As a general matter, we believe Frank Bruni is allowed to criticize as he sees fit—and, though his approach may have been a little too signature, Jeffrey Chodorow can rebut in any way that suits him. Eater is also not going to touch the question of the validity of Bruni's Kobe Club review except to say it didn't stray too far from our own experience there. What that said, an interesting footnote emerged late yesterday regarding the quality of Bruni's meal at Kobe. Sources tell us that Bruni's meal at Kobe was extra special: The house knew he was dining there. So Kobe Club prepared two of every dish the Bruni ordered. One for bruni and one for the chef. If the chef tasted the dish and it got the OK, Bruni got his dish.
So did Bruni have the axe to grind that JC says he did? Maybe. It's also possible that the food at Kobe is monstrously over priced and though it may not be awful, the experience overall needs some very serious adjustments. Maybe. Our suggestion to Chodorow, before he takes out another ad (or has another one his employees send us a shill, ahem): bring over whomever is cooking the Szechuan beef at China Grill and put him in charge for a week.
· Chodoblog Hangover: Bruni Kills with Kindness [~E~]
· Chodorow Declares War on Wells, Debuts Blog in Full Page Times Ad [~E~]
