[photo; kelbaugh for the new york times]Our initial reaction when we heard Pete Wells reviewed Guy Fieri's new East Coast implant was, "With so many great (new) restaurants in the city, why would Wells waste time in the culinary void that is Times Square at Guy's American Kitchen & Bar?" Then we remembered it's his job to explore, in its entirety, the establishments that make up this city's food landscape. Sometimes that means taking the train to 42nd Street.
The New York Times restaurant critic is like the industry's shepherd; the foreman. By monitoring the cuisine and experience had at restaurants throughout the city, their opinion keeps restaurants on their toes. Unlike the bored and whiny voice of the Yelp writer, the fastidious efforts found in the New York Times restaurant review column are of great concern in New York and beyond. From Claiborne to Reichl to Wells, whether one agrees or disagrees with a particular critic's style of writing or distribution of stars, the restaurant critic for the New York Times stands as the superintendent of the world's greatest food city. Sometimes, entirely beyond the critic's control, a restaurateur will crash into the landscape of New York City restaurants. When they do, their efforts are subject not only to the opinion of an informed public, but to the more aptly tuned-in scrutiny of the Times critic.
We'll be the first to stand up in support of Guy's shenanigans on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives." In many ways, "Triple D" is a deeply personal, introspective look into the heart and soul of this country's food culture. The eateries Fieri visits are the type of lunch counters and grease pits that Americans have frequented for decades. They are post World War II creations made possible by the development of industrial farming and a disregard for caloric intake. They are also places where 85% of the inventory is frozen.
When it comes to Guy Fieri's food, we've never gone out of our way to eat it, which may or may not be on purpose. Our only taste of Fieri's fiery combinations of adjective-heavy preparations presented at the likes of Johnny Garlic's, Tex Wasabi's, and now Guy's American Kitchen & Bar, comes via another Food Network show: "Guy's Big Bite," in which we learned Fieri is a California native with an unorthodox approach to cooking that might be better suited for those parts of America that happen to be no less than 500 miles from large bodies of salt water.
That's not to deny Fieri's impact on America's food culture, but in a city where chefs are shaving frozen foie gras over lychee and pine nut brittle, and making edible squid ink baguettes that resemble razor clam shells, maybe there is little room for "Awesome Pretzel Chicken Tenders" and "Tequila Turkey Fettucine."
Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 10:05AM 
Welcome to First Bite, wherein we bring you a look at some of the city's newest restaurants shortly after they open. We'll go, eat some food, take some pictures, and report back to you. This go round it's L'Apicio, the newest project from Joe Campanale and chef Gabe Thompson on East First Street that opened October 18th. We didn't have a chance to go before we left for Asia, but it was our first dinner when we got back to town.
