Amybuff

Comment Threads

• Rand503 commented on Janice Okun, the Only Restaurant Critic in the History of the Buffalo News, Retires (Kinda)
  You are correct -- we should wait and see if he has anything good to say. But when you combine the fact that he has no formal training in the food industry, no real experience that I can see, no history of writing about food and wine and no indication whatsoever that he knows anything more about food and wine than the average amateur, I'd say that the odds of him being an budding food critic are pretty darn long. And for taking the top position the WNY region, that's a pretty hefty leap. If someone told me that someone...
• whatever commented on Janice Okun, the Only Restaurant Critic in the History of the Buffalo News, Retires (Kinda)
  "limited to whether the sauce tastes good or not, something any other patron can figure out for themselves" They can figure out for selves, yes. But when deciding places to try, some portion of BN's customers (we can only guess what %) might really prefer more limited focus on basic aspects rather than a writer trying to weave into reviews a lot of background gained from "...southern france to learn what a cassoulet is", etc. Some might tune out if reviews bring up topics like those or use foddie jargon, while others might shout 'know nothing!' if it doesn't happen....
• Rand503 commented on Janice Okun, the Only Restaurant Critic in the History of the Buffalo News, Retires (Kinda)
  I don't mean to dump on this guy. I mean to dump on the News. Surely, there are qualified people in the US who are both excellent writers, and knowledgeable about food and wine. Furthermore, they have published, whether it's a small publication, a regional thing, or even just a blog. They could have cast a wide net to find the best person who is interested in moving to Buffalo and is happy with the salary they offer. At the least, they could have cast out the net and interviewed a handful of people. That would have informed them of...
• whatever commented on Janice Okun, the Only Restaurant Critic in the History of the Buffalo News, Retires (Kinda)
  "They could have cast a wide net to find the best person" All I'd question is whether your def of 'best' (best = more foodieish than this guy might be) for the reviewer role is really what most people living in Buffalo would prefer. Maybe some readers would value more Buffalo-centric writing than would result form a national search (damn those uncouth hayseeds if they do of course, but if they do, they do). Or maybe market research showed the foodie segment is smaller than you'd guess. Or maybe they really did a national search and concluded this guy...
• JM commented on Buffalo Irish Festival Comes to Canalside
  South Buffalo Irish Festival has no admission, free music, and fairly cheap beer....