I don’t have any gripe with food blogs, including those that review restaurants. For the most part, I enjoy them very much. I have a gripe with those who try to undermine the credibility of professional reviewers, who don’t just do this as a hobby. That’s less about “qualifications” as it is about integrity and common decency. Having said that, if there are legitimate grounds for questioning someone’s credibility, then I’m all for that too. In this case there were none, and reviewer walked straight into a self-contradiction by accepting an invitation and then going on to write about it as if it was a professional review. That’s amateur hour.

You also seem to bunch restaurant reviewing blogs with all other food blogs, viewing everyone in the same negative light, which I think is a bit harsh.

Having said that though, I don’t really understand your gripe with “amateur” restaurant reviewers. Sure, they do this as a hobby, but is that a crime? And for that matter, what type of qualifications does one need to review a restaurant bar a love of food? I would think that would be the chief criteria. With perhaps a general knowledge of grammar & spelling thrown in.

(PS: Yes, twitter updates tend to be random and tmi at times. If you don’t like it, don’t read it.)