How Restaurants Use Spycraft to Win Over Critics

The Washingtonian takes us inside the insanity of the D.C. dining scene.

Sean Connery
Sean Connery as James Bond taking a bath with bubbly nearby in 'Diamonds Are Forever,' 1971 (Everett Collection, Inc.)

What do restaurants do when a critic walks in the door? According to a new feature in the Washingtonian, the answer is panic and enact a complex surveillance strategy. D.C. restaurants have created dossiers complete with critics’ seating preferences and alcohol tolerances, offered bounties for positive identifications of critics, and brought in dining regulars to say nice things near critics. When a critic walks into a restaurant, the operation looks more like an intelligence agency than a place of hospitality. Food writers, as it turns out, are the targets of tremendous fear.

The InsideHook Newsletter.

News, advice and insights for the most interesting person in the room.