Cross Country
Samurai Food Fight in Gotham City
What's the worst that could happen to a restaurant critic? A bad meal? Guess again. Frank Bruni, the reigning critic in New York, is finding that restaurateurs can be combative. After Bruni panned Jeffrey Chodorow's latest Manhattan creation, Kobe Club, Chodorow shot back with a full-page ad in Bruni's own New York Times dining section. The lengthy screed questioned Bruni's credentials, complaining that the Times man isn't a trained gastronome.
Bruni's review was indeed tough, charging that Kobe Club "presents too many insipid or insulting dishes at prices that draw blood from anyone without a trust fund or an expense account." That's got to hurt after you've imported pricey beef from Japan (a steak can go for more than $200) and spent gobs of money to secure 2,000 razor-sharp samurai swords in the ceiling.
Chodorow's next salvo promises to come from his blog. The restaurateur says he'll begin shadowing the Times restaurant critics as they walk the beat and post counterreviews of their reviews.
With Anna Mulrine, Chitra Ragavan, Chris Wilson, Justin Ewers, Kit R. Roane and Associated Press
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