The ‘New York Times’ vs. Guy Fieri

New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells delivers a devastating review of Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen & Bar. In a way, I wondered, Why bother? If Wells didn’t mention names, you’d think he were reviewing a T.G.I. Friday’s. (Fieri and Friday’s do have a history, it turns out.) In any event, the place sounds terrible. Then again, it’s located in Times Square. This reminded me of a conversation I had years ago with a manager at Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain in midtown Manhattan. He talked about the busloads of tourists dropped off nearby—they’d stream into the restaurant asking, “Where’s Bobby? Is Bobby in?” as if Flay were Mel Sharples at Mel’s Diner. Yesterday I posted my take on the review at weeklystandard.com.

UPDATE: Guy fights back! Or at least he says, like many new restaurants, this is a work in progress:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

One thought on “The ‘New York Times’ vs. Guy Fieri”

  1. I’m one of the few people I know who didn’t think that review was hilarious. I sometimes find mean-spirited things funny, but in this case, I didn’t.

    There’s no reason the NYT needed review that restaurant and I don’t believe for a minute that Wells reviewed it to save the busloads of tourists from a poor dining experience (because those tourists read the Times?).

    I got the impression he was just happy to have an easy target. It seems lazier to me than constructive reviewing.

    It’s like reviewing a Jimmy Buffett concert and complaining that his lyrics aren’t as good as Bob Dylan’s. I don’t doubt that Fieri’s place has some work to do. But even if it was perfect for what it is, would Pete Wells (or his readers) want to eat there?

Leave a Reply to Kit Pollard Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *