Sis boom blog

    I kept a recent post on relentless chef boosterism blind on the grounds that a little bit of cheerleading from the sidelines of Typepad or Blogger was amusing, but not especially worrisome. I certainly have my favorites, (Tony Maws, Dave Roberts, Stetsasonic and Five and Ten come to mind) and I'll mention them freely. However, if round one and round two  was holding up cards spelling J-O-E-L, round three is a PR marching band spelling out a flowing script "Robuchon," complete with downloadable menus.  Still, so what? Perhaps Robuchon is this blogger's Bynes, and this blogger makes it clear in one of the posts that she is a pal of  Robuchon:

Before we get to the main course, let me note I was indeed a friend of the house and chef was not only on premise, but actually served a plate or two. Consider this my habitual disclaimer* that accompanies my non-review reports.

However, if you follow the blogger's own link, a similar piece appears in the New York Sun, without, or as she might say, sans,disclaimer. Unlike readers of a blog, people who pay to read the New York Sun have a reasonable expectation of objectivity, and to my mind, this crosses the line. I am aware that this is a) not a first in the world of food writing, and b) not exactly Stephen Glass territory. However, like the guy pictured on the right, this is a cheerleader I'll have a hard time trusting in the future.

*The disclaimer is not to be missed. A morsel:

I do believe I gauge restaurants on a level playing field; it’s just not a field usually open to the general public.

Comments

[chick]

Blogger hate is so boring, TGC. I'm surprised you've jumped into the fray.

From what I can tell, she didn't write a review of Robuchon in the paper, so she is not obligated to disclose the fact that she was "known" to the house.

But whatever gets you a link to Gawker...

[meta]

Show me a New York food writer who has complete anonymity in the dining room and I'll show you a) Frank Bruni (although, not really) or b) a bitter hack from outside the metro area who doesn't get invited to dinner.

Team snack, mothafuckah!

[Bywater brother]

The Ninth Ward is still here, but we need help. The city's got a million excuses why they ain't running water out here, and folks are getting tired.

[boom lift]

Yeah, the folks are really getting tired, they should do something about it.

Luigi Hanway