MacKenzie Chung Fegan, the restaurant critic for the Chronicle, is addressing concerns about her recent review of Potrero/Mission’s buzzed-about restaurant, Side A.
A letter from reader Kevin has sparked debate after he observed Chung Fegan receiving friendly treatment from the restaurant’s owners, Parker and Caroline Brown, during her third visit.
Kevin noted in his letter that Chung Fegan was welcomed “like family” and experienced service that was” anything but typical,” marked by frequent check-ins from the Browns and their staff.
He raised valid questions about the objectivity of her review, suggesting that her rapport with the owners could compromise her impartiality.
In her newsletter, the Bite Curious, Chung Fegan clarified that she does not have a close friendship with the Browns, asserting that she was not anonymous during her visits to the restaurant.
She acknowledged that they share mutual friends and emphasized that her previous visits to Side A were as a regular customer rather than in her capacity as a critic.
Chung Fegan argued that she encounters a warm reception at various restaurants, including others like La Traviata in the Mission, where she’s been recognized as a returning guest.
Despite the friendly service she receives, she maintains professionalism and insists that she is not forming “buddy-buddy” relationships with the chefs or owners she covers.
“San Francisco is a small town,” she said, noting that interactions with people in the restaurant industry are inevitable.
The evolving landscape of restaurant criticism raises a critical question: Can a critic deliver unbiased evaluations of establishments in a small, interconnected community?
In the past, critics like Michael Bauer operated under the cloak of anonymity, where not revealing one’s identity was an unspoken rule in the gastronomy world.
Bauer’s long tenure at the Chronicle saw him striving to remain incognito, despite many in the restaurant industry being well aware of his identity.
Publicists often had photos of him and the aliases he used to make reservations, which challenged the premise of anonymity.
In recent times, however, the concept of an anonymous food critic has diminished, largely due to the rise of the internet and social media.
Chung Fegan’s colleague, Associate Critic Cesar Hernandez, has managed to maintain a high level of anonymity during his visits, but he remains a rare exception in today’s landscape.
As the conversation continues, Chung Fegan’s experience raises an ongoing dilemma for restaurant critics: how can they balance the need for honesty and objectivity with the inevitable connections they form in the close-knit restaurant community?
The Chronicle and its readership must weigh the implications of personal relationships on culinary criticism in an era where dining experiences and restaurant critiques are often intertwined with public personas and social interactions.
image source from：sfist
