- Fearless Critic
Fearless Critic is a series of restaurant guides to US cities. The series was founded in 2003 and currently has five titles, most notably
Houston, Texas andAustin, Texas . The books are sold largely in bookstores (e.g.Barnes & Noble ,Borders Books ,Amazon.com ) and food stores (e.g.Whole Foods Market ).Rating system
Until late 2007, the series used a 10-point rating scale (1.0 to 10.0). In 2007, with the Houston guide, the series moved to a letter grading system (from A+ to D-).
Series name change
The series was called "The Menu" until 2005, when it was renamed "The Fearless Critic." Older titles in the Northeast US still bear "The Menu" title.
Controversy over ratings
The Fearless Critic has incited debate on food boards such as
Chowhound over its harsh ratings. [cite news
title = Chowhound Food Media and News
date = 2007-02-25
url = http://www.chowhound.com/topics/374868
accessdate = 2008-01-30] .The Wine Trials
The Fearless Critic's first wine book, The Wine Trials, sparked debate over its claim that non-expert wine drinkers preferred cheap bottles to more expensive bottles in scientific blind tastings. [cite news
title = Newsweek: Tastes Great, Less Billing
date = 2008-04-07
url = http://www.newsweek.com/id/129535
accessdate = 2008-08-20] [cite news
title = New York Times: Wine's Pleasures: Are They All in Your Head?
date = 2008-05-07
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/dining/07pour.html
accessdate = 2008-08-20]Wine Spectator Award of Excellence controversy
On August 15, 2008, Fearless Critic founder Robin Goldstein revealed that he had submitted an application for a
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for an imaginary restaurant in Milan, which he named "Osteria L'Intrepido" ("Fearless Restaurant"), and that the non-existent restaurant had won the award. The expose was reported widely across the media and blogosphere. [cite news
title = New York Magazine: Imaginary Restaurant Snags 'Wine Spectator' Award of Excellence
date = 2008-08-20
url = http://nymag.com/daily/food/2008/08/imaginary_restaurants_can_buy.html
accessdate = 2008-08-20]See also
*
Zagat Survey
*Restaurant rating
*Michelin Guide
*Wine Spectator References
External links
* [http://www.austin360.com/search/content/food_drink/stories/2006/07/12guidebook.html Austin American-Statesman article]
* [http://houstonist.com/2007/12/11/a_conversation.php Houstonist article]
* [http://foodinhouston.blogspot.com/2007/12/fearless-critics-houston-restaurant.html Foodinhouston blog]
* [http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/12545 Yale Daily News article]
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