The Real Blind Taste Test
Cover Story
From the editor
Every autumn the lists of the city's best restaurants come out, and every autumn I read them start to finish. This year one of them made me ask a question I have been circling for years: best at what?
Reading as someone who reviews restaurants without seeing them, I noticed how much of the praise was visual. So I ran the old Roman trattoria on East 86th Street through the senses instead, and through one test I would like every list to apply.
That test is now the name of the review column. Would you go back tomorrow? — Daniel
Also on the cover
The Night San Sebastián Goes Dark on Purpose
Every August 31, San Sebastián turns off its lights to remember the night in 1813 when the city was burned.
Itzuli San Sebastián: Restaurant Review of a Michelin-Starred Family Return
A 12th anniversary dinner in a newly Michelin-starred Basque kitchen.
Milla Lore 124: San Sebastián Restaurant Review
Basque-French cooking, standout dishes and accessibility, reviewed from the table.
About this publication
The Real Blind Taste Test is an independent magazine by Daniel Aronoff, a blind food critic and writer. It began in 2009 with restaurant reviews written by someone who tastes, hears and smells his way through a meal, and it now covers food, place, perspective and life, from New York to San Sebastián. Every page is built to work with a screen reader, and the recordings come with written transcripts. New here? Start here.
Latest
The departments
- The Tomorrow TestRestaurant reviews, judged by taste, sound, smell and touch.
- FeaturesLonger stories about people, culture and the moments that stay with us.
- StoriesPersonal writing, memory, family and life.
- PlacesNew York, San Sebastián, the Basque Country and beyond.
- The San Sebastián DispatchNotes from the Basque table, the festivals and the streets.
- The Listening RoomRadio, podcasts and recordings from the audio archive.
- Know Before You GoAccessible dining and travel know-how.
- Best of New YorkThe yearly list. 2026 edition.
- Best of San SebastiánThe yearly list. 2026 edition.
- Back IssuesThe archive, browsable by year since 2008.
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Meet Daniel
The Person Behind the Publication
Daniel Aronoff — Blind Food Critic, writer, traveler and storyteller.
Food is part of Daniel's story, but it is only one way into a much larger world of experience, place, perspective and life.
Restaurant Reviews
Features
New York
Life & Perspective
The Book
From New York to San Sebastián
Through Shadows and Light — a memoir. Manuscript complete, currently seeking literary representation.
"Every life has a moment that makes no sense until years later. Mine arrived disguised as a cupcake."