7th STREET BUMPKINS

Right on, J. Elfmont!

There was a time when I would eagerly await Calendar’s restaurant reviews to find out what was new with L.A. restaurants; to decide which restaurants I wanted to try next, or to read with pleasure a new review of an old favorite.

No more!

Ruth Reichl is an embarrassment. I have often wondered who in the world decided to hire her. She’s pompous and seldom has anything interesting to say.

There are good writers out there. People who enjoy good food and know how to write about it, and who do not need to pad their stories with endless descriptions of the restaurant’s decor, the chef’s private life, or their husband’s love for pizza and football.

Those of you who control such things at The Times should take a hard look at the pitiful state of restaurant section and do something.

One thing that was great about Lois Dawn was that, when you were through reading one of her reviews you knew what the food tasted like and what the restaurant was like, and you’d already decided whether or not you wanted to try it! That’s what restaurant reviewing is about.

You seem to have forgotten it, and Reichl never knew it.

GLADYS MARTINEZ

Los Angeles