After two years and many stars, Sam Sifton is no longer the restaurant critic at the Times. Which brings us back to the oft-asked question: Why is the Times critic so powerful? How is it that, in an age of Yelp and the Googagat Survey, when everyone and their grandmother seems to put their feelings about their meals onto the Facebook, people still are so caught up in the opinions of one man or woman working from a desk across the street from the Port Authority? There are lots of reasons, but a post on Zagat Buzz today that talks about Sifton from the perspective of a restaurateur under review dances around a major part of it. The Times critic still matters because people and restaurateurs seem to want it to (even if they don't like the results). So the question then becomes: What is the Times doing about its power? more ›

Just as we predicted following the announcement that Sam Sifton will be leaving his post as restaurant critic at the Times, there's been a whole lot of speculation about what will happen next. But is getting paid to eat out every night really the dream job that it appears to be? Maybe not so much. more ›

After a relatively brief stint of just two years, New York Times food critic Sam Sifton announced today that he's moving on up to become the national editor of the Times (you can read Jill Abramson's full statement here). There is no word as of yet on his replacement, but at least we know he wasn't fired. Also, this means fans of reading about fine dining will, once again, get to indulge in the age old game of "restaurant critics, what are they good for?" while not checking out all those new fall openings. Let the wild speculation commence! more ›

For this week's New York Times restaurant review, Sam Sifton goes deep into the heart of Manhattan's Chinatown, emerging victoriously with something that's actually quite useful: 456 Shanghai Cuisine, a cheap, convenient Chinese place with solid, non-scary Shanghainese food. more ›

This week Sam Sifton files the first four star review of his nearly year-long tenure. If you're in the restaurant industry, this is a big fucking deal. His precious stars go to Mario Batali's Del Posto, which is the first Italian restaurant to get a four-star ranking in The Times since John Canaday’s review of Parioli Romanissimo in 1974. And this makes Del Posto one of only seven restaurants currently ranked four star by the Times. Sifton's predecessor Frank Bruni gave Del Posto three stars when it opened in 2006, and Sifton says, "Del Posto is now among the very best restaurants in New York City... [Chef Mark] Ladner’s pastas are insanely good." (Last night, Batali tweeted, "Holy shitaly!!! We just got 4 stars from the NY TIMES for del Posto!!") more ›

Aquavit, the 23-year-old Scandinavian restaurant in midtown, has replaced the always-absent name brand chef Marcus Samuelsson with his 28-year-old second in command, Marcus Jernmark. This occasions a fourth review from the NY Times, and current chief critic Sam Sifton keeps the status quo, letting the underpopulated restaurant keep the two stars left behind by a previous critic. "Aquavit’s dining room can be somewhat lonely these days, only a little more than half full at peak hours," writes Sifton. more ›

This week Sam Sifton at the Times files a two star review of A Voce Columbus. This slick Italian-influenced restaurant is the Time Warner Center incarnation of the Flatiron district A Voce, which was made successful by chef Andrew Carmellini (now at Locanda Verde). Chef Missy Robbins (Chicago's Spiaggia) is running the kitchen now, and Sifton agrees she's "an excellent chef. She didn’t come here to mess around. But make no mistake. A Voce is a corporate enterprise, part of a master plan, and feels like it. Save for swiveling yourself around in the Eames-y leather chairs that appoint both restaurants, there is very little room for improvisation. Service is clinical, almost silent, beyond language... This restaurant could yield more A Voces in other cities, in other malls, all over this land." more ›

This week Sam Sifton at the Times files an unenthusiastic one star review on the flashy Bryant Park location of Charlier Palmer's Aureole. Palmer, a restaurant impresario who made his bones in the kitchen of the River Cafe, relocated his well-liked restaurant from the Upper East Side to the new Bank of America building this summer. more ›

This week the new chief dining critic at the NY Times, Sam Sifton, debuts with a rave for DBGB, Daniel Boulud's casual sausage/beer/etc. joint on the Bowery. The first review from the former NY Press reporter boasts references to The Ramones, Talking Heads, and a declaration that "[Boulud's] food game, as they say in rap precincts, is tight... one bite of the crispy lamb ribs that were served in the bar area when the place first opened — sweetly glazed, grassy meat, with a dab of creamy mint-flecked yogurt sauce — ended all snark: Boulud has opened a very good restaurant. The lamb was sublime, earthy and spicy and rich, evidence of superb technique, the sort of snack that separates his empire from others in the celebrity firmament." more ›

Confirming rumors that the new New York Times restaurant critic—and Frank Bruni's replacement—will be a longtime Times writer promoted from within, the newspaper has just announced that food and culture writer Sam Sifton will take over the job starting in October. Executive editor Bill Keller sent a memo to staff members announcing the change of guard, writing, "We narrowed the list, and then narrowed it some more. We had some really impressive candidates, writers who know their food and have interesting things to say about the way we eat. Then we threw out the list and drafted Sam Sifton." Restaurants, fire up the Google Image cache now: Sifton, who lives in Red Hook, was most recently Culture Editor at the Times, but is also known for his writing about cooking at home as well as finding unusual food stories in the outer boroughs. He has also served as Deputy Food Editor for the newspaper. For the Magazine section, Sifton was last seen making meatloaf for Nora Ephron. more ›

- Passover is here, so naturally it is time for matzo brei, there was even a brei off at Makor over the weekend. While we are at it, here is a take on matzo ball soup for the excellent Cooking for Engineers. more ›

Tucker Shaw, food lover, author, Everything I Ate: A Year in the Life of My Mouth more ›

Regina Schrambling, Food Writer more ›

Eurotrash's slam and later parody of Hesser, Felix Salmon on Hessergate, and Amateur Gourmet's Moderate Defense of Amanda Hesser. Gothamist on Masa's chef, Masa Takayama, and his strict ways. And Gothamist on Amanda Hesser. more ›

And that's all anyone wants - to find the truth. Whether it's from the sugary high of a cupcake, or the sweet richness of ribs, or briny delight of oysters, a food truth means a lot. [There's also a great anecdote to start Sam Sifton's article, about a young man looking for his mother. Read it.] more ›