Jay Rayner Paints the New York Restaurant World in a Few Broad StrokesThe Man Who Ate the World, British restaurant critic Jay Rayner’s tour of the planet’s great restaurant cities will be coming out soon, as Gawker noted yesterday. Its piece lingered over Super Mario’s latest profanity-laced anti-blogger tirade, which was almost as enjoyable as his last one. But having read the New York chapter, we were hit by how much other good stuff was in it.
Mediavore
Restaurants Sue to Keep Calorie Info Out of Sight; Online Reservations DominateThe New York State Restaurant Association sues the city to stop having to reveal calorie information. [Nation’s Restaurant News]
The days of making, and keeping, reservations off-line are over: OpenTable has come to dominate the restaurant business. [NYT]
In a Times op-ed, the Zagats plead for real regional Chinese cooking to come and save us from egg foo yong. It would be a revelation, they say — “Imagine … what it would be like to discover for the first time Memphis-style barbecue, New York deli food, soul food and Creole, Tex-Mex, Southwestern, California and Hawaiian cuisines all at once.” [NYT]
Back of the House
Eating Out With Tim Zagat; the Littlest FeinschmeckersWhat’s it like to eat dinner with Tim Zagat? Something akin to eating with royalty. [Slate]
As Texas and New Haven fight it out for the title of who invented the hamburger, Grub Street’s editor weighs in. [LAT]
How did eating and diet get so complicated? Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and one of the guys who helped make it so complicated, sorts it all out. [NYT]
Back of the House
K-Fed Demeans Fast-Food Workers; David Blaine’s Zagat StuntRestaurant-industry representatives want a K-Fed Super Bowl ad in which he’s a fast-food worker pulled, because it “leaves the impression that working in a restaurant is demeaning and unpleasant.“ Being associated with K-Fed is demeaning enough, no? [MSNBC]
Meanwhile, McDonald’s announces its strongest year in three decades. [NYT]
Related: Food Network Accused of (Subliminal) Advertising
David Blaine, in his most grueling stunt yet, chats with the Zagats at Babbo, calling Tim Zagat “a saint.” [NYP]
Related: Junior Zagat Resigns
