Fun With Carbs

Robert Sietsema, restaurant critic for the Village Voice, has a feature in the latest issue of Columbia Journalism Review about the credibility of food critics. It’s a must-read for journalists, food bloggers, wannabe food critics.  Sietsema details the history of professional food critics and how the Internet, among other things, has diminished this role.

Sietsema is probably one of the few true ‘food critics’ out there at this point, if you use the time-honored definition of ‘professional full-time food reviewer paid a salary by a newspaper.’ But the newspaper industry is in dire financial straits, and it’s not getting any better. Many publications are no longer paying full-time (or even freelance) restaurant critics to write beautiful prose about $35 entrees and high-end bottles of wine. There’s just nothing in the budget for that.

In the past, a paper would pay for a critic to visit a restaurant several times (often with several people) and try many appetizers, entrees and desserts, sampling a cross-section of the menu. This was done as anonymously and surreptitiously as possible. Later, the paper would send a professional photographer to shoot a selection of expertly prepared dishes – again, paid for by the publication. While this process ensured that the review was unbiased and honest – and made for gorgeous layouts in the food section – it was expensive. In plain English, newspapers just do not have that kind of cash anymore.

I worked for the Hartford Courant for three years, starting in the summer of 2006. During that period, its parent company, Tribune, declared bankruptcy. In those three years, I watched half of the newsroom staff lose their jobs, whether through layoffs or voluntary buyouts. During one particularly wrenching round of departures, the Courant lost its food editor and its most talented food writer. Slowly but surely, the exquisitely written, photographed and designed restaurant reviews dwindled until they were no more.

Editors responded with a bit of a compromise. “Bargain Bites,” reviews of local affordable fare (typically dinner under $50,) written and photographed by staffers and freelancers, would run in the Thursday calendar section. It’s a setup that would be criticized by food critics of yore, but it filled the void. If you ask me, it even makes dining reviews a little more accessible to diners who wouldn’t necessarily go out and drop $100 on dinner. Here’s a writeup of your favorite local burger pub, or Thai restaurant. Someplace you could actually visit in these economic conditions.

Sietsema also has plenty to say about food bloggers, which of course raised my hackles. It’s true that anyone with an Internet connection can start a blog, or take their rants and raves on Yelp, Chowhound or Urbanspoon. But I believe that educated and savvy foodies have a place online, even if they don’t have a New York Times byline. While the traditional role of newspaper food critic is fading somewhat, it opens up plenty of opportunity for bloggers and amateur critics to share their voices.

I’ll never reach the level of knowledge possessed by Robert Sietsema, Frank Bruni or Amanda Hesser – or even former Courant food critic (and current Houston Chronicle food editor) Greg Morago. These are people whose writing and expertise I admire and emulate. But I’m a trained journalist and writer, for one. I educate myself about food through lots of reading and experimentation, both at the table and in the kitchen. And as Sietsema knows, many food critics started out as general-assignment reporters.

Don’t dismiss the bloggers, Mr. Sietsema. Yes, the role of professional critic is one of the world’s most coveted jobs. But as newspapers try to adapt to falling revenues and increasing operating costs, people turn to the Internet more and more for their food and dining news. The smart web surfers will figure out who has content of value.