Anatomy of a Non-Kosher New York Times Review

A peek behind the curtain of the Grey Lady

In 2010, I received a zero star review from The New York Times.

At the time, even my Mom piled on with this email that went viral:

You have always tried to be different or funny for the sake of funny, to cover up your anger and discomforts about how we Asian are being perceived. It is not necessary to do that, your true talents will lead you above it all. You must know what you really are, and able to do well. Restaurant business is a very very tedious business, and requires on going detailed watching. Is this whole package of restaurant business really what you can do, and enjoy doing? I do not see much difference in the stress levels compare to other choice of career, but much less money rewards. Trust me, you much keep your bar license active just in case you need it. You do not even understand your own strength or the whole scope of this business, and you are not even willing to listen. YOU MUST GET BURNT BEFORE YOU WILL HEAR YOUR MOM. Please calm down, analyze yourself, and be honest. You have a lot of potential, but you must make good choice and stick to it with the best choice. With all the staff, and your korean friend, no one was able to point out or warn you the mistakes, or problems you have???????????????????

I accepted it because I knew that Xiao Ye, the restaurant in question, had a lot to improve on, but over time there are food writers who acknowledge they didn’t even understand the restaurant at the time. Shout out, Matt Rodbard Rodbard with his post about it here.

16 years later, I have to say the review we just received from Ryan Sutton is complete and utter horse shit fabricated most likely because of a Substack post I wrote on May 16, 2026 titled Top 10 Reasons Food Criticism is A$$

This review isn’t kosher for multiple reasons.