Wells, Pete. “Filipino Food Worth the Wait at Bad Saint in Washington.” Review of Bad Saint in Washington, D.C., The New York Times, 29 November 2016.

I chose to read a restaurant review written by Pete Wells, the restaurant critic for The New York Times. He wrote the review for a Filipino restaurant called Bad Saint in Washington, D.C.. Wells set the scene by describing the line he had to wait in and what he did while he was waiting in line. I could picture what the place looked like; he wrote how regular customers brought their own folding chairs and drinks to make themselves comfortable while they waited. He also described how he “tried not to eavesdrop” on other people’s conversations and chatted with Black Elvis.

Once Wells was seated at the restaurant, he gave a description of what the interior of the restaurant looked like. Tables at the restaurant seat four people maximum, which helps give potential customers an idea of what to expect if they were to come in with a party of more than four. Although Bad Saint is a small restaurant, it makes use of the tiny space and Wells writes how it is easy to talk with others while sitting in the open kitchen styled restaurant. This helps readers picture the restaurant and feel included in the experience of Wells at this restaurant.

Following this, Wells talks about the Filipino food offered at the restaurant, giving short descriptions of the food. He explains what an adobo is, and how Bad Saint’s adobo of squid is “still astonishing.” He includes some recommendations for dishes to order; here, he says the oxtails and bok choy stirred in peanut sauce is an amazing dish to try. Wells writes how his guests were doubtful that pancit canton, a supposedly bland lo mein, would taste good, but were delightfully surprised when they tasted it.

Wells gives a brief background about the restaurant owners and the inspiration for their food. He talks about how the owners are Filipino but were born in the US, and some of the cooking “has a homey simplicity.” Laing is made differently in the Philippines, but the way the chef makes it at Bad Saint is “so luxuriously flavorful,” it’s clear that he knows how to incorporate the local ingredients to make this dish.

Wells wrote this restaurant review to share his experience and help other people decide whether or not they should try out this restaurant. I think this is a good example of a restaurant review because it is written by someone who has a lot of experience writing reviews and since it’s in The New York Times, a well-known newspaper, it should be quality writing.