Side Dish

In order to protect his/her anonymity, any ethical restaurant critic plays by the unwritten rules: Don't make a reservation under your own name. Don't scribble notes on top of the table. And never, ever allow your picture to be taken. Once your identity is blown, how can you have an honest dining experience and expect your readers to trust your opinion? Well, don't ask me. Ask Kendall Hamersly, a.k.a. supposedly incognito dining critic for the Miami Herald. An editor at Street, in which his Herald review appears on a weekly basis, Hamersly was, appropriately enough, interviewed for a story on how Street is competing with New Times in the June issue of Ocean Drive. Inappropriately, however, he permitted the magazine to publish his likeness as a full-page, full-color photo in the body of the story. In the caption (as well as in the text), Hamersly is designated the "Miami Herald executive features editor, who also oversees Street." Never once is he described as the dining critic for both papers. Ethical by omission? Nah. He might as well put a photo next to his byline for all the credibility he'll have now.

•Party-boy sommelier Rick Garced has resigned from his post at Jimmy'Z. A four-year veteran of the club attached to The Forge, Garced cites exhaustion as the main reason for his departure. I guess it is pretty hard livin' la vino locatill 4:00 a.m. daily. Garced still works for South Florida Gourmet and for Johnson & Wales University and has some plans for new projects. Perhaps a venue of his own? Possibly, Garced says, but until he knows for sure he's keeping the details, well, corked.

•Looks like former Mayya chef Guillermo Téllez has blown off the Magic City for the Windy one. Not that I blame him -- no doubt his SoBering experience left a taste in his mouth that a radish couldn't compete with. Seems Téllez will be re-teaming with mentor Charlie Trotter to open a new place in Chicago. Good for him. Bad, bad, bad for us. Send your tasty tidbits to Jen Karetnick at 2800 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33137. Or e-mail Kavetchnik@aol.com