Mary, that was very well said.

So because he wasn't perfect and missed some things in a city of 8.5 million people his work was crap?

Tell me who does it better.

BTW, iIt would be a silly to compare Sietsema's aggregate work against the sum total of everything written on the Internet over the last 10 years. Nobody could compete against that. It's infinitely more probable that somebody living in Jackson Heights will discover the latest tandoori place before a critic will.

But aside from roaming the streets an ethnic food critic also can use the Internet as a legitimate research tool. If he sees a flurry of posts about a promising Lebanese restaurant in Bay Ridge he can check it out to see if it's really as good as some people claim.

He can use his experience and his judgement to get his review right.

Here's something I learned over the last 14 years since I've been posting on CH. Just because a handful of people on a food message board think a new restaurant is great doesn't mean they're right. It takes somebody with judgement to figure out which are the keepers.

There are a small group of long time CH posters that I trust to do that. I also trusted Sietsema, and most of the time he was right. That's all you can ask.

"Fine. Discuss the jokes that have influence and changed the landscape. Not just the ones you thought were cute. Or rehashed internet memes. Done with that analogy? "

Actually, no. I'm not done. Not at all.

With the advent of food message boards and blogs there's a lot more information available than there was 15 years ago. But that can only take you so far. Just because some blogger writes a place up and gets 30 hits doesn't make him an influential food critic.

Sietsema had critical traction and with luck, will have it when he moves on to his new gig.

I'll never have influence like that. You'll never have it either.

*That's* the difference.

There's another thing - audience size.

Lets say there's a really funny guy who hangs out at the corner bar. On Friday night he's on a roll and he makes a very funny remark about a topic in the news. The people in the bar laugh.

The following Wednesday Jon Stewart makes a similar remark on his show, only because he's Jon Stewart, he's even funnier.

Who do you think reaches more people? Seven people laughed at bar guy. Two and a half million laughed at Stewart. The fact that bar guy made the remark first gets him points for originality but in terms of real reach it's Stewart in a landslide.

Dates please. I'd like links with dates so we can compare the date of a blog posting against Sietsema's reviews.

You're correct. No points for booking directly from the restaurant's website.

I'll add some more.

Chote Nawab.
The Istrian restaurant at the Rudar social club
Bosna Express
Southern Spice
Sao Mai
Katsuhama 55
Chao Thai

Was Sietsema infallible? No - he was human. Sometimes he got overly enthusiastic and said a place was great when it was merely good. But he was right about things way more than most people.

Yes, there are plenty of blogs and posts out there now about ethnic restaurants but Sietsema was a very knowledgeable and reliable voice who wrote prolifically. We don't have all that many of them.

You're right Deb. I agree with you completely.

I'm really sorry to hear this. Please tell his wife he's left behind a lot of CH friends who will miss him. My condolences to her.

The Chinese food here is awful and none of us knows it? The professional critics missed it? The bloggers? The posters on CH and other food boards? Asian diners? Michelin? Nobody spotted this but you?

This is pure trolling. You can have the last word - I'm done with this.

I asked you to name some NY Chinese restaurants that you liked. You couldn't name any. Not one.

Now reasonable people can disagree about a particular restaurant (although Lan Sheng is widely considered to be very good) but to be unable to name a single good Chinese restaurant in New York City is extraordinary.

I think you're trying to have some fun with us.

I'm not sure why being an investor in a couple of restaurants would preclude you from finding some good Chinese food in New York.

Michelin gave up on Los Angeles back in 2009. No wonder you're cranky.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/daily...

------------------------------------
ETA - Even when Michelin was reviewing LA restaurants they didn't find all that much to like. 20 restaurants got stars and 31 made the Bib Gourmand list. None of them were Chinese.

Compare that with New York where 65 restaurants got stars and 125 made the BG list.

If I lived in LA I'd hate Michelin too.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Azul is not the good deal it one was. The steak for two, which was $36 back in 2006, is now $68.

Yes, I know meat prices have gone up but not many places have doubled what they charge.

I'm not saying it's unwarranted but there was some real sticker shock when we went back a couple of months ago. The steak was fine but when I'm paying twice as much I'm more critical. It was good, not great.

Could you tell us about some NY Chinese restaurants that you think are good?

It happened at the Brooklyn branch. The fried onions (sauteed actually, not deep fried) were a bit slippery and holding the top part of the bun in place was a bit tricky. It tended to move around. The burger itself was great.

I've never seen a Sichuan restaurant in New York that didn't throw in the occasional American Chinese dish as a sop to unadventurous diners. You can't read too much into that. As you work your way through NY Hunan and Sichuan places you'll see the same thing over and over.

Szechuan Gourmet, just down the street, is well regarded on this board. They serve Generao Tso's chicken and sweet and sour chicken too. And chicken with broccoli. And chow fun.

It just means they're trying to keep the take out / office delivery crowd happy.

