Justin Davidson Mulls The Point Of Criticism After NYT Critic Declines To Review Restaurant And Writes About It Anyway

“No critic can know what another diner brings to the table or an audience member to a concert hall, what vicarious joy—or scorn—a reader draws from a review. Which is why I object to one of Pete Wells’s most ringing self-justifications for taking a pass on this particular restaurant: that the people who eat there are the wrong sort.”