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      How A.I. Imitates Restaurant Reviews

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      A new study showed people real restaurant reviews and ones produced by A.I. They couldn’t tell the difference.The White Clam Pizza at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Conn., is a revelation. The crust, kissed by the intense heat of the coal-fired oven, achieves a perfect balance of crispness and chew. Topped with freshly shucked clams, garlic, oregano and a dusting of grated cheese, it is a testament to the magic that simple, high-quality ingredients can conjure.Sound like me? It’s not. The entire paragraph, except the pizzeria’s name and the city, was generated by GPT-4 in response to a simple prompt asking for a restaurant critique in the style of Pete Wells.I have a few quibbles. I would never pronounce any food a revelation, or describe heat as a kiss. I don’t believe in magic, and rarely call anything perfect without using “nearly” or some other hedge. But these lazy descriptors are so common in food writing that I imagine many readers barely notice them. I’m unusually attuned to them because whenever I commit a cliché in my copy, I get boxed on the ears by my editor.He wouldn’t be fooled by the counterfeit Pete. Neither would I. But as much as it pains me to admit, I’d guess that many people would say it’s a four-star fake.The person responsible for Phony Me is Balazs Kovacs, a professor of organizational behavior at Yale School of Management. In a recent study, he fed a large batch of Yelp reviews to GPT-4, the technology behind ChatGPT, and asked it to imitate them. His test subjects — people — could not tell the difference between genuine reviews and those churned out by artificial intelligence. In fact, they were more likely to think the A.I. reviews were real. (The phenomenon of computer-generated fakes that are more convincing than the real thing is so well known that there’s a name for it: A.I. hyperrealism.)Dr. Kovacs’s study belongs to a growing body of research suggesting that the latest versions of generative A.I. can pass the Turing test, a scientifically fuzzy but culturally resonant standard. When a computer can dupe us into believing that language it spits out was written by a human, we say it has passed the Turing test.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Silvano Marchetto, Owner of Glitzy Greenwich Village Trattoria, Dies at 77

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      Da Silvano was a celebrity hangout, drawing boldface names like Madonna, Barry Diller and Yoko Ono. It was often referred to as the downtown Elaine’s.Silvano Marchetto, an Italian restaurateur whose Greenwich Village trattoria, Da Silvano, opened in 1975 and became a star-studded canteen and a Page Six fixture, died on June 4 in Florence, Italy. He was 77.His daughter, Leyla Marchetto, said the cause was heart failure.For four decades, akin to a downtown Elaine’s, Da Silvano was one of New York’s reigning haunts for the art, fashion, media and film crowds. And Mr. Marchetto, a hard-living Tuscan who parked his Ferrari ornamentally outside his establishment, was its rustic host and mascot.He wore Hawaiian shirts and yellow pants, and his wrists were covered in silver bracelets and jewelry. After he fired waiters in fits of passion, he soon missed them, sending emissaries to lure them back. And when everyone from Rihanna to Barry Diller to Patti Smith frequented his restaurant, he greeted them with a friendly growl as he nursed a glass of wine.Before social media democratized the public’s access to the lives of celebrities, tabloids like The New York Post and The Daily News relied on Da Silvano as a source of juicy gossip. The patio tables beneath its yellow awning were coveted seating for those who wanted to be seen, and the pictures snapped by the paparazzi posted up along the sidewalk outside notified New Yorkers about how their favorite celebrities dated, argued, wheedled and canoodled.“Page Six covered us so much people asked if I owned The New York Post,” Mr. Marchetto (pronounced MARK-et-oh) once said. “But it was good for Da Silvano, whatever they wrote.”Mr. Marchetto’s roster of regulars included Calvin Klein, Anna Wintour, Lindsay Lohan, Joan Didion, Madonna, Yoko Ono, Harvey Weinstein, Susan Sontag, Lou Reed, Salman Rushdie, Stephanie Seymour and Larry Gagosian.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      260 McNuggets? McDonald’s Ends A.I. Drive-Through Tests Amid Errors

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      Ordering mistakes frustrated customers during nearly three years of tests. But competitors like White Castle and Wendy’s say their A.I. ordering systems have been highly accurate.In the nearly three years since McDonald’s announced that it was partnering with IBM to develop a drive-through order taker powered by artificial intelligence, videos popped up on social media showing confused and frustrated customers trying to correct comically inaccurate meals.“Stop! Stop! Stop!” two friends screamed with humorous anguish on a TikTok video as an A.I. drive-through misunderstands their order, tallying up 240, 250 and then 260 Chicken McNuggets.In other videos, the A.I. rings up a customer for nine iced teas instead of one, fails to explain why a customer could not order Mountain Dew and thought another wanted to add bacon to his ice cream.So when McDonald’s announced in a June 13 internal email, obtained by the trade publication Restaurant Business, that it was ending its partnership with IBM and shutting down its A.I. tests at more than 100 U.S. drive-throughs, customers who had interacted with the service were probably not shocked.The decision to abandon the IBM deal comes as many other businesses, including its competitors, are investing in A.I. But it exemplifies some of the challenges companies are facing as they jockey to unlock the revolutionary technology’s potential.Other fast-food companies have had success with A.I. ordering. Last year, Wendy’s formed a partnership with Google Cloud to build out its A.I. drive-through system. Carl’s Jr. and Taco John’s have hired Presto, a voice A.I. firm for restaurants. Panda Express has approximately 30 automated order takers at its windows through a partnership with the voice A.I. firm SoundHound AI.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Bánh by Lauren Offers Pandan Coffee Cakes, Fried Sesame Balls and More

