As a number of you know, the LA Times food critic was "outed" by a new
Beverly Hills restaurant by taking her photograph and posting it on
the internet, among other things. Pretty damned short sighted for a
restaurant that wants to get anywhere in a city like LA, but there you
are. I find it hard to believe, however, that the Times' food critic
has been able to preserve her anonymity for 15 years in a city like
LA. Regardless of making reservations under various names, using
others' credit cards, etc., I can't imagine her walking into a
restaurant and not having the maitre'd, et al, recognize her and
scramble to alert the chef and serving crew.

Original article:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,2330320.story

The follow-up article:

http://www.latimes.com/features/food...,3870239.story

I also can't feature a new restaurant in as competitive a market as
Beverly Hills, where it is filthy expensive to even *open* a new
restaurant, nevermind maintain one, would do such a thing unless the
owners' sole purpose was the publicity, which it got in spades. Even
if it was only after the buzz the "outing" created, the ill will it
also created might trump whatever initial buzz was generated and last
a sight longer.

Oh, and does "outed" have one "t" or two? <g>

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

--

"If the soup had been as warm as the wine,
if the wine had been as old as the turkey,
and if the turkey had had a breast like the maid,
it would have been a swell dinner." Duncan Hines


To reply, remove "spambot" and replace it with "cox"

On Dec 30, 10:49*am, Terry Pulliam Burd > wrote:
> As a number of you know, the LA Times food critic was "outed" by a new
> Beverly Hills restaurant by taking her photograph and posting it on
> the internet, among other things. Pretty damned short sighted for a
> restaurant that wants to get anywhere in a city like LA, but there you
> are. I find it hard to believe, however, that the Times' food critic
> has been able to preserve her anonymity for 15 years in a city like
> LA. *Regardless of making reservations under various names, using
> others' credit cards, etc., I can't imagine her walking into a
> restaurant and not having the maitre'd, et al, recognize her and
> scramble to alert the chef and serving crew.
>
> Original article:
>
> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,2330320.story
>
> The follow-up article:
>
> http://www.latimes.com/features/food...-restaurants-2...
>
> I also can't feature a new restaurant in as competitive a market as
> Beverly Hills, where it is filthy expensive to even *open* a new
> restaurant, nevermind maintain one, would do such a thing unless the
> owners' sole purpose was the publicity, which it got in spades. *Even
> if it was only after the buzz the "outing" created, the ill will it
> also created might trump whatever initial buzz was generated and last
> a sight longer.
>
> Oh, and does "outed" have one "t" or two? <g>
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
>
> --
>
> "If the soup had been as warm as the wine,
> if the wine had been as old as the turkey,
> and if the turkey had had a breast like the maid,
> it would have been a swell dinner." Duncan Hines
>
> To reply, remove "spambot" and replace it with "cox"


Jonathan Gold wrote on this in laweekly.com. He said he'd been outted
in NYC.

Harriet & critters in cool, clear azusa

On Dec 30, 10:49*am, Terry Pulliam Burd > wrote:
> As a number of you know, the LA Times food critic was "outed" by a new
> Beverly Hills restaurant by taking her photograph and posting it on
> the internet, among other things. Pretty damned short sighted for a
> restaurant that wants to get anywhere in a city like LA, but there you
> are.

I saw this on Gawker about a week ago. Good for the restaurant,
Mina and Bauer to the contrary notwithstanding. The better local
food/restaurant blogs are much better at providing information
and arguing the merits of restaurants.

"critters & me in azusa, ca" > wrote in message
...
On Dec 30, 10:49 am, Terry Pulliam Burd > wrote:
> As a number of you know, the LA Times food critic was "outed" by a new
> Beverly Hills restaurant by taking her photograph and posting it on
> the internet, among other things. Pretty damned short sighted for a
> restaurant that wants to get anywhere in a city like LA, but there you
> are. I find it hard to believe, however, that the Times' food critic
> has been able to preserve her anonymity for 15 years in a city like
> LA. Regardless of making reservations under various names, using
> others' credit cards, etc., I can't imagine her walking into a
> restaurant and not having the maitre'd, et al, recognize her and
> scramble to alert the chef and serving crew.
>
> Original article:
>
> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,2330320.story
>
> The follow-up article:
>
> http://www.latimes.com/features/food...-restaurants-2...
>
> I also can't feature a new restaurant in as competitive a market as
> Beverly Hills, where it is filthy expensive to even *open* a new
> restaurant, nevermind maintain one, would do such a thing unless the
> owners' sole purpose was the publicity, which it got in spades. Even
> if it was only after the buzz the "outing" created, the ill will it
> also created might trump whatever initial buzz was generated and last
> a sight longer.
>
> Oh, and does "outed" have one "t" or two? <g>
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

I see a trend here. A new sport, as it were. Out(t)ing restaurant critics
and secret shoppers. Maybe post a bounty on them so that people who don't
like them turn them in. Being a paid informant has never been looked upon
by society as a honorable profession.

