There’s something intriguing about being an amateur food critic.

You walk through the front door of a restaurant, and everything you see and experience becomes potential fodder for a review.

Here are some questions that might be asked: Was the person at the front desk too slow to seat you? Did the waiter or waitress speak loud enough so that you could hear him or her? Were people friendly or stiff?

Was your dining table clean? Was your table setting clean? What about the decor? What about the service? Was it prompt? What about the food? Was it hot? Did you get a good value? And the list goes on and on.

A real food critic can rank these things and come up with a genuine assessment. I don’t put that much effort into it. I show up, order and give it a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Ziggy’s Cafe has opened in the former Andrew’s restaurant space in the La Quinta Inn on South Range Line Road. I dropped by for lunch and ordered a 10-minute special for $5.49. I asked the waiter what he had tried on the menu. He said he had tried the open roast beef plate and the barbecue ribs, and liked both of them.

I have found that when you experience a restaurant for the first time, it’s not a bad idea to ask the waiter what people are ordering or what the waiter likes on the menu. It’s better than being a voyeur and looking at other tables to see what people have ordered.

I was served a large plate of hot roast beef over sliced white bread with mashed potatoes (or should I spell them the way Dan Quayle did?). The whole thing was smothered in brown gravy. It came with two dinner rolls. It was cold and rainy when I chose the roast-beef special. I was looking for some hot, old-fashioned comfort food. Ziggy’s delivered. It gets a thumbs up.

I do prefer my sliced beef over toasted white bread, but other than that, the meal hit the spot. There was so much food that I had to ask for a to-go box. Also, the coffee was excellent, and the waitress dropped by more than once to make sure the cup was full.

Ziggy’s offers a relaxed atmosphere. I found it to be comfortable, modern and colorful. Having had a chance to look at the menu, I would say the restaurant appears it will be another good option for breakfast.

The last time I was a food critic was for the opening of McAlister’s Deli. I tried a Reuben sandwich and wrote that it was a good choice. I got a couple of e-mails in response. One person said: “You don’t know Reuben.”

I don’t know Reuben — never met him in my life.

The other said just the thought of a sandwich created from sauerkraut, thousand-island dressing, Swiss cheese and corned beef on rye bread made him sick to his stomach. Well, excuse me.

Another review

Some friends attended the opening of Wasabi Steak House and Sushi, a new restaurant at the main entrance to Northpark Mall. My friends are much more qualified to be food critics, especially when it comes to sushi. They were impressed with the sushi. They said it was fresh. They did not have an opportunity to order something from one of the restaurant’s six hibachi grills because the place was so busy.