Free meals for bloggers!

[rlibkind]

How restaurants entice bloggers and posters (and combat what they perceive as unfair comments and reviews) is examined in Saturday's Wall Street Journal. (I believe this article is publicly available, i.e., not behind subscriber wall, at least it wasn't as of this writing.)

Among other topics, it looks at comped meals as an inducement for favorable coverage. No surprises in the article, but interesting nonetheless.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I find this interesting as I'll admit some culpability in David Haskell's relationship with Chowhound; it began with my first visit in April when I began this eG thread.

It was a first visit with my friend, "R" who is only slightly known in the L.A. food scene as a writer. But the fact that both he and I were analyzing our meal and photographing it made it pretty obvious we were going to document the event *somewhere.* In my usual course, I posted the exact same thing on eG, MF, Yelp, and CH (removing the photos for Yelp, MF, and CH).

For whatever reason that has never been explained, Chowhound removed my post entirely as though I were a shill. Now it may or may not be known that I have had as checkered a past with Chowhound as I have had with eG and MF. In the case of CH, it goes back several years when I worked for Joachim Splichal's Patina Group and was summarily banned for shilling (despite giving several of his restaurants bad reviews - whatever!). It was only after FIVE YEARS that CH allowed me to start re-posting and that was then they were purchased by CNet and Jim Leff had less power.

But that removal of the Bin review was very odd and inexplicable as I had no prior knowledge or relationship with Bin other than I had heard generally favorable reviews from people and sites I trust, so I wanted to try it. Since then, I have dined there two more times so the waitstaff and management know who I am because they read these sites. But I am as much a shill for a restaurant 500 miles away from me as I am for San Francisco's Aziza, Kappa, or any other local establishment that I eat at and am on first-name basis with the chefs or managers. And why CH would delete some of my posts and not others without explanation is still beyond comprehension which -- I think -- is what set David Haskell off so much. I don't maintain a private blog on restaurants, I post them here.

[Fat Guy]

I hardly think we're in some new age of comps. Rather, bloggers and online writers are just learning what it's like to be treated like regular media.

The article starts off with a description of a party that a Chicago restaurant, Dine, threw for members of the website Yelp.

Last August, Dine spent about $1,500 on an event for members of Yelp, a Web site where consumers post reviews and rate restaurants. The nearly 100 members were treated to an open bar, duck roulade appetizers and red velvet cupcakes for dessert.

This is meant to seem scandalous, but the reality is that restaurants spend a lot more than $1,500 for the parties they throw for old media journalists. I get invited to such parties all the time, and when I go I often see writers for the major publications, including the New York Times and all the major glossy food magazines. No, Frank Bruni, the New York Times restaurant reviewer, does not attend. But you could easily see just about any other member of the Times staff, or a contract freelancer, at such an event, eating and drinking for free.

Then, after they throw extravagant opening parties for media, a lot of restaurants go into "press previews." That's a euphemism for inviting writers in for free meals. It's not a preview, of course, because the restaurant is already open. But it's a palatable way to phrase the fact that it's a comped meal. And when I go in for the occasional press preview free dinner at a restaurant, I invariably see people from major newspapers and magazines (and television and radio) enjoying their "previews" too. (The difference being that if I post here about a meal I got for free I say so, whereas I almost never see such disclosures in traditional media.)

[Daniel Rogov]

We return once again to the difference between a "food writer" and a restaurant critic.

For the food writer, who is not expected to write in a critical tone, there is no sin whatever to attending press luncheons as it gives an overview of what the particular chef/restaurant is attempting.

For the critic, however, to attend such freebies, except perhaps to gain background material, is merely a form of whoredom. First of all, because the chef is doing his utmost to please those who attend such meals, there is no true representation of what the "standard diner" (aka client) will receive. Second of all, it's hard to kill the efforts of a chef who has done his/her all to kiss your proverbial backside.

We return also to the question of the legitimacy/alidity of blogging and bloggers. But that, of course is another story altogether....

In the name of what is today known as "full disclosure", there are two restaurants in my country of residence that I will allow to comp my meals and that simply because it is not worth fighting with the chefs/owners. In both of those places however, I calculate the bill and that plus 15% or so is the amount I leave as a tip for the staff.

Edited October 7, 2007 by Daniel Rogov (log)

[Fat Guy]

First of all, because the chef is doing his utmost to please those who attend such meals, there is no true representation of what the "standard diner" (aka client) will receive.  Second of all, it's hard to kill the efforts of a chef who has done his/her all to kiss your proverbial backside.

. . . . .

In both of those places however, I calculate the bill and that plus 15% or so is the amount I leave as a tip for the staff.

←

How is the latter a solution to the former? Presumably, the chef still kissed your ass. Methinks you're equating the issue of comps with the issue of anonymity. But paying doesn't make you anonymous.

[Daniel Rogov]

Steven, Hi....

But the chef would have been kissing my posterior at any rate. Paying, albeit in a different way simply negates the idea of having received a freebie.

As to the ass-kissing, the pro who does not recognize (and probably despise) that and does not know how to put it aside as a form of black comedy should not continue being a pro.

Truth is, the more they try to butter up to you, the less enjoyable the meal. What you have to put aside is not the "positive" (i.e. ass-kissing) but the "negative" (the pathetic behavior that leads to such ass-kissing). I learned long ago that when you are "made" as a critic the wise chef will come to you table, say hello, wish you a pleasant evening and then leave you in peace. Indeed, the staff is also then aware of who and what you are (whatever that may be) but have you ever noticed that the more important they perceive the personage the more nervous the staff becomes and the more amusing errors they tend to make?

I will never forget once in a restaurant in Monte Carlo when the President of France came to dine and one of the staff was so nervous that she referred to him as "Your Holiness". M. le President smiled and said "Not yet, my dear, not yet.

Edited October 8, 2007 by Daniel Rogov (log)