Food critic Tom Sietsema is stepping down — and dropping his anonymity

At dinner not long ago, a new friend watched me snap a few furtive photos of the food on our table — part of my note-taking process when I review restaurants — and asked, “Do you ever take pictures of the people you’re eating with?”

Smart question. Sad reality. While I’ve documented thousands of dishes since iPhones pretty much became body parts, I can’t recall capturing the faces of my dining companions outside of a special occasion. The reason: I never wanted to draw attention as to why I was in a restaurant — to work.