In the course of my 25-year career as a journalist, many people have told me that no one ever erected a monument to a critic. But that isn’t strictly true. The Brasserie St Quentin -- a French bistro that opened in 1980 -- was named after the late journalist Quentin Crewe. He was a travel writer and bon vivant, but his lasting claim to fame is that he invented the modern restaurant column.
According to legend, it happened when he was working as an associate editor at Queen magazine in the Sixties. In those days, a typical restaurant review would be full of elegant descriptions of sauces and garnishes, but never made any mention of the other diners on the grounds that to do so would be unspeakably vulgar. It would be like telling tales out of school, given how many plutocrats were entertaining their mistresses at adjoining tables. (To read more, click here.)
