EDIBLE: A look at the rules of fair food reviews.

It is not unprecedented for me to graze the sizable salsa bar at Taqueria Zarape five times in one week. So it goes when your office is tucked next to a family-run spot that knows its way around a wet burrito.

And it is not unprecedented for me to hear what I did from an old acquaintance when I recently ran into him there before a meeting with the saints behind the Foundation for Monterey County Free Libraries.

“We always talk about your coverage,” he said, “and mostly wonder if this guy ever writes about things he doesn’t like.”

Fair enough verdict. There’s a good reason – with a side plate of pride – for that. But I’ve heard about a positivity bias before, so I took it as inspiration to explain why he has an understandable takeaway, and go over some other long-held rules for our food section.

They aren’t always obvious, even to some within the industry, and will be good to keep mounted on the food blog in case anyone’s interested in the way we get down.

1. Don’t bully the weak.

Space in this section, this food community and life in general are all too small and short to pummel a place that doesn’t have puncher’s chance. If a place sucks, it will knock itself out. So we won’t cover it beyond some basics.

I’d rather selectively invest limited words in places that deserve attention. My favorite place to profile is not the most amazing restaurant, but one of two other types: 1) a spot that readers would never know or expect to do great things; and 2) a place where there are definite strengths to play to and real wrecks to avoid, so a roadmap really helps readers, and helps the restaurant find a way to survive.

Completely dismantling a place can be fun (sorry ‘bout that part, Guy Fieri), but rarely functional.

2. Go low pro.

If we announce ourselves as writers (or an obnoxious friend does on our behalf), many places would comp the finest filet and freshest halibut and throw in a back rub because it’s a small cost for big potential benefit. But that would be a big ethical breach for us (particularly if we didn’t disclose it), and it would be bad business. If our food critics write, “Man this place gives out free shoulder rubs,” and a reader goes in and gets the cold shoulder instead, the main thing that suffers is our credibility.

We want the most authentic experience possible. Staying anonymous is the best way to do that.

3. Play fair.

A review, also known as a critique (which appears in our Feast section), differs from an introduction to a place (which usually shows up here in Edible). I do intros all the time in the week before a place opens, or its first days, to run down the menu and give a good initial understanding of the vibe, goals and background, often with photo slideshows on the blog. Recent examples include Gusto, Restaurant 1833’s relaunch and Lighthouse Smokehouse.

Critical reviews come later. We give places three months before we go all foodie forensic, sometimes more time, and almost never less, with the rare exception being a place that gets it dialed sooner (like Gusto, p. 132).

Another crucial rule: Go at least twice to cover more of the menu and temper one outlying good or bad night.

And otherwise be reasonable: Don’t dwell on one specific dish or detail like gluten-freedom, or take a table of 20 and nitpick how often your water is refilled. Get the soul of the place, not one or two sensational character traits.

4. Carry cash.

I rarely do restaurant reviews any more because I have my own column and, after a decade, my mug is known among the industry. If you’re ID’d, things change (see 2, above).

But that’s not stopping me from visiting spots new and newly updated and accepting invitations to newsworthy media dinners and food events.

Since people will treat me differently when they know part of my job is to write about what they’re doing, I do disclose to readers when it’s a media dinner designed to impress (and therefore less representative of a normal meal), and I make sure I have cash.

That way if they do comp me – and reject my appeals – I can leave an amount that communicates appreciation for the attention, respect for the service, the fact I’m not feeling entitled or looking for a handout and (hopefully) that they don’t feel I owe them something. (What helps here is communication. If something is so much weaker than the hopes that inspired me to accept the invite, and I’m not planning on writing about it, I share what might make it better.)

5. Have fun; work hard.

At events like the GourmetFest last month and the upcoming Pebble Beach Food & Wine, I do four main things to honor my end of the bargain, which, in its simplest terms, could be described as access in exchange for curated exposure: Report in real time on what it’s like, gather knowledge for future previews, find new stories and never take the duty lightly or the opportunity for granted.

More guidelines that inform our coverage, and some food-writing tips for aspiring writers, appear on the blog. Thanks for reading.

QUICKBITES

• The evolution of over-the-top continues with the eighth annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine April 9-12 which includes a beach party and much more intimate (and more indulgent) dinners. Meanwhile, the call for volunteers is out, and allows willing locals to attend lavish events in exchange for staffing others; email volunteer@coastalluxurymanagement.com or tap into www.pbfw.com.

• One moment a longtime local server was running along the side of a South American road. The next her legs, ribs and shoulders were crushed. Find out what locals are doing to help, including a lunch benefit April 7, on the blog.

• Old Fisherman’s Grotto’s designs on a new sign get their day before Monterey City Council Wednesday. That comes as the former Rappa’s emerges from its appeal period to go full-on as Big Fish Grill, with a big new sign.

• Maya Cinemas in Oldtown Salinas now serves Gold Leaf teas.

• Doris Day celebrates 91 years with two jazz concerts 6 and 8:30pm Friday, April 3, at Cypress Inn in Carmel, one of the best bars by the sea and the top spot for dog-friendly happy hour.

• The Red Cross holds a blood drive sponsored by Alvarado Street Brewery. 10am-4pm April 10; all donors receive a coupon for a house draft beer. In barely related news, Kris Cowdrey has moved from Alvarado Street to take the GM reins at Schooners Coastal Kitchen.

• Five Guys Burgers & Fries in Salinas now does milkshakes.

• Stone Creek Kitchen (393-1042) hosts winemaker dinner 7pm Friday, April 10 with solar-powered Baker & Brian winery of San Luis Obispo ($125).

• Pasta is served free at il vecchio (324-4282) 5pm Thursday, April 2, for an Art Surge Dinner. Donations benefit the Arts Council for Monterey County.

• Johnny DeVivo has a new twilight menu at Porter’s in the Forest with spring ingredients (asparagus, trumpet mushrooms) and plates like the short rib fries ($12) and a salmon salad with pine nuts and JDV’s own pancetta ($15) 3pm-dusk Sun-Wed and until 7pm Thu-Sat.

• Kazuo Ishiguro: “There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.”