Happy 50th Birthday, Restaurant Criticism

“Claiborne observed everything when he was reviewing, but ultimately he judged restaurants by what came out of the kitchen. As this idea caught on, it became harder to confuse the country’s best restaurants with the ones that were merely favored by the aristocracy. A different hierarchy in dining, ordered by creativity and excellence in cuisine, was slowly taking shape under the guidance of a new aristocracy: an aristocracy of taste. Today, we call members of this aristocracy ‘foodies.’”
 — I wish we didn’t, as that word only makes me think of children’s pajamas, which are distinctly unappetizing, and which I am sad to learn that they also make for adults. But Pete Wells’ writes a nice history of the New York Times dining section, which debuted under the auspices of Craig Claiborne 50 years ago this month.