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Boston critic mocked online for high-minded Cheesecake Factory review
Boston Globe critic Devra First faced online ridicule after reviewing a Cheesecake Factory visit as part of the chain’s political moment. Her lengthy piece mixed food and décor criticism with commentary on President Donald Trump and his administration, leading readers to accuse her of snobbery and taking herself too seriously.
The restaurant had become a political talking point after Barack Obama compared Trump’s White House décor to a Cheesecake Factory, prompting Trump and other officials to defend the chain. First visited the Chestnut Hill restaurant with colleague Meredith Goldstein; she described its interior in scathing terms and ordered a French dip cheeseburger priced at $21.50, while Goldstein had a Santa Fe salad. Readers also noted that First did not review the chain’s signature cheesecake.
In short
- A Cheesecake Factory review became part of a political row.
- Readers mocked critic Devra First’s tone and commentary.
- Her chosen French dip cheeseburger cost $21.50.
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The case for
First’s review can be defended as using a prominent political comparison to examine how taste, status and public image intersect, while still offering concrete observations about the restaurant and its food. A critic may reasonably treat an ordinary chain as worthy of serious scrutiny, and the decision not to order cheesecake does not by itself invalidate the visit.
The case against
Readers can reasonably argue that the political framing and elaborate judgments made a routine restaurant visit seem overblown, especially when the review did not try the chain’s best-known product. In a moment when the restaurant was drawn into partisan debate, they may also see the piece as reinforcing class-coded assumptions about what counts as respectable taste rather than helping readers decide whether to eat there.
Explained simply
The Cheesecake Factory is an American restaurant chain known for a large menu, generous portions and its range of cheesecakes. Its restaurants have also become part of a political exchange: Barack Obama likened the décor of Donald Trump’s White House to one of the chain’s restaurants, and Trump and other officials defended the business.
Devra First is a restaurant critic for The Boston Globe, a newspaper in Massachusetts. Her visit to the chain’s Chestnut Hill restaurant with colleague Meredith Goldstein combined comments on the food and interior with references to the political debate, bringing attention to how critics write about everyday restaurants.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Boston Globe’s snooty food critic ridiculed for pompous review of The Cheesecake Factory: ‘It was wretched’”.