From the Newsroom: Restaurant reviewer considers many angles

Friends who go out to eat with Dana Craig have learned the hard way: Everybody has to order something different, she'll demand bites of food from around the table, and she'll make discreet notes on how tangy the vinaigrette is and whether the steak is grilled to her satisfaction.

Craig is

The Richmond Times-Dispatch's restaurant reviewer, and her pieces appear Thursdays in the Weekend section. You won't see her photo there or with this column because staying anonymous ensures that she gets treated like any other paying customer.

It's a job that tests a writer's ability to inform as well as entertain -- and to find endless synonyms for "flavorful."

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Craig doesn't rank restaurants from best to worst. Her judgment is based on whether the place caters successfully to its target audience. Thus, a hole-in-the-wall bistro with handwritten menus can be right up there in the rave column with the special-occasion spot with damask napkins and double-digit entrees.

Craig has a journalism background and works as a graphic designer. A few years ago, she had written a couple of restaurant reviews for a local Web site. "I guess I'm a Type A, where I can't do something halfway: I wanted to learn more." She called

The Times-Dispatch's restaurant reviewer, Karen Owen, who was getting ready to step down. Craig decided to apply, got the job and has been our freelance reviewer since November 2004.

Her first outing was to The Cheesecake Factory at Short Pump Town Center. Since then, she has written 242 reviews of 239 restaurants. (Three were repeats -- Zed Café, Avalon, and Tastebuds.)

"I had no credibility on day one, I admit that," she said. "I have the luxury of building on my experience week after week after week."

She has bolstered that credibility by reading up on all aspects of food, constantly learning from other local writers, cooks, and chefs. A highlight was attending the Symposium for Professional Food Writers in 2007.

Craig gives star ratings from one to four. It's not scientific, but her evaluation considers the food, of course; the service; the ambience; the little touches -- how they all fit together to create a mood.

She keeps a running list of new spots to visit, giving them about three months to find their legs, although some eagerly awaited restaurants warrant visits much sooner.

She sees herself as almost a "professional eavesdropper," paying attention to what's set in front of her but also what's happening at other tables, an indication of how well the restaurant is managed.

If she has a less-than-enjoyable meal, she goes back for a second visit, to give the place the benefit of the doubt. The Times-Dispatch pays for her meals.

Craig's most expensive meal was at 1 North Belmont -- entrees from $32 to $42, and a $189 check for two -- but she deemed it "worth every penny."

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Craig hears loudly and clearly from restaurants and readers. In the beginning, she thought she would get negative mail after not-so-positive reviews (and she has). But she soon learned that if her rave review prompts someone to schedule a special night out and the eatery doesn't deliver, she'll hear about that, too.

Readers give her more factors to look for. They complain about a dining spot's noise level or ask if there are vegetarian options (we added both of those items to the box that accompanies each review).

She has a few readers who've been e-mailing since she started. "We chat on a first-name basis, and I know their likes and dislikes."

Readers also direct her to hidden gems not on her radar. That's how she found the Pakistani food at Kabab Grille, near Chesterfield Towne Center, and Palacio Latino, in the Meadowdale Shopping Center.

Consider Craig's e-mail at the bottom of every review an open invitation to send your favorite dining-out suggestions.

If she were rating Richmond as a restaurant town, she'd give it three stars. She sees a lot of eclectic talent in kitchens and revels in the increase of ethnic eateries. Some favorites are the aforementioned Kabab Grille, the Ethiopian food at the Nile, Vietnam 1, and the Phoenician.

She gets asked all the time: What's your favorite restaurant? "That's like, 'Who's your favorite child?' It depends on the mood." Sometimes the mood is for particular faves The Hill Café, Kitchen 64, Millie's, and Edo's Squid.

And although she eats out more than at home, Craig likes to cook, especially seafood. She has tried, with varying success, to replicate the fried oysters from Acacia Mid-town, scallops from Shackleford's, The Hill Café's Cajun chicken wrap, and Havana 59's flatbread pizza with chorizo.

One of the pleasures of the job is knowing that her words have enticed people to get out of a rut and try a cuisine, dish, or restaurant they might not otherwise have tried.

"I don't ever want to sound like a food snob. I want anybody to be willing to try anything.

"I just feel really lucky to be doing it."

Look for Dana Craig's next Dining Out review on July 30; she is taking this week off to recharge her taste buds. Contact her at

Cindy Creasy is community news and features editor at The Times-Dispatch. Contact her at (804) 649-6434 or .