Restaurant Reviews response

While reading through the New York Times, the Huffington Post, and the LA Weekly, I enjoyed Pete Wells’ restaurant reviews the most. Bending Tradition, and Bowing to It by Wells talks about the Cagen and Ristorante Morini restaurants in New York City that seeks to creatively transform each traditional Japanese and Italian dishes into a modern style and taste. The vivid descriptions of the dishes and their ingredients were fascinating. It was interesting to read his use of metaphors to portray foods rather than using boring and cliché descriptions. “The gunpowder was inside: an extra-hot, nostril-punishing slug of wasabi implanted alongside strands of sweet squash, waiting to go off when I bit into it” (Wells). This metaphor lets me think of a spicy stubby little handroll. I could totally taste the wild, hot, and savory flavors and smell of wasabi and strands of sweet squash, and this description draws the readers’ attention more.

His descriptions about each restaurant are delicate in a way that he explains not only prices, drink and wine, and recommended menu of these restaurants but also explains the atmosphere, service, and sound level. There are more details than just explaining tastes or qualities of dishes, and some food eaters want more descriptions of the restaurants than of the foods served. For example, Wells describes the Ristorante Morini as “small, lively lounge downstairs with a long, sedate, white-tablecloth dining room above.”  This helps readers to imagine the restaurants as if they were in there. Place, service, and atmosphere are important to enjoy dishes more. I think that as a customer, it is better not to go to the restaurant where the dishes are good but the service is horrible because the atmosphere and service affect my appetite and mood. However, Wells need to explain definitions of some foreign words in his review. He throws the words of foreign dishes and ingredients that Americans usually wouldn’t know. Wells says that “A plate of small appetizers  offered ham deep-fried katsu style with a splotch of Worcestershire on its panko crust, along with a single mouthful of the Nobu classic”, and I didn’t know the meanings of katsu style, Nobu classic, and panko crust! I was lost as an unprofessional food eater.

I loved Wells’ other restaurant review, As Not Seen on TV. He wrote an honest and blatant review about Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square. Contrasting to his review of praising Cagen and Ristorante Morini in Bending Tradition, and Bowing to It, this review reveals chaotic and messy atmosphere, over-exaggerated and flowery descriptions of dishes on the menu, overpriced, and unpleasant tastes of blue drinks and Cajun Chicken Alfredo in Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar. I’ve never read the ranting review of the restaurant consisted with anger and disappointment. Wells gave a low rate for this restaurant, and I appreciate his honesty. Although through TV show and advertisements, this place was described as a great place to eat. Many times, untruthful media influence consumers to make bad choice, but he reports the reality of the poor atmosphere, service, and dishes in this restaurant to guide consumers to make better choice.

Wells effectively uses series of questions: “What exactly about a small salad with four or five miniature croutons makes Guy’s Famous Big Bite Caesar (a) big (b) famous or (c) Guy’s, in any meaningful sense?”, and also “ Did you discern any buttermilk or brine in the white meat, or did you think it tasted like chewy air?”. These make readers to engage into a thoughtful process of questioning what they eat in the restaurants. Sometimes consumers eat in the restaurants without sharp judgment because they believe the media portraying amazing things about the restaurants which might be not amazing. I think that consumers should have power of distinguishing between bad and good restaurants, and Wells helps them through his intense and honest writing. To have that power, consumers need to carefully discern the bad environment, tastes of the dishes, and service and report to others for the further improvement of the quality of the restaurants and for letting consumers to know not to go to those poor quality restaurants.