Why Does Everyone Hate John Mariani?: Esquire's restaurant critic "freelance correspondent," John Mariani (i.e. the man behind their Best New Restaurants list) is reviled in Chicago because of his demands and alleged lack of objectivity. Helen at MenuPages: Chicago reveals just how deep the hatred runs: one Chicago chef emailed her to say "I can't believe that asshole has the audacity to even call himself a restaurant critic," while a chef de cuisine at Alinea tweets that the "level of douchbagery astonished me." We've got to wonder what Mariani is like in Philly — after all, Distrito and Zahav were both selected as Best New Restaurants by Mariani. [MP:C]
