写作方法2016newyorker.com
《纽约时报》评论家如何写出决定餐厅生死的评论
How the New York Times critic writes the reviews that make and break restaurants
导读
这篇《纽约客》文章描写《纽约时报》餐厅评论家 Pete Wells 如何写食评，以及一篇评论如何让餐厅爆红或倒闭。对写作者来说，它示范了“评论”这种文体的核心：观察要具体、判断要有依据、文字要对读者和对象负责，同时揭示评价性写作背后巨大的影响力与伦理重量。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
写评论时先建立自己的观察标准（吃过什么、对比过什么），再下判断，让结论有可追溯的依据。
- 02
具体细节胜过笼统形容词：描述一道菜的味道、环境、服务的一个瞬间，比“好吃”“糟糕”更有说服力。
- 03
意识到评论的权力：你的评价会影响他人的生计与选择，落笔时要把公正和举证放在讽刺快感之前。
- 04
把批评写成对读者有用的信息（该不该去、为什么去），而不是对店家单方面的宣判。
HN 评论精选
食评拥有真实而可怕的影响力，写作者必须意识到自己笔下关乎他人生计。
我的新闻法老师在一家地方报纸当美食评论员，那是她最能直接影响他人生活的岗位。写好评时，她会先打电话给餐厅，提醒他们备货；差评往往意味着这家店几个月内就会关门。有一次写了负面评论后，有人用霰弹枪打碎了她客厅的窗户。如今有了 Yelp，地方报纸的食评大概没这么大影响力了，但《纽约时报》的好评仍能让餐厅人气暴涨。
danso查看英文原文
My journalism law teacher worked at a regional paper and being the food critic was the job where she had the most direct influence on people's lives. If she wrote a positive review, she'd call the restaurant before the paper went to print to advise them to stock up. Negative reviews frequently meant that a place would shut down in the next few months. After one particular negative review, someone shot out her living room window with a shotgun. I imagine most regional papers today, if they even have a food critic, probably don't wield that much influence what with Yelp. I figure a good review by the NYT will cause a restaurant to skyrocket in popularity. I don't know how busy Dirt Candy was before its 2-star review (it's mentioned in the OP and was the first vegetarian restaurant to get 2-stars in some 10+ years), but I remember it being booked for months. I had to walk by it every night just to check if they had a cancellation to get in before I moved out of New York. But even if the NYT doesn't weigh in, there are so many blogs that cover the food scene in New York that there are plenty of ways to build buzz. (I still used Yelp to find most gems when I lived in New York though)
评论的价值不只在于它是否准确，更在于它成为众人共享的参照系。
对高端餐饮来说，《纽约时报》的影响力可能独一无二，因为它是少数“共享信息”的来源。如果你请人去一家刚被差评的昂贵餐厅，这个邀请就只能被理解为无知或挑衅；不想传达这两种意思，就别选那家店。你无法“退出”这套系统：无论你是否相信评论准确、是否认为对方也相信，评论作为共享信息都在起作用，忽视它只会让你沟通失当。
syllogism查看英文原文
The NY Times probably would be uniquely influential for fine-dining because it's likely one of the few sources of shared information. If you invite someone to an expensive restaurant that's just had a bad review, your invitation must mean either cluelessness or defiance. If you don't mean either of those two things, you should not choose that restaurant. You can't "opt out" of this system. It doesn't matter whether you believe the reviews are accurate. It doesn't matter whether you believe the other party believes the reviews are accurate. Because the review constitutes shared information, the logic of pluralistic ignorance applies. It's not clever to ignore shared information. It just leads you to communicate badly.
对权威食评的质疑：评论体系反映的可能是食客阶层与消费文化，而非食物本身。
有意思的是，《纽约时报》评论家对厨师和纽约公众（甚至全美公众）有那么大的权力，而米其林、圣培露等评审体系其实更国际化、更前瞻。在我看来，纽约高端餐饮历来更多是对冲基金人士用更高消费互相炫耀，而非追求更好的食物，也许正因此才滋生出迎合这类强势顾客的激烈食评文化。我认为眼下湾区的高级餐饮才是全美第一。
tastyfishy查看英文原文
It's interesting that the NY times critics wield so much power with the chefs and NY public (and maybe even american public), when there are plenty of review systems (michelin, pellegrino) that are more worldly and forward looking. IMO, New York high end cuisine has always been more about hedge fund people and old money impressing each other with higher spend, rather than better food. Maybe that's why there's an aggressive restaurant review culture that serves well to these aggressive customers (born out of finance). IMO bay area fine dining cuisine is #1 in the nation right now (NY might have even be #3, had Chicago not have some unfortunate chef deaths in the last few years) If you look at new york times's 4 star restaurants list: Le Bernardin/Jean Georges (old french cuisine, tons of sauces, boring) Per Se << French Laundry Del Posto (mario battali's strong/strange flavors are either love/hate) Quince (sf) is much more consistent and tasty. Sushi nakazawa - very good nigiri, but lacks decent cooked seafood. Yoshizumi (sf) is much better in both nigiri/cooked food, taste great, is cheaper, and the place has a great minimalistic japanese feel. And there's no direct answer from NY to Benu (out of this world Chinese), atellier crenn (if she only did desserts for all courses), saison (highly innovative), californios, mourad SF might be in top five cities in the world right now for great food (low end and high end)
对潮流与“正确品味”的讽刺：盲目追随评价体系会让人失去自主判断。
套用王尔德的话：时尚太丑，所以每半年就得换一次。大都会博物馆也许是我最爱的地方，但我觉得纽约相当大一部分令人反感：我从未见过如此毫无骨气地服从潮流的地方。很多人连穿件 T 恤都要反复纠结，穿对了还一脸自得；他们乐于排队一个半小时买一个墨西哥卷，只因为那是“对的”卷饼、排的是“对的”队。听到这个人说“我的身体不属于我自己”，我一阵不适，只好关掉。他们和狂热球迷的差别只是程度，不是性质。
TheLarch查看英文原文
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, fashion is so ugly it has to be replaced every six months. Though the Metropolitan Museum may be my favorite place on earth, I find a good portion of NYC to be repugnant. Nowhere have I seen such spineless obedience to trends and fashions. Many residents seemingly can't put on a tee shirt without worrying over it endlessly, and express a self-congratulatory air when they've gotten that tee shirt just right. They are delighted to wait for 1.5 hours to get a burrito because it's the right burrito, and the right line to be in to buy one. Hearing this guy say "my body is not my own" made me twitch and I had to stop. The difference between them and rabid football fans is a matter of degree, not quality.
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