Terminology
"Food writer" is often used as a broad term that encompasses someone who writes about food and about restaurants. For example, Ruth Reichl is often described as a food writer/editor, who in the course of her career served as the "restaurant critic" for The New York Times and for the Los Angeles Times. R.W. "Johnny" Apple was also described as a food writer, but never served as a designated restaurant critic. Nonetheless, he wrote frequently about restaurants as he traveled in search of good eats. Calvin Trillin writes a great deal about food (among other things) and has been known to write occasionally about specific restaurants, e.g., Arthur Bryant's and Diedee's. But restaurants figure less prominently in his writing than in Apple's. Finally, Richard Olney was also a noted food writer, but rarely if ever wrote about restaurants.
Food critics and "restaurant critic" are synonyms, in practice, although there is still a distinction to be made. Both suggest a critical, evaluative stance that often involves some kind of rating system. The distinction, if any involves the range of possible investigation. "Food critic" has a more contemporary vibe, suggesting that restaurants, bakeries, food festivals, street vendors, and taco trucks are all fair game. Jonathan Gold, of the L.A. Weekly, exemplifies this trend. "Restaurant critic" is the more traditional title and can connote a more restricted sphere of operations — traditional restaurants, with perhaps those serving French cuisine being the examplars. The change in practice, if not in terminology, is often attributed to Reichl's arrival at The New York Times, replacing Bryan Miller. In a series of well-documented incidents, Miller complained that Reichl was, "...giving SoHo noodle shops 2 and 3 stars" and destroying the rating system that had been built up by Craig Claiborne, Mimi Sheraton, and Miller.
Read more about this topic: Food Critic