Food critic reveals secret restaurant memo on how to spot critics

Waitress taking order, selective focus, canon 1Ds mark III (iStock)

If your waiter is looking at you funny for asking “an unusual amount of questions" and "observing the dining room very closely," it’s because he thinks you’re a food writer.

In a Monday tweet, Chicago Tribune food reporter Kevin Pang shared a photo taken of a memo that was hanging inside the kitchen of "a prominent Chicago restaurant." The memo listed "how to identify food critics, media and bloggers" to its staff.

The one-page sheet offered instructions to staff for when they noticed an inquisitive and observant patron, especially those dining alone.

If a diner is identified as a food writer, the staff is encouraged to "remain calm and composed," refrain from telling the critic that they are aware the person is from the media and alert a manager at once.

The end of the memo features an outdated list of some of the city's prominent food critics and writers.

Unfortunately, Pang was missing from the watch list.