new NY Times restaurant critic

[badthings]

Gawker has the memo, which appears to rebuke the "food elite":

We know his writing will serve not just members of the food elite, but the reader looking for voyeuristic pleasure, and the out-of-towner for whom restaurants are a form of entertainment.

[Jason Perlow]

I need some time to digest this one.

Frank Bruni? Asimov doing Wine?

Man that is totally left field.

[hathor]

Personally, I'd rather have Fat Guy be the Times reveiwer. That would be a breath of fresh air. Suppose Mr. Bruni wasn't up for another Roman summer.

[Fat Guy]

I think Asimov has aspired to the lead wine position for quite some time. He has been writing those short wine columns every week for years. He'll be an excellent choice, combining expertise and passion with a long track-record of skilled writing.

Frank Bruni is to me a totally unknown quantity. The memo refers to his past restaurant writing, so let the hunt for links begin. Bringing someone over from another area of the paper was a failure in Grimes's case, but that doesn't mean it's a fatally flawed strategy. I look forward to reading Frank Bruni's work.

[Jason Perlow]

I think Asimov has aspired to the lead wine position for quite some time. He has been writing those short wine columns every week for years. He'll be an excellent choice, combining expertise and passion with a long track-record of skilled writing.

I guess I'll have to read some of his wine stuff, I fully admit that I haven't read any of it.

[Jason Perlow]

Which begs the question, how many Amanda reviews could there be left in the hopper?

[Jinmyo]

Perhaps La Hesser's reviews might remain in the hopper?

Unfortunately. (?)

As to Bruni, I remember some articles he wrote about Italy. The Balkans too, I think.

We shall see what we shall see, said the blind woman.

[tan319]

Personally, I'd rather have Fat Guy be the Times reveiwer. That would be a breath of fresh air. Suppose Mr. Bruni wasn't up for another Roman summer.

This is a good idea...

As long as he mentions the pastry chef

[Fat Guy]

Oh, I'm going to be the Times reviewer. My first review is scheduled to run when hell freezes over.

[kurl]

He wrote the recent front section (section a?) article about the college of food appreciation or whatever in Italy -- a lot of you probably caught that.

What's the policy on posting articles from old issues of the NYT?

There's:

SECTION: Section 1; Page 1; Column 2; National Desk

LENGTH: 924 words

HEADLINE: For Las Vegas Locals, Heavy Action Is at the Buffet

BYLINE: By FRANK BRUNI

DATELINE: LAS VEGAS, Nev., July 11 (1998)

SECTION: Section B; Page 1; Column 2; Metropolitan Desk

LENGTH: 1594 words

HEADLINE: The Brave New World of Kosher;

Foods Exert a Growing Appeal That Isn't Just for Jews

BYLINE: By FRANK BRUNI

DATELINE: SECAUCUS, N.J., Nov. 13 (1996)

SECTION: Section A; Page 3; Column 1; Foreign Desk

LENGTH: 1116 words

HEADLINE: A Nation That Exports Oil, Herring and Peace

BYLINE: By FRANK BRUNI

DATELINE: OSLO, December 21st (2002)

etc.

The following is an excerpt from a recent "What's doing in Rome" article:

Where to Eat

Almost from the moment it opened a year and a half ago, Hosteria del Pesce, Via di Monserrato, 32, (39) 06-686-5617, has been one of the historic center's hottest dining destinations. The reason is the seafood, so fresh that the proprietors lay it all out in bins at the front door for customers to see: baby squid, clams, prawns and sea bass, among other fish. The cold appetizer plates and the pasta-seafood combinations are terrific, and the simple, dark, tavernlike atmosphere keeps the focus on the food. Dinner for two with wine is $160. Open nightly except Sunday.

While most Roman restaurants stick to a narrow identity, it's tough to pigeonhole Taverna Angelica, Piazza Amerigo Capponi, 6, (39) 06-687-4514, which uses typical Italian ingredients in atypical ways. The appetizers include an octopus, potato and black olive salad reinterpreting the classic Nicoise; for main courses, the beef and duck are reliably good, while fish is less surefire. Dinner for two with wine: $130. Open daily for dinner and on Sunday for lunch.

Trattoria Monti, Via San Vito, 13/A, (39) 06-446-6573, is run by an always-welcoming family: Franca Camerucci presides over the small kitchen, while her sons Enrico and Daniele tend to the customers in the cozy, unadorned dining room. The restaurant excels at fresh pasta with simple sauces, and terrific souffle-like tarts made from artichokes, eggplant or, most delicious of all, Parmesan cheese. Save room for the desserts. Dinner for two with wine: $95. Lunch Tuesday through Sunday, dinner Tuesday through Saturday.

