We're trying to decipher that restaurant review: NPR

Didn't see the season finale The bear yet? Then you probably don't want to read this. Don't blame us for spoilers.

So what does that review say?

At the end of the third season of The Bear, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) checks his phone late at night and sees a review of his new restaurant, The Bear, in the Chicago Tribune. All we see are flashes of words and phrases, some seemingly good and some seemingly bad, and then Carmy says, “mother ——,” and that's the season.

And look: the idea is to leave you uncertain about what the review says, and to make it clear, the review can say many things. Trying to decode the words we can see and get an idea of ​​whether this is a good or bad review is a rank speculation. Rank, I say! So let's speculate.

I'm not really excited to reveal how long I've been working on this, but what I'm going to show you is the best representation I can make of the words (and parts of words) they show in this little series. I present them in the form of a poem, because I cannot offer you screenshots. (Of course, these groups of words are undoubtedly not in this order in the actual review. And yes, I think this is a show that probably plays fair; I think these are probably all consistent with the actual review where we end up getting a lot more will find out about.)

of flavors both d
the confusing mass
some fear

an almost sloppy fas
f innovative d
now was a testa
complex matrix
when each dish arrived there
were excellent, sho
rt, which will give me compensation

focus on pushing
real culinary gem
my experience

tto, an offer from
palpable dissonance b
ng the brilliant creativity of the chef
disappointed and longing
Feeling of disappointment

and downs, t
inconsistent
as resting

unmistakably inco
of delicious pe
tchen could not

e. However,
was simple and
It's the potential

Berzatto p

s do not subtract f

felt exaggerated

incredible
Carmen Berzatto

am tired a

t stale one
talent

Clear as day, right?

For my money, the most interesting sentence comes from the screen where the word “delicious” is highlighted. Below that, you see “tchen couldn't.” I suspect the full review uses the words “keuken kon niet.” And I'm going to guess that “unmistakable inco” is part of something like “unmistakable inconsistency” or “unmistakable incompleteness”—in other words, something negative. And in the middle, the word “delicious.”

So what if the review actually says that there is an inconsistency in the service because the kitchen is not doing a good enough job?

That would also fit with this piece here:

tto, an offer from
palpable dissonance b
ng the brilliant creativity of the chef
disappointed and longing
Feeling of disappointment

Now, the “tto” is probably the ending of Carmy's name (although I suppose a word like “risotto” is possible). But right in the middle you have “the brilliant chef's cr,” which could be “the brilliant creations of the chef” or “the brilliant creativity of the chef” or something like that. And before that you have “dissonance.” And after that “disappointed.” Again, what if this means that Carmy is a brilliant genius, but there's something wrong with the staffing and the execution?

Could this also be what “an almost sloppy fas” is about? What if it's saying that the dining room – Richie's beloved dining room – is almost sloppy? It also occurred to me that it could be a reference to The Beef, that The Beef was “almost sloppy fast food” or something. Or maybe Neil Fak is a bit too sloppy for this reviewer's refined tastes.

Here's another interesting part:

f innovative d
now was a testa
complex series

That middle line should be “menu was a testament,” right? The menu is a testament to something? Carmy's genius, perhaps? The changing menu he's obsessed with? And that would go with “f innovative d,” which could be “of innovative dishes.”

A prediction

Go back and read it all, like a poem, all together, and let it wash over you. Here's what I think the review might say: Carmy is a great chef, full of potential, creative and wonderful. But the rest of the team doesn't live up to his great ideas. In other words, I think the review is saying that everyone at The Bear needs to get on Carmy's level.

If so, that would explain why, after reading a review that (probably) calls him “brilliant”, he curses angrily. It would also complicate his obsession with his own standards if he saw that the system he was on (especially the rotating menu) makes him look good, but disrupts the way the place runs so much that it makes other people look bad.

I want to stress that if this is all completely wrong, it will come as no surprise. The whole thing could be wrong, every word could be misleading – 'the chef' might not be Carmy, 'now' could be 'Keanu' instead of 'menu', you get the idea.

But to me, it would be consistent with this season if Carmy had the most Pyrrhic victories, and this review would give him what he wanted at the expense of the people he works with.