Over thepast decade,The Infatuationhas gone
frombeing an irreverent blogtoone of America’s
mostinfluentialrestaurantreviewsites. Lastyear
it bought thefood guide that started it all:Zagat.
MadisonDarbyshirereportsonwhathappenednext.
IllustrationsbyAart-JanVenemaWord of mouth
C
hrisStanglooks
aroundtheupstairs
dinin groom.It’ sa
wetFridayev eningin
NovemberandThe
CoachinLondon ’s
Clerkenwellisheaving.Youhave
toyellto beheardoverth edin.
Stang ,arguab ly themost
influentialrestaurantreviewer
inAmerica,pickedthegastr opub
becauseofitshighratingon
TheInfatuation,theinternational
restaurantblogheco-founded.
TheCoachwaspreviously
writte nupbyhisteamofreviewers
inLondon,butNewYork-based
Stangwante dtocheckitoutfor
himself.Andtonight,usinghis
phonetomeasuretheroom’s
decibellevels,thenoiseisc learly
troublinghim.
Whenthewaiterarrives, Stang
askswhatdishwouldbeamistake
tomis s. Thewaitersuggeststhe
croziflette,anabsurdly rich cheese
andpastagratin.Stangnods
andturnstom e:apositive sign.
“Ifthewaitersayseverything ’s
good,” hesa ys,“you’re f**ked.”Forthebetterpar tofad ecade,
Stangandhisco -founderAndrew
Steinthalhave eatentheirway
acrossNewYorkCity,building
arestaurantblogthathasbecomeaprecious resourceforageneration
ofyoungdinerssearchingfor
answerstotheeternalquestion:
whereshouldIeattonight?
TheInfatuationreviews
individualrestaurantsbutitis
mostfamousforitsirreverent
guides.Arandomsampling
includes:“WhereToGoWhenYou
JustGotANewHaircut ”, “WhereTo
EatWhenYou’re SickOfBeingTold
To Order2-3SmallPlatesEach ”and
“Where To EatInWestLondon(If
YouHateWestLondon)”.
Thesitebeganasasidehustle,
anaturalby-productofjobsinthe
musicindustryinN ewYork.Stang
workedinmarketingforAtlantic
RecordsandSteinthalinpublic
relationsforWarnerBrothers.
Theirknowledgeofrestaurants
grewfromneedinghipspotswhere
theycouldtakebands .“Themusic
businessisanight-timesport,”
Stangsays.Bothlo vedfoodand
hadane ye foragoodvibe.
Sinceitslaunchin2009, The
Infatuationreportsthatitnowhas
anaverageoffivemillionusers
globallyamonth.InMarch2018,
seducedbyt hechancetoowna
pieceofc ulinaryhistory,theblog
boughtthestalwartZagatbrand
foranundisclosedsumfromits
previousowner,Google,whichhad
pick editupin2011for$151m.▶28 FT.COM/MAGAZINEOCTOBER19/202 019 29
‘We’re not food
writers.We’rejust
twoguys who
knowrestaurants
reallywell’
Chris Stang, The InfatuationFT.COM/MAGAZINE OCTOBER19/202019 29