to the editor: As someone who has written about the food and beverage industry for over 30 years, I've been a fan of Bill Addison since his days at Eater (“After two decades, I am leaving my anonymity as a restaurant critic. Why now?” December 9). Therefore, I was happy to read about Addison's inevitable (in my opinion) decision to finally step out of the cloak of anonymity in her position as restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. The late Times food critic Jonathan Gold came to that same conclusion years ago.
My reasoning is that whenever I visit a restaurant or cocktail lounge during a mission, I never try to hide who I am or why I am there. In fact, I often make it a point to let them know. After all, that's the only way I can experience what I hope are the establishment's best efforts, thus setting a threshold that other customers rightly expect.
Richard Carleton Hacker, Sherman Oaks
