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A Restaurant Critic (Ours) On the Year That Changed Him Forever

During his time as a restaurant critic for The Times, Pete Wells has become both feared and revered in the world of dining — crowning those at the top and dethroning those whose time has passed. But when the pandemic arrived, handing out stars to fancy restaurants made no sense anymore. A fundamental change was needed. Guest: Pete Wells, a restaurant critic for The New York Times.
Duration
46m
Broadcast on
23 Dec 2022
Audio Format
other

During his time as a restaurant critic for The Times, Pete Wells has become both feared and revered in the world of dining — crowning those at the top and dethroning those whose time has passed.

But when the pandemic arrived, handing out stars to fancy restaurants made no sense anymore. A fundamental change was needed.

Guest: Pete Wells, a restaurant critic for The New York Times. 

Background reading: 

  • For the return of The Times’s star ratings this year, Pete Wells visited La Piraña Lechonera, a weekend party in a Bronx trailer where one man serves up the rich flavors of Puerto Rico.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


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This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. (muffled speaking) - Look at the audio professionals. - Hi. - Hi. - How are you? - Good to see you. - Nice to see you, Pete. - How have you been? - I'm-- - Well, you know, the last four years-- - You know. (laughing) - Yeah, last two, right? I went, I went, close. - Okay, Pete, so we're gonna put this on. - What's, all right. See, you know what I'm like a, maybe like a lapel here. - That's fun. - Pete, I just want to explain to people what's happening here. - All right. - So it is around 6.45 on a Friday night. Pete Wells just arrived. The fame New York Times restaurant credit. He's now opening his shirt in the middle of a public park in Chinatown. So that a microphone can be affixed to his shirt so that we might surreptitiously dine with you and experience firsthand what it's like to review a restaurant for the August, New York Times. And it's quite a sight to behold. It's open-shirted. - We will see how surreptitious we really are, but-- - I think, so I really think this is gonna work because these lav mics are really subtle, right? - Yeah. - Yeah, I don't think we're gonna get discovered.

Transcription truncated.

During his time as a restaurant critic for The Times, Pete Wells has become both feared and revered in the world of dining — crowning those at the top and dethroning those whose time has passed. But when the pandemic arrived, handing out stars to fancy restaurants made no sense anymore. A fundamental change was needed. Guest: Pete Wells, a restaurant critic for The New York Times.