It's an idea.

Steve

On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 09:00:56 -0800, "Steve B"
> wrote:


>And secret shoppers are much more objective than a restaurant critic, which
>starts out with a negative connotation of criticism.
>
>Steve
>
Did you sleep all the way through high school?

Boron

"Boron Elgar" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 09:00:56 -0800, "Steve B"
> > wrote:
>
>
>>And secret shoppers are much more objective than a restaurant critic,
>>which
>>starts out with a negative connotation of criticism.
>>
>>Steve
>>
> Did you sleep all the way through high school?
>
> Boron

No, then I went on to college with 12 credits carried over from high school.

A secret shopper goes in to evaluate. A food critic goes in to criticize.
That's why they don't call secret shoppers secret critics. Did you get it
that time?

No?

sigh .................

On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:34:37 -0500, Boron Elgar
> wrote:

> On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 09:00:56 -0800, "Steve B"
> > wrote:
>
>
> >And secret shoppers are much more objective than a restaurant critic, which
> >starts out with a negative connotation of criticism.
> >
> >Steve
> >
> Did you sleep all the way through high school?
>
We can see now that he only knows one definition of "critic".
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/critic


--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

On Thu, 30 Dec 2010 10:49:48 -0800, Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

> As a number of you know, the LA Times food critic was "outed" by a new
> Beverly Hills restaurant by taking her photograph and posting it on
> the internet, among other things. Pretty damned short sighted for a
> restaurant that wants to get anywhere in a city like LA, but there you
> are. I find it hard to believe, however, that the Times' food critic
> has been able to preserve her anonymity for 15 years in a city like
> LA. Regardless of making reservations under various names, using
> others' credit cards, etc., I can't imagine her walking into a
> restaurant and not having the maitre'd, et al, recognize her and
> scramble to alert the chef and serving crew.
>
> Original article:
>
> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,2330320.story
>
> The follow-up article:
>
> http://www.latimes.com/features/food...,3870239.story
>
> I also can't feature a new restaurant in as competitive a market as
> Beverly Hills, where it is filthy expensive to even *open* a new
> restaurant, nevermind maintain one, would do such a thing unless the
> owners' sole purpose was the publicity, which it got in spades. Even
> if it was only after the buzz the "outing" created, the ill will it
> also created might trump whatever initial buzz was generated and last
> a sight longer.
>
> Oh, and does "outed" have one "t" or two? <g>
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

it seems to me like a bush-league thing to do. what is she - some kind of
child molester?

(as far as being a hard grader, i'm reminded of a movie reviewer from the
now-defunct *washington star*. i don't think i ever read a review of his
where he actually *liked* the movie. as i recall, he had been booted off
the sports page.)

your pal,
blake

On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:44:14 -0800, Steve B wrote:

> "Boron Elgar" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 09:00:56 -0800, "Steve B"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>And secret shoppers are much more objective than a restaurant critic,
>>>which
>>>starts out with a negative connotation of criticism.
>>>
>>>Steve
>>>
>> Did you sleep all the way through high school?
>>
>> Boron
>
> No, then I went on to college with 12 credits carried over from high school.
>
> A secret shopper goes in to evaluate. A food critic goes in to criticize.
> That's why they don't call secret shoppers secret critics. Did you get it
> that time?
>
> No?
>
> sigh .................

1a : one who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially
involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or
technique b : one who engages often professionally in the analysis,
evaluation, or appreciation of works of art or artistic performances

2: one given to harsh or captious judgment

....so you're full of shit. did you get *out* of college?

blake

blake wrote on Sat, 1 Jan 2011 10:45:25 -0500:

