Adam Platt (born July 18, 1958) is an American writer and restaurant critic. He is currently the senior restaurant critic for ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'' magazine, a position he has held since July 2000, when he succeeded

Gael Greene Gael Greene (December 22, 1933 – November 1, 2022) was an American restaurant critic, author, and novelist. She became '' New York'' magazine's restaurant critic in fall 1968, at a time when most New Yorkers were unsophisticated about food and ...

. He won the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...

Journalism Award for Restaurant Reviews in 2009, and has been nominated for the same award on other occasions.

Early life and education

Platt was born in Washington, D.C., and is the son of

Nicholas Platt Nicholas Platt (born March 10, 1936) is an American diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Pakistan, Philippines, Zambia, and as a high level diplomat in Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Japan. He is the former ...

, the former president of the

Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...

, in New York City, and a career diplomat for the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carr ...

who served as U.S. ambassador to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He is the older brother of the actor

Oliver Platt Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is an American actor known for his work on stage and screen. He has been nominated for five Primetime Emmys, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and one Tony Award. Following his acting deb ...

, who has said he used his brother's real-life eating experience to inform his performance as restaurant critic Ramsey Michel in the film ''

Chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

''. Platt credits his rambling childhood – the Platts lived for extended periods of time in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo — with shaping his wide-ranging and eclectic appetites. Platt is a graduate of the

American School American School may refer to: Schools * American School (economics) * American School (Panama) * American School (Yemen) * American School of Correspondence * American School of Bombay * American School in Japan * American Schools and Hospitals Ab ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan, the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...

Journalism and restaurant criticism

Before becoming a full-time restaurant critic, Platt wrote and worked for many publications including ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', where he was a Talk of the Town staff writer, ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...

'' and ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'', where he wrote monthly columns, and ''

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club me ...

'' where he was a contributing editor for many years and travelled on assignment to the Southern Island of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

. He also spent time working and living in Washington, D.C. and is the co-author of columnist

Joseph Alsop Joseph Wright Alsop V (October 10, 1910 – August 28, 1989) was an American journalist and syndicated newspaper columnist from the 1930s through the 1970s. He was an influential journalist and top insider in Washington from 1945 to the late 19 ...

's memoir, ''I've Seen the Best of It''. Platt has always said that his quirky, eclectic background contributes to his style as a reviewer, which he describes in his memoir ''The Book of Eating'' as "part cultural essay, part personal diary, part service journalist, and part travel and cultural commentary". In the early Aughts Platt coined the term "Haute Barnyard" to describe the Farm to Table craze sweeping the gourmet restaurants of New York City. He has written extensively on the controversial practice of tipping, and the demise of the old diner culture around New York. Platt has said his "lumberjack size" makes it difficult to disguise himself in restaurants. In January 2014 he became one of the first prominent restaurant critics in the US to do away with what he described as the pretentious "Kabuki dance" of fake disguises and anonymity, when ''New York'' magazine's former editor, Adam Moss, decided to feature him on the cover. Prominent New York restaurateurs, including

Mario Batali Mario Francesco Batali (born September 19, 1960) is an American chef, writer, and former restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and ...

and

Keith McNally Keith McNally (born 1951) is a British-born New York City restaurateur, the owner of several establishments including the Parisian-style brasserie Balthazar (restaurant), Balthazar, and formerly Nell's, Nell's nightclub. Early life McNally was ...

, have taken issue with his reviews over the years, and in 2013 he was kicked out of Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone's

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The West Village is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to ...

restaurant, ZZ's Clam Bar.

Personal life

Platt is married to the architect Kate Platt. They live in New York City with their two daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Platt, Adam 1958 births American journalists American restaurant critics American School in Japan alumni American writers Columbia University School of General Studies alumni Living people Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Writers from New York City