Fearless Critic
Encyclopedia
Fearless Critic is a series of restaurant guides to US cities. The series was founded in 2003 and currently has eight restaurant guides—most notably Austin, Texas
, Houston, Texas, Dallas, Texas, San Antonio, Texas, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon
, Washington, D.C.
, and New Haven, Connecticut
—and one wine guide, The Wine Trials 2011, and a beer guide, The Beer trials. The books are sold largely in bookstores (e.g. Barnes & Noble
, Borders Books
, Amazon.com
) and food stores (e.g. Whole Foods Market
).
over its harsh ratings.
The new edition, The Wine Trials 2010, was released in late 2009.
revealed that he had submitted an application for a Wine Spectator
Award of Excellence for an imaginary restaurant in Milan, which he named "Osteria L'Intrepido" ("Fearless Restaurant"), and that the non-existent restaurant had won the award. The expose was reported widely across the media and blogosphere.
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Houston, Texas, Dallas, Texas, San Antonio, Texas, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
—and one wine guide, The Wine Trials 2011, and a beer guide, The Beer trials. The books are sold largely in bookstores (e.g. Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
, Borders Books
Borders Group
Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....
, Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
) and food stores (e.g. Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
).
Rating system
The series uses a 10-point rating scale (1.0 to 10.0). In 2007, with the Houston guide, the series experimented with a letter grading system (from A+ to D-), but has since moved back to the original 10-point scale.Series name change
The series was called "The Menu" until 2005, when it was renamed "The Fearless Critic." Older titles in the Northeast US still bear "The Menu" title.Controversy over ratings
The Fearless Critic has incited debate on food boards such as ChowhoundChowhound
Chow is a food website owned by CBS Interactive. It is home to the food message board Chowhound.- Chowhound :Chowhound is a popular online food discussion board founded by Jim Leff in 1997, known for its user base of food fanatics...
over its harsh ratings.
The Wine Trials
The Fearless Critic's first wine book, The Wine Trials, sparked debate over its claim that non-expert wine drinkers preferred cheap bottles to more expensive bottles in scientific blind tastings.The new edition, The Wine Trials 2010, was released in late 2009.
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence controversy
On August 15, 2008, Fearless Critic founder Robin GoldsteinRobin Goldstein
Robin Goldstein is an American author and food and wine critic. He is known for his offbeat academic papers questioning conventional wisdom in the food and wine industries, including a controversial exposé of Wine Spectator magazine...
revealed that he had submitted an application for a Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator is a lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertainment pieces...
Award of Excellence for an imaginary restaurant in Milan, which he named "Osteria L'Intrepido" ("Fearless Restaurant"), and that the non-existent restaurant had won the award. The expose was reported widely across the media and blogosphere.