This morning’s Los Angeles Times Web site features an interesting article on how restaurant critics are starting to come out of the woodwork in either the traditional newspapers or blogs with their identity being revealed usually as a matter of trust. The article also mentions fellow Los Angeles food blogger Sarah of The Delicious Life.
This contrasts the highly recommended read Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise. It chronicles Ruth Reichl’s tenure at the New York Times as an restaurant critic usually under the guise of a wig in prevention of special treatment. Often times, creating multiple identities.
Why the mention? Is anonymity necessary to be a respected food critic? In my humble opinion: no. Just a love of food, an opinion and the need to talk about it.
My Burning Kitchen 
"Just a love of food, an opinion and the need to talk about it."amen.
Hi Darlene, Please understand the significance of being a reporter for the NY Times! Millions of people read her article. She makes or breaks restaurants. Objective reporting is not just important to her, it's her lifeblood. If she writes about extraordinary food and service (because of her fame), and her audience receives none of that, what would her words mean? How would you feel if you were invited to a party with a promise of dark chocolate cupcakes with rainbow sprinkles and when you got there it was chocolate cake with white icing?
Hi Sarah–And I do love food!Hi Anonymous (Steve)–You hit a sore spot about the cupcakes reference. I would be steaming mad. And I agree about the NY Times significance.
Hi, Darlene, That Anonymous (above)was not me. I would vote for a "secret" food reviewer. While I would totally trust you, I think you are wrong to assume others operate with your integrity. Imagine a reviewer being offered free food everywhere even when they are out socially (nonbusiness). Free bottles of wine — maybe the use of a restaurant group's condo in Aspen. There are a million ways to compromise someone's integrity and there are a trillion ways to take advantage of someone's lack of integrity. So good people can be compromised and bad people will be out looking to get anything and everything they can. S