A similarly homey, unpretentious atmosphere exists at Santopadre, Via Collina, 18, (39) 06-474-5405, which usually fills all its tables in loud, small dining rooms. Spaghetti alla gricia (olive oil, pancetta, pecorino cheese) and the bucatini alla amatriciana (a tomato sauce with salty hunks of pancetta) are especially tasty. In a pitch-perfect touch, charismatic servers hustle over with lavish appetizer spreads of cheeses, prosciutto, meatballs and sun-dried tomatoes. Dinner for two with wine: $85. Open nightly except Sunday.

For the best, most refined iteration of panini, head to the take-out shop that is adjacent to and part of the Forno Campo de' Fiori bakery, Piazza Campo de' Fiori, 22, (39) 06- 6880-6662, fax (39) 06-4543-2688. Straight-from-the-oven rolls and focaccia enfold mozzarella, prosciutto and chicken salad, with Italian cookies for dessert. Lunch for two with a soft drink: $15; Monday to Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Edited April 9, 2004 by kurl (log)

[kurl]

Do the rumors for the $25-and-under seat start now?

[tan319]

Oh, I'm going to be the Times reviewer. My first review is scheduled to run when hell freezes over.

[SobaAddict70]

Mr. Asimov has been doing the bi-weekly column "Wines of the Times" for some time now.

For more a selection of past columns, please click on the following links below. --Soba

-------------------

Just as today's New Beetle is a more expensive high-tech automobile with only a passing resemblance to what was once the people's car, so too is modern barbera often a tricked-up, enhanced wine with ambitions that far outdistance the nightly dinner table. In the last 20 years, more producers have come to view barbera as a grape that can make not just good everyday wine but serious wine, aged in small oak barrels and costing $50 or more.

Barbera Wines of Italy (Eric Asimov) (from the NYTimes DIGEST update for 17 March 2004; for this and the other links below, you may have to scroll down for the appropriate link.)

A good pinot grigio has limited potential for greatness but great utility. Fresh and lively, with mineral and mild fruit flavors, it is ideal with light seafood and pasta dishes. I can't think of a better match than a good, crisp pinot grigio with linguine in white clam sauce. The problem is that while critics have little respect for pinot grigio, producers have even less.

A Selection Of Italian Pinot Grigots (Eric Asimov) (from the NYTimes DIGEST update for 3 March 2004)

Nonetheless, Armagnac producers, like Champagne producers, reserve their best, most distinctive lots for single-vintage bottles, which are, not coincidentally, much more expensive than the blends. Our No. 2 Armagnac, the Domaine D'Ognoas of 1985, was exceptionally flavorful, with an assertive quality that some might call rustic, but which is characteristic of fine Armagnac.

Spirits of the Times (Eric Asimov) (from the NYTimes DIGEST update for 18 February 2004.)

Also included in this update is a sidebar online presentation given by Mr. Asimov, Amanda Hesser, Florence Fabricant and Garrett Oliver (brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery) on a selection of artisanal Armangacs. Click on the box entitled "Armangac's Country Cousin" to begin the presentation.

Part of what makes pinot noir so exciting is its elusive nature. From one moment to the next, the aromas and flavors of a good pinot noir can change in the glass, making it difficult to pin down. Sometimes, tasting pinot noir is like a game of musical chairs -- you have to stop the music arbitrarily, capturing the wine at one point of its evolution.

Wines of the Times: Australian Pinot Noirs (Eric Asimov) (from the NYTimes DIGEST update for 4 February 2004.)

[Pan]

I'll miss Asimov's "$25-and-under" columns, which are news I can use a lot more than his wine columns will be, irrespective of their quality.

[Busboy]

Bruni is a lucid and intelligent writer. He has spent a good deal of time overseas developing, one assumes, an understanding and appreciation of cooking and cultures outside the U.S. Restaurant reviewing is neither as important or as nuanced as other beats, including the other food beats on a quality newspaper -- it will be wonderful if Mr. Bruni is familiar with the history of blue cheese from Auvergne, it will be more wonderful if he can taste a good cheese course from a mediocre one and describe the difference on Wednesday mornings.

Even more important, it remains to be seen whether Mr. Bruni brings and true Dionysian enjoyment to dining, or operates as an ascetic with a food byline. Given his abilities and judgemnent as a journalist, if he can demonstrate the he truly approaches the table with an organic "I enjoy eating" approach, his reviews will likely be cogent and useful.

