.
I'll read the comments by the people that ate there and see if opinions are largely positive or negative, and also the reasoning behind it. Unless it's overwhelmingly negative by the vast majority of people, I won't steer away from the restaurant.
From my own past experience, I've eaten at places where a lot of online reviews sucked, but the place actually turned out to be very good.
You just can't trust the internet.
I choose OTHER to the poll question because I really don't go out to restaurants that much and when I do it's not to some NYT rated place. I don't really ever recall reading a review and then going.
Unfortunately, if you take a look at the Yelp reviews for Guy's restaurants (Tex Wasabi, Johnny Garlic's), they are mostly pretty dismal.
It was an entertaining review, but unlike the restaurant itself, the review seems to be for a relatively niche audience.
Who among us could tell the difference between "roasted-garlic mayonnaise," and "Miracle Whip with minced raw garlic" as the reviewer condescended? To me this speaks to a level of gastronomical distinction that I am at once saddened and relieved to report I do not excel at. Is it embarrassing that I don't fully understand the differences – no matter how distinct – between mayonnaise and Miracle Whip? To those who know the difference, I'm sure it's egregiousness of the highest order, but this ignorance has served me well because I can enjoy a sandwich that hosts either without really noting the difference, thus enjoying either or both equally.
And the ability to understand the nuances between roasted and raw garlic is surely a sophistication and talent to be commended. However, I can report that in my 29 years on earth the ability to know the difference between garlic that has been liberated by mechanisms of cooking and garlic that is freshly chopped or grated has yet to be developed. To me they are shades of the same color; that they are not exactly the same shade matters so little as to be inconsequential. My priorities are such that it hasn't occurred to me to study the difference between cooked and uncooked garlic; that is not to say that knowing the difference is not respectable, just that it shouldn't really be expected of the general public.
You have no idea how much I appreciate literacy!
I get your point - you're suggesting that critics are so rarefied that what is a huge, deal-breaking issue for them are subtle, inconsequential details to the vast majority of humanity. Those that claim to notice such minutia probably go about putting on airs and are likely to be full of hot air themselves.
I'm not sure I really agree, although I will concede that a bad critic might do just what you suggest and stop there. I suggest a good critic is able to discern those subtle differences, but what makes them good isn't being able to do so per se but rather the ability to then communicate what those differences are and why they matter. Or, to put it another way, to educate the readers and help them/us become more knowledgeable and discerning ourselves.
That presupposes, of course, that the reader has some degree of passion for the subject and cares to take the time to learn. Your garlic example makes me wonder if that describes you.
"However, I can report that in my 29 years on earth the ability to know the difference between garlic that has been liberated by mechanisms of cooking and garlic that is freshly chopped or grated has yet to be developed."
Raw and roasted garlic are two entirely different beasts, and the distinction is far from subtle in just about every aspect relevant to food - taste naturally, but also color, texture, and odor. (Try it!) Your self-proclaimed inability to discern the difference and cavalier attitude toward the ability to do so suggest that either four of your five senses may have serious deficits, or that you really just don't pay a lot of attention to what you're shoveling in your gullet.
I get your point – you're suggesting that critics are so rarefied that what is a huge, deal-breaking issue for them are subtle, inconsequential details to the vast majority of humanity. Those that claim to notice such minutia probably go about putting on airs and are likely to be full of hot air themselves.
I'm not sure I really agree, although I will concede that a bad critic might do just what you suggest and stop there. I suggest a good critic is able to appreciate those subtle differences, but what makes them good isn't being able to do so per se but rather the ability to then communicate what those differences are and why they matter. Or, to put it another way, to educate the readers and help them/us become more knowledgeable and discerning ourselves.
That presupposes, of course, that the reader has some degree of passion for the subject and cares to take the time to learn. Your garlic example makes me wonder if that describes you.
"However, I can report that in my 29 years on earth the ability to know the difference between garlic that has been liberated by mechanisms of cooking and garlic that is freshly chopped or grated has yet to be developed."
Raw and roasted garlic are two entirely different beasts, and the distinction is far from subtle in just about every aspect relevant to food – taste naturally, but also color, texture, and odor. (Try it!) Your self-proclaimed inability to draw the distinction and suggestion of cavalier pride in not being able to do so suggest that either four of your five senses may have serious deficits, or that you really just don't pay a lot of attention to what you're shoveling in your gullet.