>> As a number of you know, the LA Times food critic was "outed"
>> by a new Beverly Hills restaurant by taking her photograph
>> and posting it on the internet, among other things. Pretty
>> damned short sighted for a restaurant that wants to get
>> anywhere in a city like LA, but there you are. I find it hard
>> to believe, however, that the Times' food critic has been
>> able to preserve her anonymity for 15 years in a city
>> like LA. Regardless of making reservations under various
>> names, using others' credit cards, etc., I can't imagine her
>> walking into a restaurant and not having the maitre'd, et al,
>> recognize her and scramble to alert the chef and serving
>> crew.
>>
>> Original article:
>>
>> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,2330320.story
>>
>> The follow-up article:
>>
>> http://www.latimes.com/features/food...,3870239.story
>>
>> I also can't feature a new restaurant in as competitive a
>> market as Beverly Hills, where it is filthy expensive to even
>> *open* a new restaurant, nevermind maintain one, would do
>> such a thing unless the owners' sole purpose was the
>> publicity, which it got in spades. Even if it was only after
>> the buzz the "outing" created, the ill will it also created
>> might trump whatever initial buzz was generated and last a
>> sight longer.
>>
>> Oh, and does "outed" have one "t" or two? <g>
>>
>> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

> it seems to me like a bush-league thing to do. what is she -
> some kind of child molester?

> (as far as being a hard grader, i'm reminded of a movie
> reviewer from the now-defunct *washington star*. i don't
> think i ever read a review of his where he actually *liked*
> the movie. as i recall, he had been booted off the sports
> page.)

Didn't Judith Martin (Miss Manners) do that for movies in the Washington
Post when she was shifted unwillingly to the job? How she never got
fired was a mystery to me.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Jan 1, 9:50*am, blake murphy > wrote:
> On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:44:14 -0800, Steve B wrote:
> > "Boron Elgar" > wrote in message
> .. .
> >> On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 09:00:56 -0800, "Steve B"
> >> > wrote:
>
> >>>And secret shoppers are much more objective than a restaurant critic,
> >>>which
> >>>starts out with a negative connotation of criticism.
>
> >>>Steve
>
> >> Did you sleep all the way through high school?
>
> >> Boron
>
> > No, then I went on to college with 12 credits carried over from high school.
>
> > A secret shopper goes in to evaluate. *A food critic goes in to criticize.
> > That's why they don't call secret shoppers secret critics. *Did you get it
> > that time?
>
> > No?
>
> > sigh .................
>
> 1a : one who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially
> involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or
> technique b : one who engages often professionally in the analysis,
> evaluation, or appreciation of works of art or artistic performances
>
> 2: one given to harsh or captious judgment
>
> ...so you're full of shit. *did you get *out* of college?

I thought Boron was calling attention to the stupidly constructed
sentence, "And secret shoppers are much more objective than a
restaurant critic, which starts out with a negative connotation of
criticism."
>
> blake

--Bryan

On Sat, 1 Jan 2011 10:53:35 -0500, James Silverton wrote:

> blake wrote on Sat, 1 Jan 2011 10:45:25 -0500:
>
>>> As a number of you know, the LA Times food critic was "outed"
>>> by a new Beverly Hills restaurant by taking her photograph
>>> and posting it on the internet, among other things. Pretty
>>> damned short sighted for a restaurant that wants to get
>>> anywhere in a city like LA, but there you are. I find it hard
>>> to believe, however, that the Times' food critic has been
>>> able to preserve her anonymity for 15 years in a city
>>> like LA. Regardless of making reservations under various
>>> names, using others' credit cards, etc., I can't imagine her
>>> walking into a restaurant and not having the maitre'd, et al,
>>> recognize her and scramble to alert the chef and serving
>>> crew.
>>>
>>> Original article:
>>>
>>> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,2330320.story
>>>
>>> The follow-up article:
>>>
>>> http://www.latimes.com/features/food...,3870239.story
>>>
>>> I also can't feature a new restaurant in as competitive a
>>> market as Beverly Hills, where it is filthy expensive to even
>>> *open* a new restaurant, nevermind maintain one, would do
>>> such a thing unless the owners' sole purpose was the
>>> publicity, which it got in spades. Even if it was only after
>>> the buzz the "outing" created, the ill will it also created
>>> might trump whatever initial buzz was generated and last a
>>> sight longer.
>>>
>>> Oh, and does "outed" have one "t" or two? <g>
>>>
>>> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
>
>> it seems to me like a bush-league thing to do. what is she -
>> some kind of child molester?
>
>> (as far as being a hard grader, i'm reminded of a movie
>> reviewer from the now-defunct *washington star*. i don't
>> think i ever read a review of his where he actually *liked*
>> the movie. as i recall, he had been booted off the sports
>> page.)
>
> Didn't Judith Martin (Miss Manners) do that for movies in the Washington
> Post when she was shifted unwillingly to the job? How she never got
> fired was a mystery to me.

i don't recall ms. martin/miss manners ever being a movie reviewer. not to
say it isn't possible, but she writes so well i think i would remember.

your pal,
blake