So where does the Food Critic like to eat for pleasure? He enjoys German, Italian or semi-French cuisine. His personal favorite restaurants are Pauli's, Sante Fe Grille (note: since this interview, this restaurant has gone out of business), and the Jazz Factory. He says his wife does complain at times that he never asks her out to eat unless he needs her for a review.
What's the worst thing that has happened to him? He went to one restaurant on Tuesday and had the review written and ready for press. The owner called on Wednesday night and said they would be closing on Thursday. He had to scramble and quickly go to another restaurant and review it for the Thursday paper.
In the mid-1980's, the reviews went through a period of being more news stories than reviews. Kaylor did one story about a restaurant that hadn't opened yet. Unfortunately, it never opened. The style of restaurant reviews has gone back to reviews. Mike says that sometimes it's hard to write reviews because there's just so many ways you can describe food and then you run out of ideas.
Kaylor says that he always tries to give the restaurants a fair review and accentuate the positive. "I would never lead a story with the negative," says Kaylor. He said he has no qualms about slamming a chain restaurant, but he feels a greater responsibility for a "mom and pop" restaurant and wouldn't want to be responsible for discouraging people to try it. However, Kaylor makes it clear that his loyalty lies with his Huntsville Times' readers.
Childhood Memories of Mike Kaylor
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