So why is she relevant? She was just hired as the new Food Critic for New Times. (laughter here). I know, so who cares, right? New Times hasn't had a decent food writer since Jen Karetnick left the building in 2004.
The good news here is that John Linn is gone. At least I hope so. Eight months ago, he wrote a "Heartfelt Good-Bye", but he's haunted us ever since. I'm so tired of reading about his Grandma and Uncle Joe; and his regular embellishments that made roadside dumps sound like special occasion venues. He never gained my confidence; he sent me to bad places time and time again; he wrote too many glowing reviews of mediocre places. You could never say to yourself "John liked that place, it must be good". John never got any better; he soaked in compliments and rejected criticism; a mindset that breeds complacency and mediocrity. He never had his finger on the pulse of Fort Lauderdale; he just seemed like some outsider who was more comfortable on Prospect Ave than Las Olas Boulevard. He wrote in the same format week after week; the same staged photos, same description of dish after dish; the same "look how much I know about food", without giving his readers the objective insight that they look for in a restaurant critic. As a result, John failed to stand out; when he left and some other random blogger filled in for him, there was little difference in the writing. You never heard anyone say "Whatever happened to John Linn". In fact, most people in town wouldn't even recognize his name.
I can't tell you why they hired Melissa McCart. She doesn't have a tremendous body of work. Her blog is the antithesis of pith. I don't know anything about DC, so I can't judge her insight. She does seem quite dependent on her network of foodie friends and other writers; a network she won't have in Fort Lauderdale. She'll be on her own here.
The bigger question is why did Melissa take this job? It's not that difficult to read New Times online and see what it is. The lead story the other day was "Fecal Water". Last week they seemed dedicated to doing hit jobs on Congressman West. It reads more like the Huffington Post than the Washington Post.
And you don't move to Fort Lauderdale for the culinary scene. You move here for the weather, or to escape high taxes; not the food. Fort Lauderdale is a culinary wasteland, as coastal cities go.
But when you're offered a paid job as a restaurant critic, I guess you take it. She's sort of where I was 2 years ago. Except she has someone telling her what to do. And she's getting paid.
"Do what you love and be the best at it and the money will come", someone once told me. Good Advice. Being the best doesn't come easily. But it's the only goal worth pursuing.
I've learned a lot in the 2 years I've been writing here; not just a lot about Fort Lauderdale, but about how to provide the kind of information that people are looking for. I can tell which articles and reviews will generate interest before I write them. I've learned that the dining scene in any particular town is relative. It's not necessarily how good a place is; it's how a place compares to the other choices. A good restaurant critic provides insight well beyond the food; the meal is only a part of the overall experience. Different people like different types of places. And not everybody cares about how expertly dishes are executed. I've set myself apart because I'm not a food snob; I don't order the curried octopus or the candied yak brains when I go out. I have a burger, or some wings. Or a nice big steak. Because that's how most people eat in the real world.
Melissa will learn that there are very few great restaurants north of Miami. Finding a really good meal can be a challenge. She'll have to understand that the named "chefs" here are mostly self-appointed; the Chef Allens and Johnny Vs, and that the big name "restauranteurs"; the David Maneros and Gary Racks, are self-made "celebrities" that were created with marketing money and not great restaurants.
She is taking a big chance and has a very difficult task at hand. She'll be working with a very weak team, in a town where virtually all "food bloggers" are posers and foodie wannabes. She'll be strapped with editors who can't write themselves; who haven't had a good idea in years, who consider the truth inconvenient, and who don't seem to care that their paper is viewed as a total joke by most employed, educated heterosexuals.
But there's a big opportunity here as well. I started InsideFortLauderdale because there was no other credible source of information in this town. Fort Lauderdale could certainly use another good restaurant critic; someone who you can trust to point you in the right direction. Someone who can help you make your choices. Someone who will tell you the truth.
The first thing that she must do is establish credibility. Because if your readers don't trust your judgement; then you're just another random blogger.
New Times' format will hurt her. The requirement that they crank out nonsensical blog posts every day hurts the credibility of their food writers. When your restaurant critic is just another schlub 4 days a week, echoing press releases and pumping up advertisers, it takes away from their standing.
She'll have to be strong enough to resist being sucked into the South Florida Shill Machine, where bad PR companies and faux Food Bloggers conspire to mislead the public. If her editors force her to conform; she'll have no chance. Reading her body of work, I'm not sure that she has the experience to take on the Machine, and it will be a while before she has the stature to challenge her editors.
Her first review of M Bar is a bad start; not because it was terrible but because it just seems like more of the same. It was unlike anything she'd written before; it's so obviously forced in spots that it's cringeworthy. It's written in the same "know-it-all" format as everything else in New Times, as if this person on her first day in town is some kind of tuned-in expert who has a full understanding of the scene. I had no idea that it was "the new girl" until I read an interview in the Washington Post where she mentioned having pig's ears; it just sounded like the same stuff usually written by one of New Times' many plug-in bloggers.
Why hire someone from out of town and then try to stuff her into a John Linn or Jamie Long costume? When you don't know anything and you pretend to know everything you're destined to just make a fool of yourself. Why not let her write like the wide-eyed doe that she is; someone new to the city who is learning and exploring; a situation that so many of us found ourselves in when we got here; a situation that visitors can relate to. Why must a "Food Critic" be a know-it-all? Being surprised by places you've never been to before is part of the adventure. Let her share her adventures from the perspective of a new transplant; as someone who is used to a much different scene. Let her evolve from being Melissa McCart, the new girl in town, into whatever she's going to become.
It's going to be very difficult for her to be independent; her new friends and colleagues are going to be the very people who will ultimately hinder her development as a credible writer. I offer some advice: Always remember that there are real people reading what you write, and that people are going to make choices based on what you tell them. When you are anything but completely honest you may ruin someone's evening or vacation. Don't try to be an expert on every subject; you can't feign competence. And don't write like you have credibility before you've earned it. You don't need to be an authority to review restaurants; just by going to a place you know more than everyone who has never been there. Expertise and insight will come with experience. Don't force it in the beginning. It's ok to just be a regular person.
Set the bar high. Don't just try to be like John Linn. Try to be much better.
I'm not going to wish her luck. She doesn't need luck. Her future is in her hands. Whether she leaves New Times as a somebody with her integrity intact or as just another food blogger is completely up to her.
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nuf0xx
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looks like she left as just a nobody moving to another nobody market.