Sifton's Style

I had never read restaurant reviews before, so when I thought of the term “food critic,” I naively thought that they were just about reviewing the food.  Sifton talked about many things that I hadn’t thought of a food critic before, like the decor, the staff and the prices.  But his pieces also served to help me realize of very acute details that accompany fine dining: the chef’s personality, the wine list, the artistry of the food, what types of people are eating there.  I never realize how many times a critic visits a restaurant (once it was five times!)  I also found I interesting that Sifton doesn’t always describe the taste, but accurately depicts what it looks like.  When he describes the taste, I can really appreciate that food because he doesn’t overuse that device in his criticisms. 
    My favorite of Sifton’s articles was definitely his review of Kenmare.  Kenmare received zero stars, so the jokes that Sifton included really got me cracking.  One of my favorites: “You can pick at these for a long time, drinking prosecco and doing red-carpet analysis of this one’s tight dress or that one’s unfortunate hair, laughing gaily until someone remembers how great it was to smoke, and the whole conversation goes nostalgic and sullen,” and “recalling the television program “Jersey Shore,” there was a dish called The Chicken.”  Funny quips like these show how engaged Sifton is with his audience and how these jokes can be relatable to all readers, as we’ve all had bad restaurants experiences, even if we’ve rarely visit upscale restaurants.  It’s no surprise that he’s the second most followed food critic on Twitter-- people really love him.
    Additionally, Sifton’s descriptions on the health of being a food critic were intriguing.  I guess I hadn’t thought that being a food critic is a 24/7, 6 days a week kind of job.  While he does a good job of exercising, his calorie count made me very aware of how unhealthy it can be to eat at restaurants very frequently.  But after reading about this calorie count, I was surprised to see that Sifton remained very upbeat about his job.  In order to be the leading food critic for the New York Times, you have to love your job, and he really does.  That made me imagine what it would be like if I tried to be a food critic. I don’t think it would work out.  Not because of how the calorie intake per se (trust me, I love to indulge in foods with lots of calories), but the sheer amount of food he seems to eat is incredible.  I love to eat, but not that much.  The hassle of going out to restaurants sound very tiring as well.
    I think I enjoyed Sifton so much because of style.  It’s hard to describe, but I noticed a vast difference with his writing than that of Jonathan Gold.  Gold seems to speak to the audience a lot more directly, using “you” quite often, making suggestions on what one should order rather than summarizing what everything he had was like and allowing the readers to decide for themselves.  I don’t mind the style, I just find Sifton’s more enjoyable to read; less of a “how to” and more of a criticism.

I’ll end with my favorite bit of knowledge from Sifton: “Restaurant criticism ought to be about deliciousness and sociology and art. It shouldn’t ultimately be about nutrition, this exchange notwithstanding.”