Um...not so hard to tell the difference between "roasted" and "raw". Just sayin'. :) I don't think a degree in culinary arts or a 5 star Michelin rating is required for that kind of distinction; I'm not even sure you'd need a very basic junior high school Home Ec class for that......then again my friend in high school thought you could "burn" water if you let it boil too long so...
A review that is that negative only tells me one thing... The guy doing the review hates everything there is about the subject he is reviewing. This dude obviously has a major beef with Guy. The is no way possible that the food would be that horrible. The place simply wouldn't still be open if it was. If I lived closer, I'd go just to see what the fuss is all about.
Anything is possible, but I tend to agree. Maybe the place just is that awful, but that seems unlikely considering how much promo it was given. Guy would've known truly bad food would hurt his rep and his brand, so it doesn't seem likely that he wouldn't have ensured quality control.
I'm skeptical as to where the truth lies on this one.
Guy Fieri is the most obnoxious "chef" on television. The fact that the food is inedible at his new tourist-trap restaurant is not in the least surprising.
Go ahead and call Pete Wells a snob...but it's a bit like calling Paul Revere an alarmist.
I went to the new restaurant in NYC in October for lunch. I had the pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and I thought that it was a great sandwich! Everyone was very friendly, also.
I went to Fieri's restaurant in Sacramento and it was AWFUL! He should be ashamed to slap his name on a place that is just a fancy Chili's with unusual ingredients. It still has to taste good!
The only reviews I care about are those of other patrons. That's why I use Yelp! and OpenTable to help me make an informed dinning decision.
Other:
If it's a review in the NewYorkTimes about anything, I'll ignore it. The "Times" has the most biased snobs on the planet who cannot write a single objective statement about any subject, be it movies, music, Broadway, or food.
When you have a character with an ego bigger than his guy, he is asking for the attention. If you want to talk the talk then you had better walk the walk. If not, you're going to get called out for it. When you are taking people's money and giving them the impression that you are a professionally-recognized chef and you don't deliver, you are a fraud. I applaud the NYT for their review and I wish more people would open their eyes and stop idolizing chefs just because they're on TV. From personal experience, Guy is arrogant and is not doing much for good food or the chef profession. He an Paula Deen need to hook up and get a TV show filmed by cameras that don't record.
Guy isn't doing anything for the profession?? You are right, he isn't promoting local businesses with his show. He isn't inspiring young people who want to become a chef or start their own restaurant. Here is the great thing about America. If you don't like him or his show don't WATCH it! If you don't care for his food or restaurants don't EAT there. Why not do us a favor and stop commenting!
Because this is a comment board?
I disagree with you. I've seen several underrated, but excellent local little restaurants around the country featured in his shows. These restaurants would not get the kind of coverage he gives them any other way and they deserve the highlight – at first glance, they don't appear to be much, but they are often tiny gems only the locals know about. Whether Guy can cook – I don't know. But the man knows a lot about eating good food. Clearly you don't, but you want people to think you do.
I rank food critics right along side the celebrity spokesperson. Useless, as neither one, has ever swayed me to purchase or reject, a single product they've reviewed, eaten, or pitched. But thanks anyways...........
If you end up at this restaurant, your first problem is that you want to pay $30/plate for chicken fingers so you can eat on Times Square. Do yourself a favor and hail a cab or get on a train and head south. If you can't find good food in NYC God help you.
The review was probably deserved though. Sounds pretty awful for what I'm sure are inflated prices.
Guy Fieri. Please!
Although he may just be the perfect cook for you Americans with your unsophisticated tastes. Like little children with your chicken tenders.
It sounds like you have never actually dined in an American city. You served up your condescending comment with an extra helping of pretentious BS though. Well done.
Just another piece of Eurotrash...
I love the comments from the people who are going to spend money at this craphouse after reading in glorious detail how bad the food is. "Why, I'll show that New York Times guy! I'll spend $100 bucks on a rotten meal at this joint, when I could have spent $100 at a dozen other rotten restaurants in Times Square. That'll show that nasty old Pete Wells!"
This guy sux, very annoying on tv, no real surprise
I decide whether I like a restaurant or not based on my taste, not the taste of a food critic or a master chef. There are plenty of food items that I don't like that may other people do. Would I still try Guy's restaurant after the review? Sure. Would I return just because it IS Guy's restaurant even if I did not like it? No. The same would be true for a multiple Michelin star restaurant. I know that based on public persona I would really like to kick back and have a beer with Michael Symon, Guy Fieri and Alton Brown... Pete Wells? Not so much... who wants to hang out with someone who criticizes everybody... :-) Note: I do not know any of the players in real life, so it may well be that Symon, Fieri and Brown are all elitist and Wells is a grounded nice guy... but since the chance of me actually getting to know any of them is slight I guess it doesn't matter any more than the review does.
