While we're on the subject of emotional restaurateurs, who've already got their hands full dealing with Times food critic Frank Bruni, let it be known that they don't give a damn what the foodbloggers say. You might already be familiar with celebchef Mario Batali's "Why I Hate Food Bloggers" manifesto on Eater last summer. Now he adds, in Jay Rayner's forthcoming book The Man Who Ate the World, that said bloggers can "suck [his] dick."

It's just people who hate things. But you know what? If they don't like my beef-cheek ravioli and the rock-and-roll we play on the sound system at Babbo, they can suck my dick. I don't care.

Rayner, the book's author, adds:

For years, New York's restaurateurs had been used to worrying only about the New York Times critic, who could be relied upon to come at least three times and as many as five. A bad review from the Times, usually written with all the wit and energy of a church sermon, might be devastating for business, but at least the chefs and owners knew it was properly researched. Nobody could or would say the same about the bloggers.