Mark Kurlyandchik: "I try to be fair."
(Facebook photo)
Detroit restaurant reviews generally are fairly tame. Cristics might describe a dish as soggy or bland, but the overall tone is most often positive.
But on Thursday, Free Press critic Mark Kurlyandchik fileted Empire Kitchen & Cocktails on Woodward in the Brush Park-Midtown area, calling it "banal to the bone" and accusing it of having a "vanilla vision."
The harsh review got noticed. On WDET, the food journalist talks with Ryan Patrick Hooper about his role as in a city where upscale restaurants pop up with frequency:
"I think Detroit is ready for some perhaps brutal honesty. That the scene is ready."
The Freep writer sees his role as holding establishments accountable, to "keep people on their toes."
"I try to be honest, I try to be fair."
“I don’t want to be a shock and awe critic. I think it’s more helpful, usually, to point people to the good places around town and if you read my writing regularly you’ll see that is the bulk of it.”