If the food is that bad the problem will take care of itself. Either it will get better or they can close the doors. I think this review may backfire and create more business as people will want to see if its really that bad.
The snobbish, elitists food critic is a relic of days gone by. A long forgotten dinosaur with no fossil to be found. They were needed when the “Internet’s” didn’t exist and people waited with fevered anticipation for the newspaper to arrive.
I thought the review was mean, but since when does having expertise and experience equate to "snobbish and elitist?"
Food critics have a purpose. They visit way more restaurants than any of us will, and they compare. I may not be as picky as they are about some things, but I sure do want to know if the garlic is roasted or raw if it says roasted on the menu.
Critics... LMFAO
Fieri makes himself a target. He's making gobs of money preying on idiots by convincing them his garbage is edible. They need to be schooled.
What kind of real man reviews cooked food anyway?
Not everyone can be Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern or Masaharu Morimoto. Which really is a touch depressing.
Guy must be a republican, and the New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells must be democrat. Because only a democrat would be that vicious. Sounds like they had it out for Guy to discredit him. On the lighter side, Guy can get Gordon Ramsey to step in and help him out lol.
That one I would so watch on repeat. Fieri and Ramsey... Good lord...
Hear! Hear!
It looks like NY Times just deleted the review from their website. Or that's what my phone is showing.
Nope. Still up.
It pulled up this time. Must have been my phone. It is a funny review.
I first saw the review mentioned on my local newspaper food blog. It's hilarious to read.
And well, if Wells had that bad of an experience, then the restaurant should do an assessment and make damn sure no one has an experience like that again.
After a review like that I am more tempted to try the place. I am looking for some good American food. Not some foo foo fluff on a plate in a pretentious atmosphere like the critics like..
Where do I make reservations? :-)
That's a totally silly comment, Jenn. There's great, affordable, straightforward American food that anyone – including a journalist – can enjoy. I guarantee you Peter Wells could list a dozen great places in NYC to buy hearty chicken fingers and good nachos. Your sort of cynicism is worth less than a Guy Fieri salad.
You sound like a typical snob.
Hahahaha I feel the same way, where do I make reservations! Just because someone "supposedly" has a testing palate, doesnt mean that everyone else is the same.
I'm all for taking professional reviews with a grain of salt, whether they be for movies, food, or some other service... but who are these people who comprise the majority (!) of poll respondents above that happily spend their hard-earned money on food described, in detail, as disgusting, limp, ghostly, inept, and gross? I've gladly eaten at restaurants or seen movies I was interested in despite a lukewarm review, but my cash is too scarce to risk for the sake of "sticking it to" an "elitist" journalist. I appreciate the warning.
Like I care what some elitist foodie thinks. I'd give much more weight to a review by joe six pack.
Edwin – it's fun to slam "elitists," but something tells me that when push comes to shove, you'd rather spend your money on surer bets.
That's the whole point Michael. It's America. Everyone has a right to their opinion and we have a right to try Guy's restaurant. If anyone sounds like an elitist snob it is MichaelJ. Hey my name is MichaelJ and I am jealous of how popular Guy is. Don't eat at this restaurant. lol
If Fieri's going to comment on others' food, he'd better know exactly what good food entails. Apparently, he doesn't.
Who care what some snobbish food critic has to say? People think way to highly of themselves sometimes...damn narcissistic fools.
I think highly of myself for knowing the difference between "too" and "to."
You are just unforgiving of a simple spelling error. I don't think highly of you at all.
I thought the review was hysterical and I agree with his point: It's not that the concept is low brow, it's that the food wasn't any good. I love a good Mac & Cheese or plate of nachos as much as anyone but if they're bad, they're bad! As for your poll, I would never go to a Guy Fieri restaurant anyway, so while funny, the review didn't change my opinion.
When it comes to annoying, Fieri is right up there with D!ck Vitale, Nancy Pelosi and Joy Behar, but if you are in NYC, the home to some of the world's best restaurants and you dine in Times Square, you should be publicly flogged.
Who pizzed in his Cheerios this morning?
I did. And then I number TWO'd.
So you two-ded?
Now that was a classic line! Two funny.