It’s kind of amazing, really — in our obsessive focus of all things pre-election, election, and post-election, we have totally failed to do our due diligence in anticipation of this Wednesday’s premiere of Top Chef’s latest season. Stupid election of the president distracting us from more pressing issues, like what Rad Desai had for breakfast and who she might be dating and where she lives. Oh, and the mention of Between Boutique Cafe & Lounge along with every mention of Rad, since she’s their exec chef.
Hurrah, then, for this user review that landed in the MP pipeline over the weekend, which we’ll bet our collector’s-edition Obama commemorative dinnerware has been written by a friend/family/employee of Between:
My boyfriend and I were having the hardest time finding the “perfect” place for diner last Sat. night. We, completely by accident, came across Between and could not have been more thrilled. The atmosphere, food, service, everything was above and beyond. Not to mention the chief had just finished filming the “Top Chief” show on Food Network. We could not have been more pleased. Lounging on couches in sectioned off seating was the greatest way to feel secluded without being. I can’t say enough about this place. We will be back!!!!
Suspicious lack of description of the food: Check. Well, points for literalism: The reviewer says she “can’t say enough about this place,” and we’ll interpret “this place” to mean architectural and structural details, since the food only shows up as part of a laundry list of review elements.
Gratuitous over-definition of the chef’s TV fame? Check. No need to tell us that Top Chef is a show, or that it airs on food network. Also a suspicious failure to use the chef’s name, which is probably overcompensation for the shilliness.
A promise to return? Check. 99% of the reviews that promise to return are shills, engineered in an attempt to make the reader of the shill think that this is the kind of place that’s worth more than a one-off visit. Shillers: Please stop doing this. It is annoying.
Between Boutique Cafe & Lounge [MenuPages]
Between Boutique Cafe & Lounge [Official Site]
previously
Shill-o-Meter: Farmerie 58
Super-Review: Jitlada Thai
Best of MenuPages Reviews: To Serve And Protect
Anatomy Of A Shill: Park 52
