Grand Forks columnist and food writer Marilyn Hagerty is scheduled to appear on NBC's "Today" show Saturday after creating a buzz in the national media with her review of McDonald's in Wednesday's Herald.
Hagerty was catapulted onto a national stage when her review of Olive Garden went viral online in 2012, prompting a string of appearances with Anderson Cooper, National Public Radio, "Today" and other media, as well as interest in her regular feature, " The Eatbeat ." Fellow food critic Anthony Bourdain even published a collection of her work.
Interest in Hagerty's work flared up again in 2014 when she wrote about Ruby Tuesday.
In her new column, she called the fast food chain's lattes "worthy" and noted her frustration when the machines used to make them aren't working.
"'Not working?' I think. I almost foam at the mouth in disgust, but I try to be pleasant," Hagerty wrote.
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When The Huffington Post picked up on the story, writer Carly Ledbetter spoke with a McDonald's representative, who promised the latte machines would be fixed. Jezebel, another online news site , called Hagerty an "American Hero Food Critic," and praised the author for her "trademark no-nonsense Midwestern brevity." People magazine seemed to want her to write a review of the Cheesecake Factory. Us Weekly summarized salient points from the review.
Other regional news outlets also covered the review -- BringMeTheNews.com , vita.mn , CBS Minnesota and the Star Tribune , as well as Minnesota Public Radio's NewsCut blog .
Even the OC Weekly's blog, Stick a Fork in It, noticed Hagerty's writing all the way from Los Alamitos, Calif., calling it "a great read. Even if you think you know all you need to know about McDonald's, Hagerty's piece offers a taste of what life is like up there in frigid North Dakota."
A collection of Marilyn's reviews can be found online at www.grandforksherald.com/tags/eatbeat .
