Column: What does 'The Bear' get wrong about its big Chicago Tribune restaurant review? From the real food critic

I still wait at least a month before going for a first review visit. But we don’t know when the fictional Trib critic actually went. I would have waited a little longer for a final review visit since the Bear changes their menu so much based on seasonal farmers market sourcing.

Photo day comes (Episode 5: “Children”) and our chaotic characters get the dining room ready.

Richie asks the photographer, “So, uh, how was the review?”

“Oh, they don’t tell me,” he replies. “I just show up and shoot.”

What “The Bear” gets right is that no, I don’t share a finished review with anyone before it’s published, except my editors.

But what “The Bear” gets so wrong here is that any one of our photographers would “‘just show up and shoot!’” They are award-winning journalists on assignment — who don’t just show up and shoot.

And real Chicago Tribune photographers have faced down more challenges than floor refinisher Sammy Fak (John Cena), brother to handyman and runner Neil Fak (Matty Matheson), who demands, “Hey! What’s it say?”

After Richie defuses the situation, the photographer asks, “Can you ask them to prep the dish?”

“What dish?” asks Richie.

What “The Bear” gets right is that yes, our photographer will have my requests for photos.

What “The Bear” gets wrong is that no one at the restaurant knows about the dish. I would have confirmed it with Natalie and Carmy. They would’ve chosen to re-create the changed tasting menu dish or just make the current version.

Time goes by (Episode 9: “Apologies”) and investor James “Cicero” Kalinowski, better known as Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) asks if Carmy knows when the review is coming.

“No,” answers Carmy.

What “The Bear” gets wrong is that they wouldn’t know. I share the date and time that your review goes live online, and when it’s published in print. I get it, especially as someone who grew up working in my family’s chop suey shop, staged at some of the best restaurants in Chicago and around the world and worked for a screamer chef as part of a team that earned a Michelin star.

Finally, (Episode 10: “Forever”) in a flashback we see Cicero say to Carmy, “I’m telling you that if we get a bad review, I gotta cut the f—ing string.”

After Carmy attends the final service of the fictional depiction of the real restaurant Ever in Chicago, and faces down a former toxic chef from New York, he receives a Google alert on his phone: “Chicago Tribune restaurant review: The Bear.”

Keywords flash by fast as he reads the review: confusing, excellent, culinary, dissonance, innovative, brilliant, sloppy, inconsistent, delicious, simple, complex, disappointed, Berzatto, subtract, overdone, incredible, tired, stale, talent.

His phone also shows notifications for four missed calls from Cicero, and five from Computer (Brian Koppelman), their money guy.

What “The Bear” gets wrong is that one bad review can break a restaurant. I unfortunately had to give a half-star review to the Wieners Circle, the most notorious hot dog stand in Chicago. But in a dramatic redemption story, just months later they earned a Chicago Tribune Food Award.

Plus we know from Cicero and Computer that there’s a lot more going on with money that has nothing to do with the restaurant.

What “The Bear” might get right is the review itself from what we can see about the food.

But I sure as heck would have reviewed the new Italian beef sandwiches too! As I did with the Filipino-inspired combos with fatty longganisa sausage and sliced pork adobo by chefs, owners and spouses Tim Flores and Genie Kwon in my four-star review of Kasama. Kwon appears in the final episode of the new season at the chefs’ table.

My reviews are about much more than the food. They’re about the experience as a whole. And most importantly the stories, sometimes real-life dark comedy dramas, behind it all.

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(Louisa Kung Liu Chu is the James Beard nominated food critic at the Chicago Tribune.)

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