Thursday, May 22, 2014

Record Attempt At Anonymous Restaurant Reviews Lays an Egg

Giving Gypsy Cab only 3.5 of 5 "bowlers," the "Gourmet Ghost" of the St. Augustine Record -- a new feature premiering in today's newspaper -- came up short.
The "Gourmet Ghost" laid an egg.
Anonymous restaurant reviews are in bad taste.
I agree with Bob Fliegel, who said on the Record's website:
Concur with Clara and please drop the anonymity
The Record made a big deal out of eliminating anonymity from the Comments sections that follow news articles and opinion pieces and defensibly so. Why doesn't the same rationale apply to your new restaurant reviewer? Stand behind your reviews with your name!
Phyllis Richman at the Washington Post reviewed restaurants under her own name. She would arrive with friends and sample food from their table, but was not known to management. Her credentials were self-evident.
Using an anonymous name or "Nic" has been abolished for St. Augustine Record reader commenters, but has now been legalized by Record Editor Kathy Nelson and Record Publisher Delinda Fogel. Until we know the name of the restaurant reviewer and her putative credentials, the Record is in no position to publish restaurant reviews, particularly not one that trashes my favorite restaurant in St. Augustine, and everyone else's.
The Devil with the complaint.
The "Gourmet Ghost" is dead meat.
The "Gourmet Ghost"'s insipid, uninspiring lukewarm review of Gypsy Cab, well, "toast."

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