Since my wife and I have resided in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, for the past six plus years, I finally succumbed and purchased a subscription to the area’s indigenous mag, Main Line Today, which covers happenings in Philadelphia’s western suburbs.
Like publications of similar ilk “The Best of This and That” appears with nauseating regularity… ditto variations on the numbers theme: “The Top” (fill in the appropriate digits) lawyers, doctors, dentists; and, most recently, “32 Great New Restaurants.”
Quite naturally, given my vocation as a professional “hired belly,” the restaurants are of primary interest. Each month, the magazine contains a restaurant guide in which advertisers’ establishments are automatically included, along with other eateries chosen at the management’s discretion. There is also a “Quick Bites” section (read here: “gastronomic gossip”), noting future openings, recent closings, and assorted other items that may or may not be of interest to area foodies.
The person responsible for all this culinary cavorting is the magazine’s dining editor, Beth Ceccarelli. Oh… and she also makes a stab at turning out a restaurant review each month (and usually a mini review as well). I say “makes a stab at,” as her reviews have, in my opinion, always appeared somewhat suspect.
All restaurant reviewing began as advertisement and, occasionally, given the slightest bit of provocation – like the promise of lucrative advertising dollars, for instance – it tends to return to its roots. Case in point: While Paramour, the new upscale culinary venture in the venerable Wayne Hotel, was garnering mixed reviews online and subsequently received a scathing one bell (“hit or miss”) critique from Craig LaBan of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Ms. Ceccarelli simply gushed all over it. Interestingly enough, however, she had precious little to say about the cuisine – either by chance or choice – which Mr. LaBan soundly criticized as poorly executed and overpriced.
Her other reviews follow a similar pattern… Negative comments are rarely allowed to intrude; and, even when they do, they seem to be administered with the severity of James Bond’s mink glove massage… and then, at the speed of light, one’s attention is quickly diverted to more positive aspects. I always come away with the feeling that she speaks to readers out of both sides of her mouth. Indeed, it is difficult to trust a restaurant reviewer whose opinions appear to be unduly influenced by the seductively persuasive power of advertisers’ purse strings.
Conjecture? Perhaps. But what really sealed the deal for me was a glimpse at the magazine’s blog, The Main Course. There, accompanying each entry she posts, you find Ms. Ceccarelli’s photograph displayed in glorious living color.
One of the cardinal rules of legitimate restaurant reviewing is to dine anonymously. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of elaborate disguises, à la Ruth Reichl/Mimi Sheraton, or publicity stunts like showing up for a TV interview with a bag over your head, à la Craig LaBan … But some degree of anonymity is absolutely essential so that the critic may properly sample the food and service experienced by the average diner; and to make certain that he/she does not receive preferential treatment, which may influence the ultimate evaluation of a given establishment. Announcing one’s presence beforehand or accepting freebies is strictly a no-no.
Whether Ms. Ceccarelli has transgressed in a manner of the aforementioned sentence is really a moot point. With all due respect, reputable restaurant reviewers do not have their mug shots plastered all over the internet for all-the-world – and every computer-savvy restaurateur in the tri-state area (which takes in just about every proprietor of an establishment more illustrious than a traveling taco stand) – to see; it’s something that just isn’t done.
The bottom line, in my opinion, synthesizing all of the above facts, is that Ms. Ceccarelli’s restaurant ramblings are, in actuality, promotions masquerading as reviews. Therefore, she cannot, under any circumstances, be considered unbiased and uninfluenced by certain advertising considerations.
When it comes to Ms. Ceccarelli’s reviews, my advice to Main Line Today subscribers is simple: caveat emptor. In this case, “let the reader beware.”
Bon Appétit!
TAD
{ 0 comments… add one now }