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Post | 11/20/2008 12:25 pm

Foodie Gael Greene Out at New York After 40 Years

By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© AP

Iconic food critic Gael Greene has been let go from New York magazine after 40 years with the weekly.

Handpicked by the magazine’s founder, Clay Felker, in 1968, Greene, seen here from a 1971 meal, worked tirelessly to bring readers the best — and sometimes the worst — of the Big Apple’s food scene. She stood as the magazine’s weekly critic until 2000, when she asked to be replaced and become a contributing editor, but continued writing weekly columns and started her own online project, Insatiable Critic.

Greene’s last column, "The 40 Most Important Restaurant In 40 Years," ran last month in the magazine’s 40th anniversary issue.

During her time at the magazine, Greene always offered delicious angles to her stories, and offered readers inventive pieces, like "Nobody Knows the Truffles I’ve Seen" and "Everything You Wanted to Know About Ice Cream But Were Too Fat to Ask." Of her surprise firing, Greene had this to say: "I describe it as cutting off your nose to spite your face." Ouch!

At least now Greene wil have more time to spend on her sustenance-centric charity, Citymeals-on-Wheels, which she founded 27 years ago and has used to help deliver more than 40 million meals to the city’s frail and needy. That sounds far more fulfilling than informing New York readers about culinary trends, although we’ll certainly miss Greene’s unique take!

Read more about: Food, Gael Greene, Insatiable Critic, Media, New York Magazine, News
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5 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

marta pont

Disgraceful cads!! How dare they do such thing??? I’ll follow Ms Greene’s delightful chronicles on her website & her newsletter, so shame on you New York Mag!!!

By marta pont on 11/20/2008 1:00 pm
E .

Wow! What a life.

“I grabbed my clothes and fled into the bathroom to dress. As I picked up my purse, wondering if a good-bye kiss would be appropriate, Elvis opened his eyes, blinked, as if he wasn’t sure for a moment what I was doing there.

He twitched a shoulder toward the phone. “Would you mind calling room service and ordering me a fried-egg sandwich?”

The fried-egg sandwich—that part I remember. At that moment, it might have been clear I was born to be a restaurant critic. I just didn’t know it yet.”

By E . on 11/20/2008 1:04 pm
Lily Of The Valley

“She stood as the magazine’s weekly critic until 2000, when she asked to be replaced and become a contributing editor…”

I’m sure she will be greatly missed, however, her replacement cannot be expected to wait in the wings forever. Sooner or later, change comes to us all.

By Lily Of The Valley on 11/20/2008 4:19 pm
Brooklyn Gal

I absolutely support City-Meals-on-Wheels. It feeds the elderly, housebound population who no longer have friends or family to help them. Every time a friend of mine loses a parent, I send a donation to City Meals in their memory. It just seems appropriate that someone who doesn’t have the support we gave to our ailing parents can be helped in some way. I may not be able to afford a fancy sweater or buy a $1,000 Question Mark, but contributing to City Meals On Wheels makes me feel like I am doing something to change the world.

By Brooklyn Gal on 11/20/2008 9:06 pm
georgia fatwood

Blue Skies, No Candy,,,,right? I liked this a whole lot better than Erica’s z****** f***………..

By georgia fatwood on 11/21/2008 2:33 am