Dining Out: Secrets from America's Leading Critics, Chefs, and Restaurateurs - Softcover

Dornenburg, Andrew; Page, Karen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 047129277X ISBN 13: 9780471292777

Publisher: Hungry Minds Inc,U.S., 1998

Synopsis

Meet the people behind the restaurants and the reviews, and learn how their insight can help turn your next meal out, into a world-class dining event. For generations, chefs, restaurateurs and food enthusiasts have watched their world revolve around a small but enormously powerful cabal known simply as "restaurant reviewers." In their new book, Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page leave the kitchen for the dining room, to shine a light on the world of the culinary critics, shadowy figures often dining incognito, whose public judgments can make or break a restaurant. Drawing on interviews with the nation's most important critics including Ruth Reichl of the New York Times, Phyllis Richman of The Washington Post, and Dennis Ray Wheaton of Chicago Magazine, as well as celebrity chefs and restaurateurs, Dornenburg and Page serve up a rare look into the reviewing process, and reveal some of the pros' secrets for creating-and enjoying-a four-star dining experience. Chefs and restaurateurs are offered inside information on how to create a "four-star" dining experience. * First time exposure of the mysterious food critic. Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (both of New York City) are the authors of the best selling titles Becoming a Chef and Culinary Artistry. Their first book, Becoming a Chef, won the 1996 James Beard Award for Best Writing on Food.

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are co--authors of a groundbreaking trilogy of books chronicling America's vibrant restaurant culture. Dornenburg has cooked professionally in some of the best restaurants on the East Coast, including Arcadia, Judson Grill, and March in New York City, and Biba and the East Coast Grill in Boston. He attended the School for American Chefs, where he studied with Madeleine Kamman. Page, the recipient of the 1997 Melitta Bentz Award for Women's Achievement, is a graduate of the Harvard Business School (whose alumnae network she heads) and Northwestern University, which named her to The Council of 100 (leading alumnae). ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS: Michael Donnelly is a New York--based photographer whose work has appeared in Elle, House & Garden, Travel & Leisure, and The World of Interiors. Fiona Donnelly is a feature writer, fashion stylist, and contributing editor at Bride's.

From the Back Cover

"This book will enrich and enlighten anyone with an interest in dining out." Patrick O'Connell, chef-owner, The Inn at Little Washington

"The King of Spain is waiting in the bar, but your table is ready." Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque to New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl

"If you've invested $1.5 million in a project and certain people can crush you like a bug if they have a bad time, you're a fool if you're not trying to find out who these people are, what they look like, and when they're in." Bob Kinkead, chef-owner, Kinkead's

Just as food has become our national obsession, so has dining out virtually become its own sport. Dining enthusiasts, eager to get the take on new restaurants and the status of old favorites, look to restaurant critics and their discerning palates for guidance. So, who are these secretive personalities who often dine incognito and whose public judgments can make or break a restaurant or chef? Be a guest at their private table in DINING OUT: Secrets from America's Leading Critics, Chefs, and Restaurateurs, the first book to demystify the critical process and to unlock the secrets of a great restaurant experience.

Drawing on extensive interviews and research, co-authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page expose the wide-ranging experiences and insights of dozens of the most powerful palates in America, among them Gael Greene of New York, John Mariani of Esquire, Ruth Reichl of The New York Times, Phyllis Richman of The Washington Post, David Rosengarten and Caroline Bates of Gourmet, Patricia Unterman of The San Francisco Examiner, S. Irene Virbila of The Los Angeles Times, and Dennis Ray Wheaton of Chicago. They reveal their occasionally outlandish schemes for remaining anonymous and what happens when their covers are blown! The critics also divulge how they review restaurants, what they think about the star system, and how they temper their personal biases when judging food, service, and ambiance.

Then Dornenburg and Page turn the tables, sharing the sentiments of well-known chefs and restaurateurs from across the country as they review the restaurant critics, from their credentials and rating systems to the forceful impact of their reviews. The chefs and owners of dozens of celebrated restaurants including Al Forno, Campanile, Chez Panisse, East Coast Grill, Fleur de Lys, Frontera Grill, Le Cirque 2000, Red Sage, and Stars offer their own definitions of excellence in food, service, and setting, and reflect on the role that the customer plays in the total dining experience.

