I think Mario and Roland both would find that the serious food posters at a site like LTH can be among their best allies, while they must also deal with the clouds of confetti tossed up at so many, less serious food blogs and fora on the internet. It's the price paid for free speech. Let good speech fight bad speech. If Mario, Roland or others are actually being defamed (i.e., being lied about in a harmful way), then let them file suit. If it's just opinion, than, I am sorry, they must deal with it. Their complaints (not the kind filed in court for defamation) are just bellyaching. Moreover, these guys are both such obvious winners in the world of food, their complaints are hard to take seriously; maybe they are losing the business they needed to finance that second home in Aspen? Maybe having trouble making the yacht payments? Come on. Just write another book or talk to ConAgra about a frozen food line or something if you need more money. I hate it when obviously successful people complain like this. There are hundreds of millions of people on this earth with real problems, like inability to get decent food or clean drinking water. It's just crap.

djenks wrote:EOFS's posts are awesome and entertaining

i can't wait for the next one...

I doubt you'll have to wait long.
What time does Bennigan's close?

JimInLoganSquare wrote:I think Mario and Roland both would find that the serious food posters at a site like LTH can be among their best allies.

Agree with your entire post, but especially this. I have been turned on to so many great places as a result of LTH and other food sites. And anyone with their own food blog is almost certainly inspired more out of a love for great food than any desire to slam a hard working chef.

The anonymous Internet trolls and out of line curmudgeons? People see through that pretty quickly, so no need to get wrapped up in it.

At any rate, the Internet isn't going away, so you might as well complain about the weather. Or maybe pay attention when those negative blogs start piling up.

johnny wrote:

djenks wrote:EOFS's posts are awesome and entertaining

i can't wait for the next one...

I doubt you'll have to wait long.
What time does Bennigan's close?

Why are you insulting Bennigan's?

EOFS hasn't been back so this thread isn't nearly as entertaining anymore

Alright - this seems so ridiculous i had to throw in my two cents.

Restaurants serve the public.

the public is going to be 100% the reason a restaurant stays in business. Until every professional food critic eats at an establishment with such volume that they cover all operational costs, this will never change.

So, who are a restaurant's target customers? Average people - average in the sense that they aren't professional or paid food critics.

So, when a member of the public pays money for a service (in this case, a meal) they now have an opinion on that service. Why should they not?

They've been offered the same service (in concept, that being a meal) as every other person walking into that restaurant.

Everything past this is of no matter. The means in which the public can share their views to the world is continually changing - but this is nothing new.

It first started with written language. Eventually, past newspapers, telegrams, radio, television - we've come to the most widespread and accessible of them all: the internet. But, again, this is of no matter.

The fact is, people are afraid of the accessibility of information because of the possibility that that information may have ill effects on their business. But, this is absurd. If you offer a product or service that is in good standing with the majority of the public, the majority of your sample set will have access to post and/or read information in the net - so what is the nature of the majority of that information.

People that consider food somewhat or fully a hobby visit forums like this to further explore their hobby.

Most everyone on here isn't going to avoid a place because of a negative review. On the other hand, if there are 50 negative reviews - is it really the fault of food bloggers that people aren't going to the establishment, or is it the establishments fault?

I'd also like to point out something to Eating Out is for Suckers (although I'm sure that he/she is not reading any longer). Although I read the postings on this board for information, I tune in mostly for the entertainment they provide. I don't think that I'm in the minority here. Many of the regular posters here are good writers, and I generally just check in to see what they're saying. You may find the detailed accounts that many people give annoying, but I enjoy them. I don't get to go out that often and my dining choices are often limited by factors other than my own preferences (i.e. opinionated husband, tiny baby, etc.) Reading a detailed review of a fine dining establishment is probably the closest I'll ever get to experiencing a meal there. I'm not an idiot. I know that a person's experience of a restaurant depends on a myriad of factors. I just like to see what people are talking about.

I can understand the feelings of people in the industry who develop a chip on their shoulder about internet postings. There's something about finding negative comments about one's work on the internet that can lead to anything from a sick feeling in the pit of the stomach to full-blown paranoia. Authors as successful as Anne Rice and Patricia Cornwell have gone way overboard in reacting to bad customer reviews on Amazon. I would think they'd be laughing all the way to the bank but that's not how they feel about it. It's an even worse feeling if you're not that successful or if your success feels tenuous (which is probably always the case in the restaurant business). Doesn't matter what the outcome is in terms of sales or whatever-- it's just an awful feeling.

I don't know if the OP here is a member of the industry trying to wade in and right perceived wrongs. Problem is, it hardly ever works. If you're not straightforward about it, it usually compounds the problem. I do recall instances where someone lit into a restaurant, someone from the restaurant replied, and the account was straightened out a bit. But those people have said who they were up front.

bibi rose wrote:I don't know if the OP here is a member of the industry trying to wade in and right perceived wrongs. Problem is, it hardly ever works. If you're not straightforward about it, it usually compounds the problem. I do recall instances where someone lit into a restaurant, someone from the restaurant replied, and the account was straightened out a bit. But those people have said who they were up front.

GWiv and I were talking to the barkeep at Weegee's a few weeks ago, and he mentioned that he never responded to negative internet postings because "You can't win." I tend to think he has a point; anything the restaurateur says will tend to come off defensive and self-serving, and will only continue the discussion, so why even get into it?