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      Veerays will serve tandoori food, Son del North has Northern Mexico-style burritos and more restaurant news.OpeningBánh by LaurenThe pastry chef Lauren Tran has put down roots in an airy corner bakery and cafe in the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge. She had baked at Gramercy Tavern until the pandemic, then began selling bánh (a general term in Vietnamese for cake) from home and at pop-ups. Now she’s turning out multilayered chiffon cakes, macarons, pandan coffee cakes, fried sesame rice balls filled with coconut and mung beans, and savory Chinese sausage, Cheddar and chive scones, many distinctively but subtly conveying Southeast Asian flavors, inspired by her Vietnamese heritage. A sleek quartz counter, an open kitchen and marble-topped tables define the space. Sidewalk seats are coming. (Opens Saturday)42 Market Street (Madison Street), Two Bridges, 646-360-3325, banhbylauren.com. VeeraysIn 2020, the chef Hemant Mathur opened Veeray da Dhaba, an East Village restaurant modeled after a Punjabi truck stop. Now his chef de cuisine, Binder Saini, and their partner Sonny Solomon have this fancier Indian restaurant offering tandoori food, often with game meats and contemporary interpretations. Highlights include curried tandoori pheasant, duck vindaloo with coconut rice, and slow-cooked bone-in goat with whole spices. The dining room has a plush, vintage look. (Monday)213 East 45th Street, 646-429-8398, veerays.com. Son del NorthHere, the Tijuana native Annisha Garcia offers the style of burritos that are typical of Northern Mexico. Made in Sonora, the flour tortillas are stuffed with choices of carne asada, cheese and beans, shrimp and more in a quick-serve setting. (Thursday)177 Orchard Street (Stanton Street), sondelnorth.com. Conwell Coffee HallStevan KeaneA financial district office tower built in 1929 for Conwell Life and Trust became residential decades ago. Now this cafe and cocktail bar, open to the public, has been installed in its restored marble-paved lobby with lavish Art Deco features, including a dynamic industrial-style mural by Eric Diehl, a contemporary artist. Coffees and breakfast items like croissants are followed by soups, salads and assorted toasts for lunch. Cocktails and bar snacks are served until 9 p.m. The chefs devising food and drinks are Jonah Reider and Pascal le Seach.6 Hanover Street (Beaver Street), 646-412-5956, conwellcoffeehall.com. Perle Wine BarIntimate elegance defines this adjunct to Marian’s, a new American restaurant by the chef Christian Rowan, who was at Eleven Madison Park, Bouley and Nomad. European and New World wines by the glass and bottle are listed to pair with seafood-focused items like raw bar selections, crudos and toasts. There’s a marble bar and outdoor seating.22 Greenwich Avenue (West 10th Street), 646-370-3371 We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      2024 James Beard Award Winners

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      Restaurants and chefs from Washington, D.C., Portland, Ore., and New Orleans took home top honors.The James Beard Foundation handed out its coveted culinary awards Monday evening in Chicago, showcasing an eclectic collection of winners from a range of restaurants in cities and towns across America.Michael Rafidi, of the Arab-influenced Albi in Washington, D.C., was named outstanding chef. He dedicated his award “to Palestine and to all the Palestinian people out there, whether it’s here or in Palestine or all over the world.”The 24-seat Thai tasting menu restaurant Langbaan in Portland, Ore., won the outstanding restaurant award. The team from Dakar NOLA in New Orleans, which offers a Senegalese tasting menu, received best new restaurant. The award for outstanding restaurateur went to Erika and Kelly Whitaker, who run a restaurant group in the Denver area. Chicago’s own Lula Cafe won for outstanding hospitality.In recent years, the awards, which were first given out in 1991, have evolved into a glamorous night of red carpet moments and food-focused partying funded largely by a roster of big-name sponsors.According to the Beard award organizers, the ceremony sold out for the first time in eight years with several nominees opting to bring their entire staffs to the event.The popularity of this year’s event suggests that the organization may have weathered conflicts both internal and external, which exploded in 2020 when the foundation canceled the awards at the last minute after critics said the slate of nominees was not diverse enough and contained chefs who had been accused of abuse.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Companies Counter Pushback on Price Increases With Promotions

