From the October 19th 2008 New York Times, where restaurant ueber-critic Frank Bruni takes questions from readers. He responds to one reader who asks why he doesn't mention the wine…
To the best extent possible (and here, too, I don’t reach my own goal), reviews shouldn’t over time seem too formulaic, each one with predictable measures of predictable ingredients: here the two paragraphs on décor; here the paragraph with an amusing service anecdote; here the background of the chef; here the three sentences on wine. So I sometimes don’t digress to say much about wine because I don’t want that material to seem like some paint-by-numbers thing, some tic.
The Verdict: Out! I like my formula for London restaurant reviews. Some of my London-based peers like my formula too (you know who you are). But I'll try to mix things up a bit more.
4 comments
He makes a good point, doesn’t he? In fact, why just jazz-up the critique? Why not serve dessert first and amuse bouche last (they’re more or less the same now anyway). And, how about predictive billing. They weigh you on arrival and estimate the amount you will eat then charge you before you land at linen… I like your format, Krista. It has much to do with your success. My reviews are lengthy affairs – yours are punchy, get to the point and are easily digested. As regards a change of style, we’re yet to see bloggers post bread to bill video reviews of their meals, which will leave this critic for one aghast!
I think your formula rocks! 🙂
I like that your posts are structured. There are reviews that you read here and there and there are reviewers that you follow each and every day. It makes it far easier to become a regular reader when you have a structured post because you are used to the writer’s style of writing and you are able to easily extract the information you are looking for. That’s my opinion anyway but I am not a professional writer.
Structure is good – Emm is right, it helps somehow to know that information is gonna be ‘served’ up in a certain way. Also surely it must help you when sitting down to write stuff? Don’t go changin’
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