Philly Mag Getting In Middle Of LaBan Affair

Philadelphia Magazine has posted their story about Chops and its lawsuit against Craig LaBan. Also posted is a post from Philly Mag editor Larry Platt who defends his decision to run the photograph of Craig LaBan with the story.

I do this because, as Zack Stalberg, former editor of the Daily News, points out in Volk’s story, anonymity for LaBan has become something of a gimmick. He shows up in disguise to public book readings, making those of us who have extended the courtesy of anonymity to him complicit in his publicity stunts. Moreover, most everyone in the restaurant community knows what he looks like anyway. (In fact, we’re not the first to out his image; the Chestnut Hill Local and a magazine named Real Philly have already published photos of him.) But mostly, we’re running a shot of LaBan because this whole debate about his anonymity just smacks of so much self-importance. Listen, the guy eats meals and writes about them. He’s not Valerie Plame, okay? If Volk’s compelling story leaves us with one big-picture takeaway, let it be an acknowledgment that with all the problems in this world and city, none of us should take a couple of steaks quite this seriously.

High Steaks [Philadelphia Magazine]
Why We Ran The LaBan Pic [From The Editor, Philadelphia Magazine]