Urban Diner has a couple of interesting posts today about an “incident” that happened at Fuel last night. Alexandra Gill – the Globe and Mail’s food critic, and she of the recent New Bohemian and Watermark “gillings” – was refused service at Fuel restaurant. Her review a year and a half ago wasn’t exactly favourable. Co-owner Tom Doughty explains the decision in a comment on Urban Diner’s first post:
We simply feel when Alex is writing, great food and service are completely overlooked while she searches for phantom sensationalism and opportunities for defamation. We collectively decided that even a great review from Alex would not be taken seriously either, so non-participation was what we came up with.
If you want to weigh in on the “issue”, UD has a poll going, and currently readers seem to applaud the move. I’m totally on the fence on this one. I don’t know enough about Alexandra Gill, in part because the Globe still charges for a lot of its online content, but judging by the review, I’m not shocked.
And I apologize for the title. It’s the sleep deprivation.
Last modified: August 3, 2008
That’s harsh. To turn away a customer is bold. And, if I might add, quite dramatic. I can only imagine the scene she/it would have created.
I enjoyed the service at Fuel and god only knows what she would have done to it once she got back to the hotel in front of her Mac.
I hope she’s not at the Four Seasons…
I just dropped a comment on Andrew’s blog, but I honestly think it was fair. For example, I doubt Moderne Burger will refuse service to me if I come back simply because I said “not too amazing”. But if I had said “it sucks” they would have the right to kick me out.
There is one Kitsilano restaurant that I’ve written a scathing review about, and that restaurant I will never visit again.