Two empty chairs stand beside a small round dining table with a white cloth, folded swan napkin and lamp.

Original artwork, not a still

Lloyd Chasseur

It wasn’t one bad review in one lousy magazine. It was the Restaurant Guide Book of New York. And, when the Restaurant Guide Book recommends you to Hindus looking for a fun night out of fasting, what did you expect me to do, change the menus?

— The Ref • 1994

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker insists the damaging review came from an influential guide, not an obscure magazine. Recommending the restaurant for fasting is an insult: the food is portrayed as something to avoid. The final question sarcastically rejects changing the menu as an adequate response to that humiliation.

Context reviewed

Share this quote