Smoking Policies

I have just finished Max Jacobson’s article on ethnic restaurants in Orange County (“World on a Platter,” Calendar) and find myself quite critical of the omission of any information regarding the smoking policy of the restaurants.

Perhaps restaurant reviewers by and large do not smoke. Maybe they’re among the legions of hostile anti-smokers. But that in no way should preclude their giving this information.

We are told about the decor, the food, the prices, even the history and lineage of the chef, so why not include smoking information?

I spoke to Jacobson some time ago, and he said that Pascal’s in Newport Beach does not allow smoking. In his recent review of the restaurant, he did not mention this policy. We would have been irked had we decided to go there only to be told that there was no designated smoking section.

I respect the right of every restaurant to set its own smoking policy. But tell me before I move in that direction. Regardless of personal feelings, this is pertinent information and should appear in any restaurant review.

LYNN SPEAR MERLES, Costa Mesa