Will work for food

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Here we go again. Last week, Grant Nejedlo, one of our restaurant reviewers, gave his notice, so we find ourselves looking for a restaurant reviewer. I’d like to publicly thank Grant for his two years in the hot seat.

Here at the Reno News & Review, we do experiential restaurant reviews. That means our reviewers don’t call ahead, they pay for their meals, they don’t announce their presence, they don’t get special treatment. They go to a restaurant like any other customer, and they write about their experience. It’s generally one experience in the life of a restaurant, and anything can happen. Sometimes the chef or the server is having an off day, and it reflects on the restaurant. Sometimes, the chef or the server (or the chef who’s filling in for the day) has a great day, and it reflects on the restaurant.

The idea is to come as close to the experience any random reader would have when visiting the restaurant, and we don’t pretend to be anything more than that.

That said, we hire superior writers as reviewers. I’ve had professional food workers do reviews before, and, at least in our price range, they’re the least reliable or readable restaurant reviewers. I managed a restaurant for several years, I was in the service industry for 13 years, and I was a restaurant reviewer for more than three years, but I don’t know any more than any of our readers about how they should expect to be treated in restaurants. I’ve never met a reader who thinks a degree is required to know whether a restaurant is good, bad or indifferent.

So, tell me. You want to see your name in print? Do you love having an excuse to visit a different restaurant every other week? Are you invigorated by working for low wages in the most respected (and credible) newspaper in Northern Nevada? Send me three 600-word restaurant reviews, and maybe you’ll get the opportunity. We are not accepting submissions from people who work for or are related to people who work for the RN&R.