FANCY FISH FEAST

Restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila may have succumbed to a common media disease--the one that makes you believe that if you’re writing about it, it must be important (“Fish With a Catch,” Dec. 8).

Don’t misunderstand. I enjoy restaurants. And I appreciate restaurant reviews, especially Virbila’s. But to proclaim, as she did in her review of Ginza Sushiko in Beverly Hills, that any meal is “absolutely” worth $250 per person--that’s ludicrous. To say that an overpriced meal in this month’s faddish spot is worth what for many people is a week’s pay shows a distinct lack of perspective.

Robert James Bernard

South Pasadena

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Virbila’s report on Ginza Sushiko quotes dinner for two at $350 to $500, food only. Are you sure that doesn’t include the overnight cruise to Mexico?

Jerry Weiss

Toluca Lake