[kurl]

I also feel like it will be interesting to see how someone who hasn't been in New York for very long treats the sacred cow restaurants -- as few of them as there seem to be right now (Le Bernardin, etc.). Will he have the irreverance (cajones) to take them down a peg if he thinks it's appropriate to do so? (I hope so.) Have other critics been afraid to? (Perhaps) Have they been too zealous in doing so? (Dubiously)

[oakapple]

Will he have the irreverance (cajones) to take them down a peg if he thinks it's appropriate to do so?  (I hope so.) Have other critics been afraid to?  (Perhaps) Have they been too zealous in doing so? (Dubiously)

Ruch Reichl stripped the original Le Cirque of a fourth star, and then gave it back again after they re-opened as Le Cirque 2000. William Grimes stripped both Chanterelle and Le Cirque 2000 of their fourth stars. I'm sure there've been other examples.

Indeed, it's the critic's affirmative responsibility to take restaurants down a peg if they're no longer delivering, and I doubt Mr. Bruni will see it otherwise. The 4-star population hasn't changed in quite some time, but, as I mentioned in a previous thread, Amanda Hesser and Marion Burros have both demoted 3-star restaurants recently (Union Pacific, Montrachet).

I wonder what's the maximum number of 4-star restaurants the Times has ever had simultaneously? Clearly Per Se is gunning for 4 stars. (Some people think the French Laundry is the best restaurant in the country, so anything less than 4 for Per Se will be a serious disappointment--to Keller, anyway.)

Chanterelle has been nominated for the Beard Outstanding Restaurant award for several years running, and that's a nationwide honor, so perhaps it has picked up its game since Grimes demoted it four years ago. Although Chanterelle did not win in any of the last three years, the nominations are an honor in themselves, and only Chanterelle keeps consistently getting them.

[slkinsey]

Maybe this has been indicated somewhere and I missed it... are we sure that Asimov is, in fact, giving up "$25 and Under?" My understanding is that he has been reluctant to do give it up in the past (it's a bit of a franchise for him), and I'm not quite sure why he couldn't do that and the wine thing.

[JohnnyH]

Maybe this has been indicated somewhere and I missed it... are we sure that Asimov is, in fact, giving up "$25 and Under?"  My understanding is that he has been reluctant to do give it up in the past (it's a bit of a franchise for him), and I'm not quite sure why he couldn't do that and the wine thing.

Judging from the memo (Gawker), yes:

..."Eric has a rare and wonderful palate, and a big brain filled with memories of wines tasted, spat out, and savored. He has a populist's touch to explain it. He begins on June 2. Consider the ``$25 & Under'' gig posted."

*Edited to add link

Edited April 9, 2004 by JohnnyH (log)

[Jinmyo]

Google image search for Frank Bruni: Click.

Must be the first one.

[FunJohnny]

Too bad the NYT didn't go to R.W. (Johnny) Apple, Jr., former Washington and before that London Bureau Chief for the Times -- ever read any of his articles in Saveur? He was a pal of my Dad, and I used to hear stories of legendary bar/restaurant hopping escapades by the two of them back in the day.

[Fat Guy]

It seems as though, at some point, the Times decided to end or dilute that franchise. The $25 and Under books seem to have been folded into the general New York Times dining guide, and there have been quite a number of guest $25 and Under columns in the past couple of years -- something that never used to happen. So I imagine Eric Asimov might be less attached now than before. It's also just a long time to be doing any one thing, and I can't see him doing that plus being the head wine writer. Although the announcement is indeed ambiguous, I imagine Asimov will be giving up $25 and Under or at least putting it into a rotation. We'll have to wait and see, though -- you never know.

[Craig Camp]

Looks like tough times ahead for New York's Italian restaurants.

[slkinsey]

Looks like tough times ahead for New York's Italian restaurants.

Good! Hopefully this will inspire the Italian restaurants in the City to step up to the plate.

Another interesting question: given that the new reviewer presumably has an outlook that is not so married to the French restaurant model and might be more sympathetic to the Italian model, might we start seeing a break in France's stranglehold on the top rankings?

[bloviatrix]

Here's the announcement in today's paper regaring the the announcement:

Frank Bruni new restaurant critic

In response to Sam's question about the $25 and under culumn it says:

Mr. Asimov, 46, will continue to write the "$25 and Under" restaurant review column, as he has since 1992, until a successor is chosen.