What’s it really like to be a restaurant critic? Our review answers your questions

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Jon Cheng’s path to the Twin Cities wasn’t direct, but it was delicious.

Before landing in Minneapolis, he lived and wrote about food in London, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. His career as a food critic began long before.

At 9 years old, Cheng, who grew up in Singapore, was the person his family relied on to order in restaurants, as he unerringly found the best dishes on the menu. While other kids were playing games, Cheng wrote reviews on TripAdvisor, where many people called his reviews helpful, encouraging him to keep looking for food and opportunities to write about it. .

Now that he’s been making his way through the Twin Cities for three years, his first Star Tribune review appeared in November 2021, he put down his fork to answer readers’ questions about his methodology, the one food he doesn’t can’t resist and what food he thinks is overrated.

Q: Why did you become a food critic? Having moved abroad often, as well as to different cities in the United States, I have always found that the best way to get to know a city is through its cuisine. The fact that it tells a unique story about the individuals and the subcultures they represent is even more of a reason to write about them. I’m not a chef nor do I have any formal culinary training, but the way I assess, I hope, telegraphs the experiences I have accumulated as a diner at large. My goal was to be fair and demanding.

Q: How do you choose which restaurants to review? A: Any new restaurant is subject to review. We, my editor, Nicole, and I prioritize restaurants that offer something new to the dining public; therefore, restaurant chains are often excluded. Typically, most restaurants that have had a “First Look” will receive a review. If a former restaurant repositions itself (new chef, new menu, new concept), we will also take this into account. The Kenwood is an example. And if a restaurant I reviewed earlier in my review tenure drastically changes its food, I’ll consider revisiting it.

These rules don’t apply to restaurant features, which include stories like the Twin Cities’ 10 best tacos and best places to get pho. If there are no stars, it’s technically not a restaurant review.

Q: What is your thought process behind star ratings and why do you award stars? A: My “new” rating system caused a stir when I became a reviewer. Often what I put into words doesn’t translate directly to the rating I decide on. But creating more variance between restaurants, in my opinion, better separates really good from just good. So let me dispel this uncertainty: a two-star restaurant is a good restaurant. This is a restaurant that I recommend to diners to visit. Many restaurants across the country, including New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, are two-star restaurants that I would happily return to. A three-star restaurant underlines this recommendation, and anything above that 3 or 4 is worth a special trip.

If I had the choice, I’d abolish star ratings industry-wide, but not everyone has the patience to peruse 1,000 words. Stars give readers a visual cue and generate discussion.

Q: How much of the menu do you try before writing a review? A: Everything, but not everything at once. I know that restaurants need at least two months to build, adapt and correct their trajectory. At this point, I start doing “official” review visits. I like to schedule my review over three visits over a month. Sometimes four. However, I am not always a follower of this rule. There have been occasions when I have visited the same restaurants twice a week, often due to a deadline.

Multiple visits often give way to “bad days” in restaurants. I like to give the benefit of the doubt to restaurants that may have overcooked a protein or gone a little too wrong with the seasoning. So that means I might try a dish twice, maybe three times. Consistency also means something.

Q: What is one menu item you can’t resist? A: I grew up on an island, so I have a thing for seafood. I know it can be hard to find great seafood in a landlocked state like Minnesota, but I surprised how many places serve memorable fish dishes here. Despite the tendency to overcook fish, especially shellfish, an error that cannot be blamed on the way things are preferred here, I cannot resist a dish with scallops.

Q: What are the best places to go for a special celebration that’s a splurge? On a budget? A: My splurge picks for special celebration restaurants are Demi (212 N. 2nd St., Mpls., demimpls.com) and Alma (528 University Av. SE., Mpls., almampls.com). Demi is downright a four-star restaurant: intimate, progressive and you feel pampered. Adam Ritter leads a select group of chefs whose sole purpose is to surprise and delight the diner at every turn. He did this for me several times when I made my pilgrimage there. The restaurant also offers a more affordable ($105) and shorter menu option offered on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Alma’s menu is a little more classic and at a low price. The restaurant has a consistency level and mark, which means the balsamic glazed squab I had a year ago will probably be just as good today. And it’s. The chef who runs the kitchen, Lucas Rosenbrook, offers many unpretentious but delicious classics on the $95 tasting menu that’s not cheap, but exceptional value. I have never had a single bad dish there.

If I’m on a budget, I always give the Snack Bar (800 Washington Av. N., Mpls., snackbarmpls.com) a whirl. The setting is attractive and the quality of the food is just as excellent as that of the neighboring restaurant, Bar La Grassa. A celebration often means large format, and the pizzas here, big, soft, cornicione, thoughtful toppings are some of the best in the Twin Cities. Just like the party-worthy German chocolate cake. The comfortable smooth leather booths also make great meals for a first date (or at the long bar, if you choose to test the waters).

Q: Which food do you think is underrated? Overrated? A: Good authentic Italian food is underrated and slightly lacking in the Twin Cities. This was relayed to me by a colleague, and I can only agree. There’s no shortage of great Italian-American restaurants with red sauce, including the ones I mentioned earlier, as well as Broders’ Cucina Italiana (2308 W. 50th St., Mpls., broders.com), Mucci’s Italian ( 786 Randolph Av., St. Paul muccisitalian.com) and IE Italian Eatery (4724 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., italianeatery.com). I love well-made alfredos, and I don’t shy away from the satellite dish-sized pasta topped with chicken. But there is a real opportunity for more complex stuffed pastas and lighter, more complex sauces. A recent visit to a new restaurant may change my mind on this though. Stay tuned.

Most of the other cuisines are rightly rated, but one food in particular, cheese curds, is overrated. I love greasy food and I will never be able to make amends for all the crispy, oily fried chicken I consume. But cheese curds have a kind of texture and taste reminiscent of late-mutating mozzarella sticks. Not that I need to stir anything, but I feel the same way about Juicy Lucy burgers.

Q: I find it increasingly difficult to hold a conversation in a restaurant. Can you recommend a quieter restaurant? A: Most Twin Cities steakhouses do a great job of controlling noise, mainly because of all the heavy drapes and carpeting. Other restaurants I return to for food, ambiance, and noise include Bungalow Club (4300 E. Lake St., Mpls., thebungalowclubmpls.com) and Khluna (4000 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., khaluna.com). Both are transportation (one to a home, another to a resort) and relaxing places to dine. For brunch, I frequent Victor’s 1959 Cafe (3756 Grand Av. S., Mpls, victors1959cafe.com). Yes, the kitschy, graffiti-fueled walls are loud, and the line outside might suggest a rowdy inside. But inside, you can almost hear a pin drop.

Do you have a question for Jon? Contact him at [email protected] or follow him at @intrepid_glutton.

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