Wild Horses

For the best in NY dining, follow the clavicle.* Being able to read a menu with your breasts while you gaze winsomely at the camera must be a real plus for a restaurant critic. If Grimes had learned this trick, he might not be stuck reviewing books now. Gawker has been all over this, with comments hitting the predictable chords. I don't have much to add, other than a respectful golf clap for elevating the ethical shortcut of being willfully (I count four pix of her in today's NYDN) non-anonymous to a philosophy:

They go together like surf and turf - food criticism and anonymity.

But Danyelle Freeman is a new breed of restaurant critic, a maverick whose face accompanies her weekly reviews, launching today (see today's review).

"We are obviously trying to do something different here," says Freeman, the brains and taste buds behind restaurantgirl.com, the popular dining blog of reviews, chef profiles and news that she launched in January 2006. She'll continue to write the blog as she files weekly reviews for The News.

"I have consciously made the choice to be accessible to readers as well as chefs and restaurateurs," she explains, "in order to communicate my experience of whether or not a chef has successfully achieved his or her goals."

Call me cranky, but ignoring the precepts your peers abide by is Bonds/Enron style maverickness, as real wild horses on the open range do not get comped appetizers and free drinks, usually. The straphanging NYDN readers may prefer the vicarious thrill of the ridealong with their new glamorous friend to actual, you know, evaluations of the quality of a restaurant, so the decision may make sense. But in terms of what blogging might be able to add to the conversation about food, I'm not sure if having a cheffelator turn pro is something for the food blogosphere to celebrate.

*Tip of the fin to cinetrix for the heads up on the clavicle.

Comments

[Saratoga Slim]

When I was a cub, I useta do restaurant reviews for a city rag so poor they couldn't sport me to go to nice places on the QT. So we'd agree with the restaurant before my visit that I (+1 of course) would be comp'd -- and if the food was shite, I simply wouldn't write a review. Wouldn't you know it: I was always treated like Elvis, and the food was always as spectacular as Restaurant Girl's topside. I'd occasionally even sweet talk the joint into buying some ad space. I knew, of course, that I was whoring myself, but I was 22, and getting laid while getting paid. WTF's not to like?

Get a working bullshit meter, folks, that's all.

And hey, Restaurant Girl -- I'll be your wingman anytime, baby.

[dubarry]

"accessible." ah yes, i used to be accessible too. all access. yes, uh huh. i, too, used to assess whether people "reached their goals." (that's where the tips were.)