La Vie’s Owner Is Taking the Criticism to Heart

The critics

Mike Bramson, owner of La Vie, the restaurant recently roasted so brutally by WaPo food critic Tom Sietsema, is taking his high-profile criticism to heart, reports Washingtonian. The Wharf newcomer’s owner told the magazine that he’s planning to meet with La Vie staff to actually through the review, “to see what’s personal bias and what’s constructive criticism, and go from there.” [WASHINGTONIAN]

The (mass) critics

Similarly, Washington City Paper has a piece about how restaurateurs are using Yelp reviews to improve their offerings. Famers Restaurant Group co-owner Dan Simons even said “you don’t need to be defended from people who are upset. You need to engage them.” Simons — and others in D.C. — consider negative yelp reviews to be free constructive advice and actually read and listen to the bad reviews. [WCP]

CrimeWire

A restaurant owner in Anne Arundel County is facing federal and state charged over an alleged plot to kill his wife, implicate her as a terrorist and burn down his business, reports Capital Gazette. The restaurant in question is Allah Rakha, a Pakistani restaurant in Hanover, Maryland, which Ahmad apparently no longer owns. Ahmad’s wife filed for divorce in April and got a protective order against him one month later. [CAPITAL GAZETTE]