Special features of the book include:

• A guide to leading food critics' favorite restaurants across America
• Restaurant review resources available on the Internet
• Advice from renowned sommeliers Larry Stone of Rubicon and Jean-Luc Le D? of Daniel, and ma?tre fromager Max McCalman of Picholine
• Musings by Pulitzer Prize-winning critics of architecture, media, and music on how they might approach restaurant criticism
• Special interviews with Danny Meyer on Providing Hospitality and Mark Miller on The Progress of American Gastronomy

"Finally, the best insider's view of our business for the discerning restaurant goer. Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page do a wonderful job of exploring the 'behind-the-scenes' side of professional cooking. As [New York Times restaurant critic] Ruth Reichl would say, 'HHHH'!" Daniel Boulud, chef-owner, Restaurant Daniel and Cafe Boulud

"DINING OUT is a fascinating story, one that absolutely needed to be written. I found this book to be a compelling, revealing, and utterly entertaining look at what the critics, and those they criticize, had to say." Michael Romano, chef-partner, Union Square Cafe

"This is no fair it took me a lifetime to learn all these insights into the restaurant business! Well done!" Ella Brennan, owner, Commander's Palace

"DINING OUT is both entertaining and educational, and can make your restaurant experience the same. The sommelier

From the Inside Flap

Dining Out Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page "This book will enrich and enlighten anyone with an interest in dining out." ?Patrick O?Connell, chef-owner, The Inn at Little Washington "The King of Spain is waiting in the bar, but your table is ready." ?Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque to New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl "If you?ve invested $1.5 million in a project and certain people can crush you like a bug if they have a bad time, you?re a fool if you?re not trying to find out who these people are, what they look like, and when they?re in." ?Bob Kinkead, chef-owner, Kinkead?s Just as food has become our national obsession, so has dining out virtually become its own sport. Dining enthusiasts, eager to get the take on new restaurants and the status of old favorites, look to restaurant critics and their discerning palates for guidance. So, who are these secretive personalities who often dine incognito and whose public judgments can make or break a restaurant or chef? Be a guest at their private table in Dining Out: Secrets from America?s Leading Critics, Chefs, and Restaurateurs, the first book to demystify the critical process and to unlock the secrets of a great restaurant experience. Drawing on extensive interviews and research, co-authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page expose the wide-ranging experiences and insights of dozens of the most powerful palates in America, among them Gael Greene of New York, John Mariani of Esquire, Ruth Reichl of The New York Times, Phyllis Richman of The Washington Post, David Rosengarten and Caroline Bates of Gourmet, Patricia Unterman of The San Francisco Examiner, S. Irene Virbila of The Los Angeles Times, and Dennis Ray Wheaton of Chicago. They reveal their occasionally outlandish schemes for remaining anonymous?and what happens when their covers are blown! The critics also divulge how they review restaurants, what they think about the star system, and how they temper their personal biases when judging food, service, and ambiance. Then Dornenburg arid Page turn the tables, sharing the sentiments of well-known chefs and restaurateurs from across the country as they review the restaurant critics, from their credentials and rating systems to the forceful impact of their reviews. The chefs and owners of dozens of celebrated restaurants including Al Forno, Campanile, Chez Panisse, East Coast Grill, Fleur de Lys, Frontera Grill, Le Cirque 2000, Red Sage, and Stars offer their own definitions of excellence in food, service, and setting, and reflect on the role that the customer plays in the total dining experience. Special features of the book include:

• A guide to leading food critics? favorite restaurants across America
• Restaurant review resources available on the Internet
• Advice from renowned sommeliers Larry Stone of Rubicon and Jean-Luc Le Dû of Daniel, and maître fromager Max McCalman of Picholine
• Musings by Pulitzer Prize-winning critics of architecture, media, and music on how they might approach restaurant criticism
• Special interviews with Danny Meyer on Providing Hospitality and Mark Miller on The Progress of American Gastronomy

Edition details

• Publisher: Hungry Minds Inc,U.S.
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 047129277X
• ISBN 13: 9780471292777
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368