WaPo Ask Tom?

[Anonymous]

Also, he never stops gushing about Le diplomate. Even after the Washington outed he was getting special treatment. I’ve been to 4 star restaurants, all over the world, Le Diplomate is pedestrian French food and some of the worst service I’ve ever had. And when people have called him out on this his answer is basically, well, Your wrong.

[Anonymous]

So agree. A place actually has to overcome my bias regarding his recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think he has a limited range. However, I've also noticed that most of the questions that come in for the Q&A pretty much seem to be the same question asked 15 different ways. It could be that there is just a really small market for his schtick and he does what he does to keep that market open. I appreciate some of his comments although I admit I frequently don't agree with him because I think his reviews are so particular to his own tastes and preferences.

+1 He’s been around for too long. We need someone with a more adventurous palate. I get better recs when The NY Times does their 36 hours in DC feature

+1 There should be term limits on food critics. He spends more time discussing the ambiance of the places than the food.

[Anonymous]

One of you outed this thread in his chat today.

Q: negative press
You probably don't read DC Urban Mom (why would you, you are not a parent), but there is a whole thread about how terrible you are http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/699666.page (if you are interested) My question is not about that, but in general, being in the semi public eye, does negative press bother you, or do you just take it as something that comes with your (very cool) job.

[Anonymous]

Did this group loose taste buds?

[Anonymous]

You mean lose taste buds? Funny watching people post about restaurants they know nothing about.

[Anonymous]

I think Sietsema is great. If you don't like him stick with the other reviewers in the Post. Or the Washingtonian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To Indians, Rasika isn't great.
I tried 2 restaurants based on his recs and I didn't like them.

Are you really speaking for all Indians?? That is a ridiculous comment. I have taken several people of my parents' generation (i.e. born and raised in India) and they love it as much as I do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Sietsema is great. If you don't like him stick with the other reviewers in the Post. Or the Washingtonian.

I like his chats. He seems to be pretty even keeled. Sometimes the chatters ask the same stupid questions over and over...

[Anonymous]

I like Sietsema a lot better than I did Phyllis Richman, whose tastes didn't match mine at all. I agree with others about Rasika, but most of the time I think Sietsema gets it right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tom lost all credibility as a food critic when he name a mediocre pizza restaurant a top-10 restaurant in DC.

which one?

Timber Pizza in Petworth

No, it was All Purpose. Timber barely qualifies as pizza.

What? Timber Pizza is amazing. I haven't met anyone who has been who hasn't thought otherwise. Do you have very specific pizza tastes? Just hard to imagine someone not liking them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To Indians, Rasika isn't great.
I tried 2 restaurants based on his recs and I didn't like them.

Are you really speaking for all Indians?? That is a ridiculous comment. I have taken several people of my parents' generation (i.e. born and raised in India) and they love it as much as I do.

S/he speaks for this Indian and most of my Indian family and friends at least.

[Anonymous]

I totally agree OP. I thought I was the only one who thought that. If you read his stuff, you would think there are only about 6 restaurants in DC.

Rasika is blah and so are many others of his choices. They need someone new. I thought Phyllis Richman was much better.

[Anonymous]

If you all hate Tom so much, why do you keep reading him?

If different people ask you for a restaurant recommendation in your neighborhood with no other clarifying information, aren't you likely to send them to the same place every time?

[Anonymous]

In the chat Sietsema asked for a documented instance where he has shown bias in his review.

Here's one about ten years ago, where Sietsema eventually apologized for his review entitled: "At Commissary, Cheap Eats Don't Come Good":

"Note to readers: I should have recused myself from reviewing Commissary. I had a personal relationship with one of the principals a couple of years ago and in retrospect, I can see how that could create a misimpression that it compromised my objectivity."

This means you won't see any Sietsema reviews of EatWell DC's array of restaurants.

Columbia Journalism Review also covered this episode.