Nathan

here's why I disagree: we know that restaurants with active three or four star pretensions keep an eye out for Bruni. especially ones that just opened. we know that they still sometimes miss him (the Russian Tea Room, Bouley). otherwise he would never have poor service at that level. but most of the restaurants he reviews are not 3 and 4 star restaurants...or even restaurants with credible claims for that (and even at the the 3 and 4 star level I think they'll probably often miss him on rereviews...was CB really expecting him?). they're not catching him. ok, so the ones with a lot of buzz might still keep an eye out (Freeman's for example...and we know they still missed at least one of his visits...)...but based upon his service eviscerations...we know that they often don't. why does it matter? because when a restaurant recognized Bruni they do the following: A. put the best service team on his table. B. notify the chef. C. make two dishes of everything his table orders and prioritize them over everything else (while still pacing them so it's not obvious) D. taste both of the dishes at the pass...and send out the better executed one. so, yeah...it matters. even if it's as much as 50% of the time.

I haven't seen any that were recent or reflected his weight loss.

Gawker is very wired into PR and publishing. Gawker asserts that RG has a history of deliberately attempting to garner comps (I'm told that's true by people with personal knowledge as well...) (Gawker is a bunch of people by the way) Gael says that RG is wrong on anonymity. of course she is. we know for a fact that Bruni is not recognized most of the time. (bizarrely enough...although Bruni might be more recognized at 3 and 4 star restaurants...well, not anymore)...I daresay that RG is probably more recognized at the lower levels. (it doesn't hurt that she's introduced herself to half the chefs in NY).

more on RG here: http://gawker.com/news/danyelle-freeman/ my view of her as an industry shill isn't exactly an uncommon one it seems....and gawker is a heck of a lot more wired into that sort of thing than anyone here.

they do have an excellent wine by the glass list.

That really is an exaggeration. It's one block from the 42nd Street–Times Square subway complex (albeit the west end of that complex). That means there's 9 transit lines that can get you to within one long block of the place after you exit the subway. No address in New Jersey can say that.I always worry about misleading non-NYC readers. Esca is in a perfectly fine location, and a lot easier to reach by mass transit than many extremely popular places that no one thinks twice about going to. It used to be that anyplace west of Eighth Avenue was considered "the middle of nowhere" (and Eighth Avenue itself was a bit dodgy), but that kind of thinking has been obsolete for about a decade. ← its certainly easily accessible. I think it's more accurate to say that it's in a neighborhood where NY'ers don't really have a reason to go...except to eat at Esca. there's nothing there. so while it's easily accessible for an out of towner...it's not like NY'ers hang out in Times Square.

Her views on anonymity are exactly the same as Steven Shaw's. Now, I'll grant you there's a difference: Shaw wouldn't allow himself to be photographed in a sexy dress.She's employing a star system with a plus-one bias above the Times. She defines one star as "disappointing," while the Times defines it as "good." She defines two stars as "a safe bet," while the Times is "very good." Gemma comes from the same people as The Waverly Inn. Frank Bruni gave one star to Waverly, Freeman gives two to Gemma, so they're tracking about equally, after accounting for the plus-one bias. She doesn't only say good things. Indeed, given the text, 1½ stars ("hit or miss" by her definition) might have been more appropriate. But there's been plenty written about Bruni's star inflation, so she's in good company there. Of course, the writing isn't as good as Bruni's, but we expected that. ← I'm talking about the site as a whole. yes, she famously announced a few months ago that she would start making negative comments where they were warranted....the "reviews" before that are quite "interesting". so, what about the PR regurgitation directly on the site? Shaw doesn't do that. btw, Gemma does not "come from the same people as the Waverly Inn". Graydon Carter is the driving force behind the WI and the reason for its "A-list crowd". some of the same people who partnered on the WI are behind Gemma...but its association with the WI is pure PR (and that won't work on the "friends of Graydon" that created the WI's buzz). neither is the chef of the WI...John DeLucie..involved. Gemma is really by the same people as the Maritime Hotel. Carter is the only name that matters for the WI...and he is not involved in Gemma...despite the press releases (which artfully imply it while carefully not directly saying that he is)....which have been swallowed wholesale by various bloggers. ← Just to be clear in case anyone assumed Nathan was referring to Freeman as one of the bloggers that "swallowed" the association "wholesale", this is how she described it in her review: No where does she make the association between Carter and Gemma. Her association was with people who are involved in the ownership of both places. Her review seemed ok. I have not been following her to be able to have any sense of her palate and how it compares to mine, which is what I really look for in a restaurant critic. ← I just got around to reading it. I do think that her description leaves something to be desired. (Bruni would never call the WI their "brainchild"...and would make it clear that they were the silent partners with Carter while Gemma was their own thing...reread his WI review if you don't believe me...he's perfectly clear on why that restaurant has buzz)...) but, yeah, it's various other bloggers that have bought it completely (see references to "Waverly Inn 2.0" etc.)

