Got a trackback this morning from The Gothamist which linked my moderate defense of Amanda Hesser since today was Hesser’s last review as the NYT’s interim critic The review in question is of Masa and already Hesser’s bold gesture–four question marks in lieu of stars (which she invites the incoming restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, to fill in)–has caused quite a stir.
I dunno. I think some people take these things too seriously. I kind of like that this spunky little woman–who resembles, in her jacket photo, something like a pixie–created such a whirlwind of discontent with her idiosyncratic style. The artist in me says: good for her! Way to shake things up! The lawyer in me says: Yes, but Adam, she soiled a sacred institution. The Mexican in me says: Ehxuse me senor, donde esta la playa?
Anyway, bon voyage Amanda. I, for one, shall miss you.
wow. I hadn’t realized that “we had all agreed to hate” Amanda Hesser, as reported by a commenter on the eurotrash site. I enjoy Amanda’s writing style. I do think her writing is more suited to the food column format than the restaurant review format, but she said herself (in some interview somewhere on the internet) that she never wanted to be a restaurant critic.
If she never wanted to be a restaurant critic, then she shouldn’t have agreed to take the frigging job. I’m sure there are lots of folks in New York who’d love to be the NYT interim critic.
Hesser is self-important, pretentious, and shills for her friends in lieu of actual food criticism. She won’t be missed by me.