No. 118
Ruth Reichl, Critic in Disguise
The Banter
The Guys, in 2025, set the scene for this interview with Ruth Reichl, a newspaper restaurant critic who changed the landscape of professional reviews. The Guys share reviews they have received and ones they were glad they didn’t.
The Conversation
The Restaurant Guys interview Ruth Reichl to discuss the roles of critic and restaurateur and how they must stay focused on enhancing the diner experience. Ruth talks of hate mail, disguises and the enormous pressure on critics to get it right.
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Ruth Reichl
Ruth Reichl started out as a co-owner and chef of Swallow Restaurant in Berkeley, California. She became the restaurant editor then food editor and critic at the Los Angeles Times.
Ruth returned to her native New York in 1993 to become the restaurant critic for the New York Times where she rocked the NYC restaurant scene with her dual review of Le Cirque in 1993. She stayed until 1999 when assumed the role of editor of Gourmet magazine.
She has written a dozen books and has appeared as a judge on Top Chef Masters. Currently, Ruth co-hosts a podcast and posts a food writer newsletter on Substack.
Ruth is a winner of six James Beard Awards as well as their Lifetime Achievement Award.
THE INSIDE TRACK
The Guys finally got to talk to Ruth about whether to acknowledge a critic in your restaurant. If only she could have told them sooner…
Francis: You spot the restaurant critic in the dining room. My inclination is to go over and say hello. Like I say hello to everybody in my dining room.
Ruth: Well, you probably shouldn't.
Mark: Yeah, we're sure of that now.
Ruth Reichl on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2005
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