I'm still getting over the "an ambitious Jew from Maryland"...

let's face it. the only reason that anyone pays any attention to her is that. if her photos weren't replete throughout the web and on her PR newsfeed (sorry, "blog") she wouldn't have a following and she wouldn't have gotten this job. I find it tawdry.

Her views on anonymity are exactly the same as Steven Shaw's. Now, I'll grant you there's a difference: Shaw wouldn't allow himself to be photographed in a sexy dress.She's employing a star system with a plus-one bias above the Times. She defines one star as "disappointing," while the Times defines it as "good." She defines two stars as "a safe bet," while the Times is "very good." Gemma comes from the same people as The Waverly Inn. Frank Bruni gave one star to Waverly, Freeman gives two to Gemma, so they're tracking about equally, after accounting for the plus-one bias. She doesn't only say good things. Indeed, given the text, 1½ stars ("hit or miss" by her definition) might have been more appropriate. But there's been plenty written about Bruni's star inflation, so she's in good company there. Of course, the writing isn't as good as Bruni's, but we expected that. ← I'm talking about the site as a whole. yes, she famously announced a few months ago that she would start making negative comments where they were warranted....the "reviews" before that are quite "interesting". so, what about the PR regurgitation directly on the site? Shaw doesn't do that. btw, Gemma does not "come from the same people as the Waverly Inn". Graydon Carter is the driving force behind the WI and the reason for its "A-list crowd". some of the same people who partnered on the WI are behind Gemma...but its association with the WI is pure PR (and that won't work on the "friends of Graydon" that created the WI's buzz). neither is the chef of the WI...John DeLucie..involved. Gemma is really by the same people as the Maritime Hotel. Carter is the only name that matters for the WI...and he is not involved in Gemma...despite the press releases (which artfully imply it while carefully not directly saying that he is)....which have been swallowed wholesale by various bloggers.

I just saw this. that's amusing. here's my proof: http://www.restaurantgirl.com I need say no more. her notoriety rests on one thing only...and it has nothing to do with food.

like I said, "we simply don't know if he did." as I also said, the existence of literally hundreds of expensive restaurants in NY indicates that the pool of a couple hundred thousand affluent Manhattanites (I didn't even mention the other boroughs) does indeed, eat out at expensive restaurants on occasion...(heck, I easily know a couple hundred people meeting that description....) who the heck do you think is eating at these restaurants? that ADNY was significantly easier to get into than Per Se or Babbo was often reported. since when is direct personal knowledge the only kind? I don't have direct personal knowledge that it was a "small restaurant" but I do have indirect, but accurate, knowledge that it seated 65 diners plus two private rooms. I also have indirect but accurate knowledge that it opened to a media blitz (as FG noted) and that there was purportedly a 2700 name waiting list at its inception. I also know that this waiting list dissipated soon after....and that it wasn't long before reservations (or even walk-in tables) were easy to procure.

so what was the NY angle on the Cut article? what did NY style pizza have to do with comparing two different dining cultures (i.e. one eating early and one eating late)?

A few things, yes. Every Per Se meal I've ever heard of begins with the Salmon Cones and Oysters & Pearls (unless you're a vegetarian, that is). But after the first couple of courses, the menu changes quite a bit—far more than Jean Georges does. It's not as if the restaurant is stalled in a 1990s funk, serving the same few things over and over again. I'm always amazed that Nathan can say what "most affluent NY diners" are keeping track of. How on earth does he know?But even if that were demonstrably true, Bruni obviously would have been aware of the change. As someone who spends practically his entire waking life visiting restaurants, he is supposed to know more than the typical affluent diner. His reviews are supposed to do more than just tell us what we already know. Any intellectually curious person in his shoes should have been motivated to check out the retooled ADNY for himself. If he failed to do so, shame on him. If he did, and could perceive no difference, what does that tell you? ← agreed that he should have checked it out. we simply don't know if he did. as for what it would tell me if he didn't perceive any difference for his star rating? nothing. I never ate there. I don't know if the quality changed or not. some people loved ADNY. other competent diners thought it was "meh" under all three chefs. I have no way of knowing so....

right, they read Zagat.

as for affluent NY-diners, here is what I know. close to 25% of the population of Manhattan makes six figures (this is extrapolated from census data...there's no exact figure but it's within that number give or take 5%). a significant proportion of that makes a lot more...often seven figures. based upon the hundreds (literally) of NY restaurants where diners easily spend a $100 a meal or more...it's fair to say that a significant number (almost certainly the majority) of these people go to expensive restaurants now and then. edit: to make my point clear...we're talking about a couple hundred thousand people. last time I checked, ADNY was a small restaurant that wasn't exactly packing them in. and the idea that any significant number of these people recognize either the names of Delouvrier or Esnault is simply absurd. (heck, the number of people on Egullet, Mouthfuls or Chowhound (or among NY food bloggers in general) who were reporting on meals at ADNY was quite small...and it was usually the same people over and over again...contrast that with Per Se) with all due respect...people here tend to be a self-selected group of foodies who tend to hang out with other foodie people (to varying degrees). so, yeah, I am getting the impression that my perception of what ordinary affluent NY diners know is more accurate.

