>having outside sources to turn you on to good places is really valuable. That's a reasonable reason to take advice on places to try, but does that justify the

>having outside sources to turn you on to good places is really valuable. That's a reasonable reason to take advice on places to try, but does that justify the influence food critics have (which is the topic of the article)? There's a host of review sites with a democratized review process--anyone can write a review, and reviews are accessible to everyone. For that reason and others, to me the answer is no. >If you find a restaurant critic whose taste you agree with You can also find reviewers whose tastes you agree with. Or friends, family, etc. There are even prolific reviewers, who may have reviewed more restaurants than you have time or desire to try. Edit to say this: Perhaps there's some space in the market for food critics, but by and large I don't believe they should have the influence that is the discussion of this article. That is not to mention the host of other problems food critics bring to business.