Restaurant Critic Talks Turkey
Melanie Barnard, Professional Foodie is an Expert Guide to Good Eats
Aug 8, 2009
The restaurant critic, who writes for Hearst papers The Advocate (Stamford, CT) and Greenwich Time (Greenwich, CT), says most important in her job is to enjoy all types of cuisine. Folks frequently ask her which type of food she likes best, says Barnard during a recent phone interview from her New Canaan, CT home. "That's like asking me what kid I love the best. You really have to be open and positive about all kinds of food. You can't just go to an Italian restaurant all the time."
The Foodie Club Expands its Numbers
People, she notes, now have a more cultivated palate because of TV cooking and reality shows, travels abroad and most importantly, because of the spread of myriad cultures throughout the country. "The whole dining scene has changed enormously because America has become a far more diverse nation, so our food tastes and cooking styles are more diverse too."
Though admittedly not an expert in all cuisines, Barnard spent many years cooking, developing and writing about recipes and food. She has authored or co-authored 22 cookbooks including the James Beard winner, American Medical Association Family Cookbook. In addition, she wrote a monthly column in Bon Appetit magazine for 15 years, participated for a couple of years in a weekly live cooking segment on WCBS-TV in New York City and appeared frequently on "Good Morning America" and the "Today Show."
It's key for a restaurant reviewer to be open to new experiences, she says. But when Barnard is not 100 percent sure she can accurately judge a cuisine, she brings a guest along who is expert in that area.
Rating a Restaurant
Three elements that must be addressed in a restaurant review are ambiance, service and food, notes Barnard. And there are different standards of judgment. For example, she wouldn't evaluate a neighborhood diner using the same standards as those applied to an eating emporium offering fine dining. "Whatever a restaurant purports itself to be, it needs to be really good in all those three things across the board."
Barnard says it's very difficult for her to be downright nasty when writing a review about a restaurant she doesn't like. "It isn't my nature. If I know ahead of time a restaurant is going to be really terrible, then I do everything in my power to avoid it." Even when she's had a bad experience, she tries to find one or two positive things to say. Most restaurants, she explains, are run by people who are in the hospitality business and trying to do a good job.
On one occasion when she wrote a bad review about a local restaurant, the owners came to picket in front of her home. They left when she called the police. Another time, the owner of a restaurant she panned called to tell her it would be a good idea for her health and safety to review the restaurant again. She did not back down. Says Barnard, "I knew how to speak to him."
Years back, when the food critic was new at her job, she would visit a restaurant a second time to make sure her initial assessment was correct. Over the years, she has become considerably more comfortable with the dining experience. "I pretty much nail it with just one visit," she says. However, if she gives a restaurant a particularly bad or glowing review, she will return to make sure. A revisit was warranted , she recalls, when she planned to praise a restaurant as the best she had been to in years. "If I'm going to say that, I better check it out again."
As to the restaurateur who tops her list, Barnard cites Danny Meyer (owner of New York City's Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern). "Hands down," she says. "He's extraordinary. It's not even about the food.; it's about the philosophy of owning a business. Meyer believes restaurants are spheres of hospitality that should totally make people feel welcome. Every staff person who works for him is treated as well as the customer. He truly believes if you're not happy as a staff person in the hospitality industry, you will not treat customers well. His mantra should be the bottom line for every restaurant."
Weakened Economy Responsible for Revamping Restaurant Industry
Weighing in on how our weakened economy has affected restaurant openings, Barnard says new eateries continue to crowd her list of places to cover. But they offer a much more informal kind of dining style. "Their food is comfortable and less inventive. Every restaurant you go to now has something like mac and cheese. It's comfort food and familiar food and a price point far more reasonable. It's better than paying $15 to eat 'foam.'"
Melanie Barnard writes restaurant review at home
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