Bruni decided to go down that path of writing about pizza in the New York Times, and making various tie-ins to New York restaurant culture. Did he really think he could go start writing about an iconic food of New York without his lack of context coming back to bite him? He's been doing this job long enough that he should know better. Even a newbie at the job should know that if you're going to say word one about pizza, hamburgers, pastrami, hot dogs, barbecue or anything of the sort, you need to take at least a day and go around to a bunch of places and get yourself educated -- or you need to leave that category to Ed Levine or the "$25 and Under" critic, because those guys actually know the subject matter. Otherwise you just look silly. ← but he wasn't writing about an iconic NY food. Period. he didn't write about NY-style pizza. do you have to know anything about NY-style pizza to write about Chicago-style pizza? heck no. same thing. this is a very NY-parochial point of view. the NY style of pizza is not the be-all and end-all for the category...heck, it's not even the original. as for Mozza..it's as much a Batali restaurant as Esca is...

Do you think this would be parallelled if Beno were to leave per se, or Bruel to leave Daniel? ← The ADNY and Per Se examples are quite similar, Alain Ducasse and Thomas Keller both spend the majority of their time—in Ducasse's case, the vast majority—outside of New York. I believe Keller has even said, "Per Se is Jonathan Benno's restaurant now." So yes, if Benno left, I would expect Bruni to pay a visit within the first 3-6 months and report on it.By most accounts, Daniel Boulud still spends the majority of his time at Daniel. Unlike Ducasse or Keller, he's New York based, and Daniel is his flagship. So I wouldn't expect Bruel's departure to be as significant a change as Delouvrier's was, or Benno's would be. ← I don't get this. isn't much of the menu at Per Se composed of "the greatest hits of Keller"? (I suppose you could try to differentiate ADNY on those grounds....but like I said, most affluent NY diners weren't keeping track of chef changes when as far as they knew the name of the chef was in the restaurant's title and hadn't changed)...

Do you think this would be parallelled if Beno were to leave per se, or Bruel to leave Daniel? ← I don't think most NY diners (and I'm talking about upscale ones) have the foggiest clue who Benno is (and it's not like Keller's name is even in the name of the restaurant!)...and I'd never hear of Bruel until now. ← I might agree on Bruel, but you don't think most people visiting per se have a clue as to who either Benno or Keller are - if not their specific relationship to the restaurant? ← oh...I think they generally know who Keller is....

Jade will courier anywhere in the U.S. if the bottles get seized at customs (which can happen)...they'll replace them. my understanding is: importation from Jade isn't legal. but it's not a criminal offense. so Customs can impound their products if they examine them...which happens rarely. and Jade's exportation is legal under French law.

Do you think this would be parallelled if Beno were to leave per se, or Bruel to leave Daniel? ← I don't think most NY diners (and I'm talking about upscale ones) have the foggiest clue who Benno is (and it's not like Keller's name is even in the name of the restaurant!)...and I'd never hear of Bruel until now.

another thought: as far as the NY dining public is concerned...Ducasse never had a chef change. the chef was always Ducasse. it's not like a Danny Meyer restaurant where people understand Meyer is not the chef. the dude ultimately responsible for the menu didn't leave.

To the extent people are saying those pies are modeled after traditional Neapolitan pizza, sure, they're wrong. But if Bruni, the New York Times critic, was going to opine on pizza, he should have familiarized himself with the top few New York places regardless of category. His fundamental lack of knowledge has made him seem out of touch, regardless of the comparability of the styles. And this is one place where it would have been easy for him to acquire the knowledge. He's already lived in Italy. He just needed to visit a few pizzerias and spend twenty bucks at each. It's not like trying to acquire perspective on French haute cuisine, which can take years and tens of thousands of dollars. For a guy who's trying to be a man of the people, he's pretty clueless about the food of the people. He was similarly silly on the subject of hamburgers awhile back. ← I simply don't get this...as an Italian friend of mine said upon tasting some of NY's finest: "this is very good, but why do you call it pizza?" and it was only half in jest. the point being...NY-style pizza isn't the same thing as Neopolitan-style. it's like saying that you also have to check out all places serving Alsatian flatbreads. furthermore, he didn't opine on pizza..in general. he wrote an article on a restaurant serving nouveau Neopolitan/semi-Roman pizza. there's every reason to think he's conversant with that category. it's like saying that you have to be an expert on fish and chips to opine on fritto misto...just not so.

fair enough (I only enjoy the first one). and Mozza, by all descriptions, isn't within either of those. I see every reason to assume that Bruni is familiar with da Baffeto, Remo and Trianon; and we know that he ate at Pizzeria Bianco...and almost certainly Otto as well. those are the antecedents for Mozza...not the classic NY shops.

ADNY was usually relatively easy to get into. Babbo, for example, was much harder (for reservations).