Restaurant guest pretends to be a critic to see if he gets better service
During my student days, I worked at a restaurant in Amsterdam’s Jordaan district, and the owner would occasionally get so nervous that Johannes van Dam might stop by. This was in 2015, and when I told her that couldn’t be possible since he was no longer alive, she didn’t believe it right away; the staff still had to know what he looked like ‘just in case he stopped by.’
Yes, critics are seriously feared by many restaurant owners (even after their death, apparently). Gillis van der Loo even quit at Het Parool because it became too much for him whenever a bad review was on its way. And some people take a different approach; they pretend to be critics, purely for fun.
Josh Slavin was ‘critic for a day’ at Carbone
The 21-year-old American was curious whether he would be treated differently at a restaurant if they thought he was a professional critic. I’ll give it away right away, and I don’t think this will surprise anyone, but the answer was: yes. In all likelihood, you do get treated quite differently. Admittedly, Josh said he couldn’t know for sure, because he hadn’t been to this restaurant without this whole act.
Anyway, there he was with his notepad (on which he wrote ironclad observations such as ‘yummy yummy in my tummy’) at the trendy restaurant Carbone. Just a side note, but if you’re ever in New York, this restaurant is truly highly recommended. The excellent service is legendary, but so is their vodka pasta, the ‘Spice Rigatoni’. Do make a reservation well in advance, though, because it’s always packed here. With a little luck, you might even spot a Kardashian or another celeb.
‘Call me whenever you need a reservation’
Reservations at Carbone are extremely sought-after and are even sometimes offered on Instagram. So Josh was quite surprised when, after dinner, his manager gave him a business card with the message to ‘always call him whenever he needed a reservation.’ But that wasn’t all: the day after his dinner, he also received an email from this manager, emphasizing the same thing once again.
He made the TikTok below, and honestly: secretly, I’d quite like to try this myself sometime.
@slavinjoshua Acting like a FOOD CRITIC at a Michelin Star Restaurant. Do with this information what you may… 🤫 #lifehack #foodtiktok #hongkong #travel #hack ♬ Mission Impossible (Main Theme) – Favorite Movie Songs
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