Critics Be Damned!!!!

The other night I was watching Restaurant Impossible with Robert Irvine.  OK, I was watching it by myself, but he is the host of the show.  In any event, Robert was tasting some fried chicken at a restaurant he was saving.  When he tasted it, he said, “The skin has the right amount of salt, for me anyway.”  I was really glad to hear the second part of that sentence “for me anyway.”  It really summed up an important point, different people have different tastes. 

I bring this up because I see many blogs regarding food, especially those that critique food.  I read them, but then I really do not pay much attention to them.  Now if a review says that the place was teeming with cockroaches or rats, or if it said the cook doesn’t wash his hands after using the restroom, I will definitely pay attention to those observations.  Those are things I want to know.  However, the whole “savory didn’t compliment the sweet, or the texture of the food was…” observations mean little to me.  Very little.  I am not disparaging what the critic is doing.  Many people want to know the critic’s observations.  I don’t though.  Let me explain why.

I come from a more simple world.  I come from the world of “I like this or I don’t.”  Simple.  I first became aware of this when I went on my first wine tasting trip.  There were guys with polo shirts and sweaters draped around their necks.  They were talking about the tannins, body, legs etc.  Hell, I had no idea what they were talking about.  My observations were more simple, I liked these, did not like these.  (I won’t even talk about whether I liked the wine mixture from the jar you pour your left over wine in, that is a drunk story, not a food story.) I wasn’t going to avoid buying a wine because its legs may have been a little weak.  To be honest, I wouldn’t even know what that was.  I thought legs were for walking and running. 

I try to hit each new locally owned restaurant that comes to the Fresno area.  Just look at me, it is obvious.  When I go there, my critique is simple.  I like it or I didn’t.  However, when people ask me about it, I do not tell them not to go there.  I explain to them what the restaurant had and what it didn’t and what I liked and what I didn’t like.  BUT, I always finish with the statement, “You need to check it out yourself.”  It is not my job to tell people what they may like and what they may not like.  It’s like the whole hot dog controversy at my house right now.  I like sweet pickle relish.  My wife despises it.  It makes her physically ill. She prefers dill pickles.  Which one of us is right????  Neither one of us is right.  We each like different things.  (I just need to get her off of her “I’m superior to you because I like dill” pedestal.) 

The whole point of this, first and always foremost, support locally owned restaurants.  Second, there are hidden gems in Fresno that you are certain to like.  There are some you may not like.  But if you make this determination based solely on the observations of a critic or even a friend, you will never know.  The sweet and savory issue that displeased the critic may actually taste good to you and become your favorite food.  Decide for yourself and give these restaurants a chance.

Footnote:  I saw a review of a local restaurant this morning as I was writing this.  I am not going to hide anything here, it was a review of the Le Grilled Cheese at Dusty Buns Bistro, a local favorite.  It was written by a new blogger who was going to tell me what is good and bad about Fresno.  The thing is THE CRITIC HAD NEVER TRIED THE SANDWICH.  WTF????  They made their observation based on the description of the sandwich apparently from the web site.  This was ridiculous.  Dusty Buns is very popular.  This is evident from the long lines wherever they decide to park, or at their new brick and mortar location.  I personally love this sandwich.  But I also know people who are “eh” about it.  To each their own.  But the audacity of someone who critiques something before they even try it?  Really????  I promptly un-followed this person.  I do not need you to tell me what is good or bad about Fresno, I can decide on myself.  I am sure the 31 (oops now 30) followers you have will really appreciate your input.