Sifton, behind the wall of sleep, or, who can take a nothing restaurant, and make it all seem worthwhile?

Sifton drops a "fair" on an eminently uncompelling sort of spot. But! In the process, invokes not only Jean Shrimpton* but also Ian Dury getting punched in the face by Omar Sharif.** This is Mary Tyler Moore level worthwhilemaking, in terms of making a negative review of yet another fattening pen for power elite wannabees worth reading. 

More generally, and these things may be more on my mind as I am teaching about the public sphere over to the day job, reviews like this raise the question of why people read restaurant reviews in the NY Times in 2010. For film, it seems like folks read AO or Ms. Lou b/c they want to decide what to see or not, but for restaurants, the consensus usually seems set before an NYT review appears, and many of the readers of resto reviews are not in a position to eat at the restos under discussion, b/c a) they live in Dubuque, or b) are paying 2,400 for a studio in Bushwick, and can't afford to eat in nice restaurants. So, does the restaurant review emerge instead as a form of entertainment, a reason to buy the paper in itself, rather than a guide to consumption choices? If so, does this factor explain the unbridled Siftonyness of Sifton's reviews? In any event, listen to the Smithereens while you mull it over.

*Without looking, I will bet you a dollar that the tumblr fuckyeahjeanshrimpton exists. I lose. Or more precisely, we all lose in the absence of this valuable resource. 

**Have the disability studies people gotten hip to Ian Dury yet?

Comments

[gastropoda]

Maybe I'm just in an unnaturally foul mood, but didn't any of that strike you as faintly bogus? Does he hang out at the London outlet enough to know whereof he speaks? (Interesting comment on Cuozzo's dis of London restaurants over on Eater.) Has he actually been there? And if he has, it's one more reason old-stream media is dying: Mid-level editors haunting private clubs.

And don't get me started on "where were the copy editors?" "News media"? "Salmon fishcakes"?

Chowhound's started a good discussion, too.

As I've said before, Britchky can RIP.

[Marco]

When it goes behind the paywall in 2011(?), what will we have lost?

[Marco]

I just read it. I think Sifton is experimenting with new fangled designer drugs. They are not having a good effect upon his stream of consciousness, if one can call it that.

[cpap]

Yeah, I guess it may seem worthwhile.

Sam