CJ review: So, what cost Asiatique a half-star?

[Robin Garr]

The CJ seems to love Asiatique (and rightly so). So, why only 3 1/2 stars? Can you find the flaw in the review?

http://goo.gl/XVtTsD

Having something as pedestrian as sweet potato fries? Because four stars would seem too fan-girl?

This was one of the oddest restaurant reviews I've ever read. Things like the "baby-like" comment -

The baby back ribs ($9.50) my son Alex chose verged on being too sweet for me, but Looi's glaze of hoisin, honey and wine sidled to the edge of too sweet without throwing the ribs over it. There was nothing baby-like about the combination.

- I get that it's supposed to be casual and conversational but it just comes off as awkward to me.

I'll say that Asiatique is one of my favorite under-the-radar restaurants. It doesn't usually get the same amount of press as some other places... so perhaps that makes it harder for a food critic to give it a perfect score?

[Robin Garr]

I'll say that Asiatique is one of my favorite under-the-radar restaurants. It doesn't usually get the same amount of press as some other places... so perhaps that makes it harder for a food critic to give it a perfect score?

I can't speak for the CJ's food critic, although I would think a critic who brings a background as restaurant PR agent to the pulpit would be more inclined to rate favorably, not less.

I'll say two things from the standpoint of this critic (me), though:

* A good critic should lead, not follow. Discovering a great place and telling the world is awesome. Sticking to the established wisdom - if it's incorrect - is weak.

* The CJ's four-star system is granular. Four stars doesn't mean "perfect," it means "top-tier." Translated to the 100-point scale, it's a grade in the 90s, an "A." But I think all of our transcripts would look pretty puny if you had to score 100 to make an A grade.

* A good critic should lead, not follow. Discovering a great place and telling the world is awesome. Sticking to the established wisdom - if it's incorrect - is weak.

* The CJ's four-star system is granular. Four stars doesn't mean "perfect," it means "top-tier." Translated to the 100-point scale, it's a grade in the 90s, an "A." But I think all of our transcripts would look pretty puny if you had to score 100 to make an A grade.

Agreed. And by perfect I meant the maximum four-star score (not that the restaurant was perfect).

Your breakdown of their rating system makes it further perplexing as I think Asiatique is a place that would be fairly easy to consider "top-tier." At the very least, given that it was such a glowing review, the reader should be given the rationale for a 1/2 star deduction.