In late 2011, Pete Wells, then embarking on his tenure as The New York Times restaurant critic, introduced a set of pseudonyms to accompany his undercover dining strategy. Over the 12 years he served in the role, Wells regularly used five fabricated names—Glen Bradley, Lee Jacobs, Jeff Michaels, David Malone, and Mark Stern—on credit cards to maintain anonymity and avoid preferential treatment during meals.

Though it was standard practice for Times critics to make reservations under assumed names, Wells found that using his real name on credit cards sometimes compromised his anonymity. On one occasion, a server recognized his card and returned it with a barely concealed smile, hinting at an awareness of his identity. Following that experience, Wells began paying with credit cards bearing his fictional names, which helped preserve the integrity of his visits.

The selected names were intentionally generic to prevent drawing attention or causing recognition among restaurant staff. Wells sought to blend in unobtrusively, avoiding any monikers that would be memorable or unusual to waiters and hosts. To his knowledge, this approach never directly revealed his identity during meals, and if recognition had not occurred by the time the bill arrived, he considered his cover successfully maintained.

Despite this careful system, Wells occasionally encountered humorous lapses, particularly when dining alone and using different aliases for reservations and payments. In one instance, after a server had called him “Mr. Thompson” throughout the meal, he was handed the check accompanied by a polite farewell addressed to “Mr. Jacobs,” exposing the disconnect between his various assumed identities.

Throughout his years as restaurant critic from 2012 through 2024, Wells covered the food scene while carefully navigating the challenges of anonymity that come with critiquing eateries from within. The use of pseudonyms on credit cards became an essential tool in maintaining impartiality and ensuring an authentic dining experience.