Anonymity

[mamster]

To what lengths do you think a restaurant critic should go to remain anonymous? I assume you reserve under pseudonyms or guest names, but have you ever put on a disguise? Been recognized in a restaurant and had to figure out how to deal with it?

[David Corcoran]

I've never worn a disguise (except 10 extra pounds). My strong suspicion is that New Jersey restaurateurs do not spend their days expecting a visit from a restaurant critic -- unlike their Manhattan counterparts, who live in constant fear of a Grimes landing.

[David Corcoran]

Oh, and have I ever been recognized? Not on a first visit, I'm reasonably sure, and I've never knowingly been recognized even on a second visit.

But maybe dozens of chefs are laughing behind their hands at the naïveté of that remark.