NJ Monthly

[suzilightning]

just was checking this out with my healthy choice entree for dinner - they mention Jacqui's Cafe in Lyons - is this one already closed? i think i saw it on table hopping a month or so ago.

they say that these are wonderful , "yet to hit their stride" but worth a vist then list samba grill (one star) and lilly'son the canal(1/2 star). why bother?

[Rosie]

Because of publication deadlines NJ Monthly reviewers often have to review a restaurant about 5 months in advance. Jacqui's closed in January.

These things can happen even when a reviewer is writing a weekly review for a restaurant. When I was reviewing on a weekly basis I luckily called a restaurant for a fact check and found out that they had closed. Also, chefs change jobs often. By the time a reviewer sends in the review a new chef can be in place.

[glenn]

Because of publication deadlines NJ Monthly reviewers often have to review a restaurant about 5 months in advance. Jacqui's closed in January.

Wow, that's hard to believe in this day and age. Is that true for publications in general, or is NJ Monthly technologically behind and/or too lazy to check the facts before the deadline?

[gaminetwo]

Believe it or not, but NJ Monthly is not bible as far as their reviews go. I've gone to many of the restaurants that they have given a low rating to, and have found them to be wonderful. I leave wondering if they were at the same restaurant I was just at.

A prime example is the recent review of Mie Thai....they tore them apart....pretty much hated everything they had. Is this the same restaurant I go to at least once a month? The restaurant that got the Readers Choice Award in four catagories this summer? It just makes you wonder.

[tommy]

Believe it or not, but NJ Monthly is not bible as far as their reviews go. I've gone to many of the restaurants that they have given a low rating to, and have found them to be wonderful. I leave wondering if they were at the same restaurant I was just at.

A prime example is the recent review of Mie Thai....they tore them apart....pretty much hated everything they had. Is this the same restaurant I go to at least once a month?  The restaurant that got the Readers Choice Award in four catagories this summer? It just makes you wonder.

reviews are subjective. everybody's experiences, including those of reviewers, are different. it may be important to understand this when reading reviews if one needs to reconcile the experience of the reviewer with their own.

[Rosie]

Glenn-- Alot of time is spent on checking facts. As YOU know in the restaurant business things can change overnight. The restaurant closed in Jan. The magazine came out this week. Today is Jan. 24. The restaurant closed after the magazine was printed. Be nice!

[glenn]

Oh, I forgot about all the stock you own in that rag :)). Actually, I just noticed that the restaurant in question only recently closed. Sorry sorry!!

[Rosie]

Glenn--Your apology is accepted but you should have written sorry in CAPITALS. That would have been more meaninful to me.

NJM is pretty much up to the minute in technology, as is their printer. Monthly magazines go to press about a month before the issue date. Every story is fact checked as close to the end of the cycle as possible.

[menton1]

I stopped getting NJ Monthly a year ago because they just have more advertising than content (editorial). And unfortunately, their articles are highly influenced by the amount of advertising a merchant buys.

Their restaurant "listing" in the back is a joke; they even admit, at the top of the listings, that the space is mainly for their advertisers!! I think that their restaurant reviews, in spite of Tommy's Utopian philosophy, are influenced by this as well.

I have gotten Philadelphia Magazine, and it is wonderful. The articles, while I am 2 hours removed from Philly, are quite comprehensive and their restaurant reviews are top notch.

[Rosie]

Only about 25% of reviewed restaurants are advertisers.