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      “The consumer was a fat pig — now there’s nothing left, and they need to feed the pig again,” one banker told DealBook.The president of McDonald’s USA, Joe Erlinger, pushed back on “inaccurate” reports this week that said the chain had more than doubled its prices on some items over the last decade. But his retort wasn’t exactly reassuring: The average price of a Big Mac is up 21 percent from 2019.Erlinger’s rebuttal underlines the heat that some companies are facing as the news media, politicians and consumers focus on steadily rising prices. Whether persistent price increases reflect price gouging, or simply companies’ own rising costs, is a matter of fierce debate. Either way, one thing is clear: Consumers are becoming fed up.McDonald’s first-quarter earnings fell short of analyst expectations on sales, as “consumers continue to be even more discriminating” with their dollars, the chain’s chief executive, Chris Kempczinski said. Starbucks, Target and Yum Brands, the parent company of Pizza Hut and KFC, also reported earnings misses, each acknowledging increasingly cautious customers among other factors like the war in the Middle East.Consumer spending remained surprisingly resilient in the face of stubbornly fast inflation, but now savings from the coronavirus pandemic have dried up, economic growth has slowed and many companies are working to counteract the belief that their prices have gotten out of control.As one banker told DealBook: “The consumer was a fat pig — now there’s nothing left, and they need to feed the pig again.”The message: Consumers have hit their limit. During periods of rapid inflation, companies tend to push to see how far they can raise prices. “We’re taking smaller, more frequent price increases because it gives us the flexibility to be able to see how consumers are reacting and then adjust if or when necessary,” Kevin Ozan, the chief financial officer of McDonald’s, told analysts in 2022.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pietro’s, a Homey New York Steak House, Offers a Medium-Rare Goodbye

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      Waiters in blue jackets wended through a crowded dining room balancing trays of martinis. A woman ran her fingers along a wall covered with markings of the heights of children. Longtime regulars handed servers farewell tips through firm handshakes.It was the last night for Pietro’s, an old guard Italian steakhouse, at its decades-long address in Midtown Manhattan. Among the devout who had come to pay their respects on Thursday was the fashion designer Michael Kors, who sat at a corner table with his husband, Lance Le Pere.“There is no Carbone without Pietro’s,” Mr. Kors said as he waited for a house specialty, Shells a la Nat, a pasta in bone-marrow sauce.“The Michael Kors offices are in Midtown, so that’s why I come here,” he continued, “and I’ve always liked that you can still feel some of the ‘Mad Men’ era here. Pietro’s is the last of the Mohicans.”Michael Kors and his husband, Lance Le Pere, at Pietro’s on Thursday night.Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York TimesAlan Appel, a tax law professor at New York Law School, ordered a veal parmigiana for his goodbye meal. “I’m 73 now, and when I heard Pietro’s was closing, I told myself, ‘I’ve lived too long already,’” he said. “I feel like I’m at a funeral right now.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Gramercy Tavern Chef in Charge of Food at the Reopened Waldorf Astoria

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      When the hotel reopens later this year, Michael Anthony will serve as culinary consultant and create an as-yet-unnamed American brasserie.When the Waldorf Astoria hotel, which has anchored Park Avenue in Midtown since 1931, reopens later this year, Michael Anthony will be the new culinary consultant in charge. Mr. Anthony, 56, has been at Gramercy Tavern since 2006, and will remain as executive chef and partner there.“I will not reduce my commitment to Gramercy,” he said. “Everyone supported me in this project”With his second toque at the Waldorf, his main responsibility will be to create an as-yet-unnamed American brasserie in the two-story space that was Oscar’s Brasserie. That new restaurant, also to open later this year, will have an entrance on Lexington Avenue and 50th Street as well as access from the hotel lobby. Its focus will be seasonal contemporary American fare that also reflects Mr. Anthony’s time working in France. The space is being designed by AvroKO Design, with a spacious bar on the ground floor and a white tablecloth dining room upstairs, reached by a grand staircase.The Waldorf Astoria, named for two hotels on Fifth Avenue that were demolished in 1929 to make way for the Empire State Building, has been closed for renovations since 2017. It is now owned by Daija Insurance Group, based in Beijing, and is managed by Hilton Worldwide. Its Art Deco exterior and some of the interior public spaces are designated as landmarks. The Peacock Alley restaurant in the hotel lobby will become a high-end cocktail lounge; the Bull and Bear Steakhouse will not return, and the space will not be used as a restaurant. Mr. Anthony said that he had no information about the famous Starlight Roof, and that his responsibilities at the hotel did not include room service or banqueting.Working with the hotel will occupy much of his time until the new restaurant opens and for at least three months after. At Gramercy Tavern, Mr. Anthony said, he will rely on Aretah Ettarh, the chef de cuisine, who has been at the restaurant for seven years. “At the Waldorf I plan to build on my roots and what I’ve established at Gramercy to create something distinctive,” Mr. Anthony said. More