A Critic’s Friends

There are many good-to-excellent restaurants in the greater Los Angeles area that deserve more than a narrative of the reviewer’s disgruntled friends. Critic Ruth Reichl is getting too big for her brioche.

When I read a review, I want to hear an educated commentary on the food, I want to know that the reviewer has researched the goals of the restaurant and I want to get a feeling of the ambience. What I don’t want is to read about miserable friends talked into ugly dining experiences, boring stories, cute quips about reluctant gourmets and a reviewer with an overwhelming ego (a reviewer should be anonymous).

To top it off, in her Oct. 14 review of Lunaria, her friends ask her to cook for them at home next time, implying that the reviewer herself is a much better chef than the one she is reviewing.

When is your real restaurant critic returning from sabbatical?

RICHARD MARTINO

Los Angeles