Besha Rodell on anonymity and restaurant criticism
Creative Loafing’s food editor and restaurant critic Besha Rodell has a thoughtful story about the role of anonymity in restaurant criticism in this week’s issue. This has been an active topic in the food world since the New York Times appointed its former food editor, the easily recognizable Sam Sifton, as reviewer. Be sure to check it out. And if you’re a restaurateur eager to find out what Besha looks like, here’s your opportunity. She speaks with the vocal timbre of Lurch from the “Addams Family” and dresses like the Black Smoke from “Lost.” If you see this coming into restaurant, sear those scallops to perfection!
accessAtlanta Partner Sites
Sections
Advertise on accessAtlanta.com »
Reach the audience you want by advertising on accessAtlanta.com
Join the Access Atlanta Network »
Advertisers and Publishers, expand your reach by joining the Access Atlanta Network.
Tell us what you think about the site
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement | About our ads
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
12 comments Add your comment
Rob
May 19th, 2010
2:22 pm
I like Besha’s reviews but she looks like a terrorist here
Grammar Queen
May 19th, 2010
3:21 pm
Listen to that accent! I think I’d recognize that more so than anything else. “Credit cahd” for “credit card.” Definitely not from Atlanta.
Lisa
May 19th, 2010
6:24 pm
That’s a woman’s disguised voice? And MGF is leaving the AJC? Missed that.
BFellows
May 20th, 2010
10:14 am
Wow, with all the disguises and subterfuge I thought this was about someone important! Then I realized that she was just someone who ate food and wrote about it on a website that gets most of its traffic from people browsing the adult services section. Take yourself seriously much Besha?
Puerquito
May 20th, 2010
12:10 pm
The restaurant critic as we know it is dead. There are som many outlets for “normal” people to voice their opinion that the word of an “expert” seems to not matter as much.
Besides, on person’s opinion is always going to be biased in some way.
Jere
May 20th, 2010
7:14 pm
bizarre
Dunwoody Don
May 21st, 2010
12:52 pm
I saw JK once without his disguise [goofy facial hair, nerdy glasses, longest gray toupee]. He looks a lot like Sonny Perdue.
John Kessler
May 21st, 2010
12:57 pm
Thought I looked more like Frank Perdue
Fred
May 21st, 2010
6:00 pm
MFG is leaving? WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She threw her “food critic” role around to much. If she didn’t get fawned over she was livid and it showed in her reviews. She was not respected by any restaurant owners I have talked to. Even some whom she gave a good review to.
Who was that who used to do the reviews with their trusty partner “sidekick.” Was that you in earlier days John?
I agree with the ghoul in the video that reviewers HAVE to be anonymous to be truly effective.
Carrie Neal Walden
May 25th, 2010
7:35 pm
Fred has a point about MFG’s *attitude*.
Carrie Neal Walden
May 25th, 2010
7:38 pm
PS- I could only listen to about three secs of Besha’s video. Ridiculously over the top, so much that I couldn’t even get to whatever point she was trying to make!
Monica Ricci
July 17th, 2010
3:31 pm
On one hand this is hilarious. Seriously? All black with SUNGLASSES on top? LOL…
That being said, I do think anonymity is an important element in objective, authentic restaurant reviews.