You're a brave guy. I don't know if I'd give them another chance after 3 bad meals.

On my last trip I had a dish which I liked a lot - Chicken Xacuti. If you're feeling lucky give it a try.

"a sort of nondescript Sichuan joint with a variety of non-Sichuan dishes."

Really? I think you're selling the place short. You're making it sound like a fusion joint in a suburban shopping mall.

I do understand that critical unanimity is rare. When Babe Ruth was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame he received 215 out of 226 votes. Eleven voters didn't think the Babe deserved to get in.

You can't please everybody.

Wow. I'm sorry about that. I've been to MM 3 times and it was good to very good each time.

Based on my rec. a number of people from another food board went there in the first 6 weeks. Some of them are huge PITAs (in a good way, of course) and they all liked it. Believe me, these folks wouldn't be shy in voicing their disappointment.

Maybe there's a difference in what we ordered? I didn't have anything that contained tomato. Do you remember what you had?

Dhaba's been our benchmark for years. We've also had a couple of good meals at Chote Nawab, Dhaba's sister restaurant. I've thought MM was comparable although a bit different. These places aren't chains - their menus overlap a bit but they have their own personalities.

Anyway, I'm sorry for your bad meals. That happens to me occasionally at other restaurants and I take that type of thing personally.

The bun version in Brooklyn was served with fried onions on top. They were good but they made the burger a little hard to handle. The top of the bun kept wanting to slide off to the side. When I have it again I'd ask for those onions on the side.

In restaurant school they should have a Burger Engineering course. Chefs would be taught not to serve really juicy burgers on flimsy rolls which will fall apart midway through the meal.

I hope Sietsema catches on somewhere else. Yes, he could overreact to some places but by and large he was, and is, very reliable. Nobody does a better job covering ethnic restaurants.

I only been to the Korzo mothership in Brooklyn which has a much more extensive menu than the Manhattan branch. In Brooklyn you can get the burger on a roll or deep fried surrounded by langos.

Here's the roll version -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64756738...

I actually prefer it to the langos version althougyh I like that too. The OP may want to see if buns are available at the Manhattan branch.

How often do we see this? A new restaurant opens and gets lots of buzz. Then over time the buzz dies down and the place goes off the radar screen. A year goes by and then somebody asks – “Is Café X still good?”

It’s a fair question. If the people who continue to go to good restaurants would occasionally post about them from time to time maybe people wouldn’t have to ask.

My GF and I have been regulars at Grand Sichuan House since it opened and it’s as good as ever. We must go about 10 times for every time that I post about it so it’s time for me to pay my dues.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6467764029_8c70772771_z.jpg

On our visit last Friday night the Chengdu dumplings were terrific as always. The oil was suitably spicy and the skin of the dumplings had a slight but pleasing chewiness. (Bad versions of this dish are mushy.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7284/8737476952_2cb4c3def9_z.jpg

Chicken with spicy capsicum remains one of our favorites. The exterior has a slight crunch (dusted with rice flour?) and the interior is juicy. The spicing is just right – your mouth buzzes but you’re not overwhelmed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64756738@N00/8737477252/sizes/z/in/set-72157622072213165/

Sauteed fresh pork. What can I say? It’s bacon. BACON. With fried scallions. Bacon and onions – pure genius. Zippy and oily in a good way. Thoroughly satisfying.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7288/87...

Green beans with minced pork, because vegetables are healthy for you. The government keeps telling us that we should eat more vegetables. Well, if more restaurants started adding minced pork to them maybe we’d eat our vegetables every day.

Grand Sichuan House is as good as ever. No need to ask – just go.

"Yes, n/naka requires a credit card AND a phone number so they can call you 3 days ahead of your reservation to discuss menu options and choices. "

That's the RESTAURANT, it's not OpenTable.

They're really late to the game but I'm glad they noticed. Of course the midtown theme of the article ignores all the very good Sichuan restaurants below midtown. The Grand Sichuan mini chain (Chelsea and the West Village), Hot Kitchen, and Great Sichuan in Curry Hill.

In midtown they left out Land of Plenty. Based on one visit it's way better than the critical darling China Cafe.

I've said it before. There's never been a better time to eat Sichuan food in New York than right now.

ComiedoS, thanks for the report. I'm glad you liked it.

Malai Marke is on OpenTable. I just checked and as of now, Friday at 7:45AM, they have tables for two available at 8:00PM on Saturday.

OpenTable is the way to go.

If you're really hungry you can order 2 and still come out ahead. :-)

There's a branch of Szechuan Gourmet on 2nd Ave. and 73rd. I haven't been to that branch but the location on 39th St. is outstanding.

I know what you mean about the size of the burger at Clarke's. Old Town might pop up on this thread too - be warned, their burger is the same size. Good but small.

I second the Walker's rec. below. I'll also add the Waterfront Ale House.

There's an existing thread - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/898213