Meet Miss Irene

Eats just launched a new series in which they visit with food critics in major cities across the country. Lucky for us, the first is our own S. Irene Virbila. In addition to her background (some resto work, culinary school), we have her thoughts on what we're missing in LA ("a truly great Mexican restaurant"), what she would if not a critic (archeaologist), and the why, who and when she reviews: "First of all, I’m reviewing whatever’s new and interesting. After that, a significant restaurant that has changed either the chef or the concept or the quality?Sometimes I’m scrambling to find something to review to fill a hole in my schedule. I usually go to a restaurant three times over the course of two or three months. One of those visits is early on for a quick look at what’s happening there. I’ll go on a busy night, on a quiet night. If it’s really bad, I’ll go another time or two to give the restaurant every chance.That’s the great luxury of working for a paper like the Los Angeles Times which takes reviewing restaurants very seriously." [Eats]