Wise Advice

How should food critics plan to reintroduce readers to restaurant reviews again when it is safe to do so?

My assumption is our readers will require no introduction, re- or otherwise: I know they’re eager to see reviews in the paper again. But they understand I’m not reviewing restaurants because restaurants aren’t in any shape to be evaluated, and because I don’t think it’s responsible to even implicitly endorse dining indoors, which is allowed in South Carolina without restriction. Also, the whole point of criticism is to examine what an art form reveals about the world and how we engage with it: We haven’t lately needed a plate of burrata to spark those conversations.

I’ll stick with writing more broadly about restaurants until they’re stable enough for their owners and chefs to say something with their aesthetic choices beyond, “Please help us stay open.”