The job of a San Francisco Chronicle food critic sounds impossibly glamorous: Eat on someone else’s dime in one of the best culinary regions in the world and get paid to tell everyone what you think. The reality is a bit more complex—and less understood. After all, fewer people have served as Chronicle food critic than have been to space.

On September 30, join us live at Gray Area in the Mission District for an evening with two people who know the role intimately: current Chronicle restaurant critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan and former critic Michael Bauer, who worked at the Chronicle for 32 years.

In a conversation moderated by Janelle Bitker, one of the Food & Wine editors, Fegan and Bauer will go behind the scenes of the job, discussing their philosophies of criticism, the mechanics of all those meals and reservations, and how the Bay Area dining scene and the role of a critic has evolved.

They’ll also talk about the challenge of compiling the annual Top 100 list, which Bauer created and Fegan and fellow critic Cesar Hernandez revived last year; what they find enticing and annoying in Bay Area restaurants at the moment; and their recommendations for favorite bites right now.

Plus, they’ll take your questions. Click here to submit a question for consideration.