That chef photo looks like the start of the next to last boss encounter in a video game. 
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Keith McNally doesnât like blackbird. Likes the Pete article.
I think he is making a bigger point than just that.
Online reservations can be bad when they become commodities that bots scavenge and people sell to the highest bidder. I also hate online payments. I liked the old Peter Luger way, where the only way to score a reservation was by an old-fashioned phone call and you had to show up with a wad of cash.
He discusses the loss of human interaction much more than just by the shake shack example. The comments about food delivery are equally valid, I love the convenience of Doordash and such, but generally miss the times when you actually had a connection with your local restaurants and could order food by calling the owner.
I also agree with his comments re. the viral social media craze with restaurants. Social media has changed a lot on how people enjoy a meal. Its like half of the enjoyment is taking pictures and posting them, before even touching the food.
Iâm not even that old, but I do recognize a lot of this post is âold man yelling at a cloudâ. Technology doesnât always make things better, and I think thatâs what Wells was trying to say.
An example. I fly a lot, yet Iâm the guy who does not use the on-board internet, as I enjoy that time when I can be completely disconnected. Online wifi makes things more convenient for many, but I enjoy the time that I can spend not being connected.
I think Wells feels the same way when he is at a restaurant.
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i still do this all the time to save the restaurant 30%, and you can as well.
In Buenos Aires a majority of menus are now only available by QR code. I find it tacky and annoying.
I also enjoy staying disconnected while flying.
I agree that online reservation systems need to be well-designed and the status quo is not optimal. But what is this counterfactual past when reservations were never a commodity? Bribing the maitre d? Holding reservations for restaurant concierges to give to VIPs? These status systems have always existed in different forms.
Maybe Iâm the old man here, but I fail to see the appeal of delivery food. Have you seen those scooters.
Again, we may be the old folks here, stuck on old-fashioned tech like these message boards! (Plus, a good amount of folks here take lots of food photos and post them onlineâŚ)
But what is this counterfactual world where everyone was an intelligent gourmet carefully savoring their food? Restaurants have always served a variety of functions, only one of which was being intelligent about food.
Maybe you could make an argument that as fine dining spread to the middle classes, the consumer was less âeducatedâ. But I think that would be hard to sustain. If anything, I would wager that the level of food intelligence is higher these days, because one can learn so much from the internet, etc.
But yes, aesthetically it can be annoying to see some of that stuffâŚ
Is that how PW really wants to cap off his twelve year run? With anger and bitterness?
Too bad he doesnât actually enjoy fun restaurants when heâs there, then.
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Exactly. Although there was evidence that this was the case, this article and the announcement that he was stepping down were so cranky, you canât help but wonder why he was in the position in the first place. There were so many better ways to cap off his reviewing career.
Will Guidara weighs in on the human connection part of the PW piece, smartly IMO.
when you have to update prices each day, it kinda makes sense 
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Definitely. But thereâs always the old-fashioned chalk board like we still see so often in France.
Fortunately inflation has come way down over the past six months in Argentina and with that prices have stabilized considerably from previous years. Still not out of the woods, though. July came back up to 5%.
It is an interesting viewpoint. I always hated the fake hospitality at Eleven Madison. And donât forget even though Wells eventually gave them four stars he was critical of the place.
In 2012, he visited Eleven Madison Park, a restaurant with vast aspirations for international recognition. In a Criticâs Notebook article, not a full-scale review, Wells spoke of feeling worn out by servers doing magic tricks and making little speeches. âBy the end of the four hours, I felt as if Iâd gone to a Seder hosted by Presbyterians,â he wrote.
Even a four-star review with a little hesitation can register as an assault. Two and a half years after the Criticâs Notebook piece on Eleven Madison Park, Wells returned to the restaurant, and wrote a proper review. On the day it was posted online, Jeff Gordinier happened to be walking near the restaurant. He glanced at the review, and saw four stars, but he didnât read the piece, which included teasing references to pompous elements that had survived a recent effort to contain pomposity. Wells had written, âEven now, when any ingredient is grown in New York State, someone is sure to point it out. Hang on, New York has farms?â (Wells told me, âI was trying to say that one measure of this restaurantâs excellence is that they can overcome all of their best efforts to sabotage themselves.â) Gordinier, who had reported on Eleven Madison Park for the Times , dropped in. The lunch service was just ending. Will Guidara, one of the co-owners, was standing by the bar. The four stars, though gratifying, hadnât neutralized the sting of Wellsâs words. âCongratulations!â Gordinier said. Guidara looked at him. âHis face was ashen,â Gordinier recalls. âHe looked like heâd just been hit by a bus.â Guidara asked Gordinier, âDid you read it?â Gordinier backed out of the restaurant, leaving Guidara to his grief.
Itâs not very hard to find things to criticize at EMP.
I know what you mean and the service could be excellent, too. Chef Humm took our daughter back to the kitchen and loaded her up with micro veggies and greens to take home after she commented one time about them when he was walking his evening circuit. And Will personally provided us great service on one occasion in particular. 15+ years ago during dinner at EMP, the skies opened up as we were leaving the restaurant and my wife asked the hostess to call for a car or taxi to take our daughter to Grand Central to catch the Wolverine up to Annandale (sorry, couldnât resist). The hostess declined, saying that the restaurant didnât call or hail taxis or make car arrangements (obviously pre-Uber). Will overheard the exchange, grabbed an umbrella, and dashed out into the rain in his suit to hail a taxi. Two things can be true at the same time: EMP service felt contrived at times and was excellent at times.
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I think that the main difference is that you sued to be able to get into most restaurants with a little planning and talking to people, but now the entire schedule can get wiped out instantaneously. I do kind of wonder what it would be like without online/app reservations with our current food culture which is way different than pre-internet or early internet days.
âBy the end of the four hours, I felt as if Iâd gone to a Seder hosted by Presbyterians,â
Say what you will about him, that is a great line.
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Yes, we can never go backwards and my point was more of a general statement about the endurance of status games. But I canât claim to have actual data/knowledge of whether the overall societal welfare is better or worse in the status quo.
My hunch is that the reservation madness is limited to a small set of restaurants and a (relatively) small set of consumers. I live in downtown Manhattan and refuse to play those reservation games, but there are still so many delicious options available, probably more so than 30 years ago.
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I think that is what Will aspired to: genuine connection with guests in pursuit of them having a memorable dining experience. Sometimes though, it could feel quite forced, as though staff were seeking for anything remotely personal to cling to in the name of connecting with each and every guest. Not everyone wants that out of their dining experience and I think thatâs where it fell short. Itâs very hard to gauge what type of dining experience a guest may want at any time, even repeat customers
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On EMP, in the past (I went a few times from 2017-2019) I found it could be a bit over the top with presentation, with flavors that were usually but not always there, although I think they had moved along from the worst of the theatrics from a few years prior. I had mostly great service experiences. I was extremely skeptical of the vegan transition and avoided the restaurant from 2021-2023. Iâve been twice recently, once for the spring menu & once a week ago for the latest summer menu. Itâs blown away my expectations. The spring menu had some very high highs (the morel mushroom âbutterâ with bread was mind-blowing) but a few lows IMO that felt like what I expected from a vegan EMP (i.e., final savory course being two spears of grilled asparagus - unsatisfying). The summer menu is fantastic across the board. I think itâs the best meal I have had at EMP including the 2017-2019 visits. The wine list is by far the best in NYC at this level.