Absolutely ridiculous that Gyro 11, corner of 33rd and 7th, was not in the top 50. Sumptuous mutton slices shaved off a majestic rotisserie, delicately placed on a pita that would give the finest bakery in Lebanon a run for it's money, farm fresh tomatoes, onions and lettuce, topped off with a liberal helping of to die for tzatziki sauce and, of course, paprika (not too spicy). The best part? If the Gyro doesn't suit your liking they sell pizza too! Bon appetite!
2
Sounds like FIFA and many other pursuits in the world, including high school grading and ranking. No one follows the rules because the rules are not enforced or repeatedly bent or manipulated by those that crow the loudest.
Pretty soon we will simply have chaos as why would I follow the rules and be kind and polite to others when no one else it. I want to teach my child to follow the rules and learn responsibility and repercussion, but when another child (or parent of another child) can simply request a grade change through filling out a form it doesn't take long for kids to realize that playing by the rules doesn't work when they are the only one doing so.
Pretty soon we will simply have chaos as why would I follow the rules and be kind and polite to others when no one else it. I want to teach my child to follow the rules and learn responsibility and repercussion, but when another child (or parent of another child) can simply request a grade change through filling out a form it doesn't take long for kids to realize that playing by the rules doesn't work when they are the only one doing so.
This nonsense has been going on since 2002. Here’s what I had to say about it in 2006:
“It's disappointing, but I no longer receive weekly e-mail alerts from Restaurant magazine, so I was unable to participate in this year's voting to choose the World's Top 50 Restaurants.
A pity, as I cast 20 or 30 votes last time - though I no longer remember when, or whom I voted for. I suspect I wasn't the only person to vote early and often in 2005, because that year 14 of the "winning" restaurants were British.
There have been improvements. I clearly recall not only that the initial list in 2002 maintained absurdly that more of the world's top restaurants were in Britain than in France, but that some of the victors were so obscure that - dare I suggest it? - it is unlikely more than a single respondent had even been to some of them.”
When writing about restaurants recently in The Wall Street Journal, I told my editor that I refused to refer to Restaurant Magazine’s 50 Best ratings, simply because I did not wish to give them credibility. It’s now 13 years since this very silly list began. It may well be less corrupt in 2015, but it’s no less ridiculous.
“It's disappointing, but I no longer receive weekly e-mail alerts from Restaurant magazine, so I was unable to participate in this year's voting to choose the World's Top 50 Restaurants.
A pity, as I cast 20 or 30 votes last time - though I no longer remember when, or whom I voted for. I suspect I wasn't the only person to vote early and often in 2005, because that year 14 of the "winning" restaurants were British.
There have been improvements. I clearly recall not only that the initial list in 2002 maintained absurdly that more of the world's top restaurants were in Britain than in France, but that some of the victors were so obscure that - dare I suggest it? - it is unlikely more than a single respondent had even been to some of them.”
When writing about restaurants recently in The Wall Street Journal, I told my editor that I refused to refer to Restaurant Magazine’s 50 Best ratings, simply because I did not wish to give them credibility. It’s now 13 years since this very silly list began. It may well be less corrupt in 2015, but it’s no less ridiculous.
1
I'd be curious to see a corresponding list of their profit margins. You may be surprised.
I had the pleasure of going to, but not INTO, El Cellar De Can Roca at the beginning of May, when I spent a week exploring Girona, Costa Brava, Costa Dorada, Terres de l"Ebre, Valencia and Barcelona....http://vickiwinters.com/my-imaginary-dinner-el-cellar-can-roca/
The FRENCH take their food and drink so seriously, that even in the most parsimonious spots, the fare is first rate. If you are in Paris, all you have to do is go into a café restaurant, stand at the "zinc," or counter, order "steak pommes frites" and a demi carafe of vin rouge to wash it down, and you will be a happy man or woman. Why look for complications.? All those who frequent the most expensive, chi chi eating establishments here or abroad, and then leave dissatisfied, have only themselves to blame.
Went to French Laundry Monday night.
IMO, the food is not that good for the price. Service was excellent.
The Foie Gras "terrine" ($40.00 supplement) had duck confit on the bottom when the menu did not specify that. When asked, they told me sometimes they change the menu and serve it with duck confit. So they scrape off the duck confit and use it this way from the "old" batch??? I never had food that is "reused" yet from a 3 star Michelin restaurant.
Sauteed yellowtail was on the tough side and it is farmed raised. I usually eat yellowtail raw. So either the yellowtail was overcooked or there was not enough fat in the fish. Maybe they should have used "buri" instead of "hamachi".
The poached lobster was under-cooked and I had a hard time cutting into it because part of it was raw. I have Keller's cookbook and have prepared it myself many many times. The lobster is his "signature" dish. So how can they screw up on this one????
Bread for the dinner were all horrible. Cold, hard and chewy. Can they at least bake the bread for the dinner instead of using some old stuff?
The rabbit, veal and oysters and pearls were good. But that is all that is on the menu.
What a disappointment!
IMO, the food is not that good for the price. Service was excellent.
The Foie Gras "terrine" ($40.00 supplement) had duck confit on the bottom when the menu did not specify that. When asked, they told me sometimes they change the menu and serve it with duck confit. So they scrape off the duck confit and use it this way from the "old" batch??? I never had food that is "reused" yet from a 3 star Michelin restaurant.
Sauteed yellowtail was on the tough side and it is farmed raised. I usually eat yellowtail raw. So either the yellowtail was overcooked or there was not enough fat in the fish. Maybe they should have used "buri" instead of "hamachi".
The poached lobster was under-cooked and I had a hard time cutting into it because part of it was raw. I have Keller's cookbook and have prepared it myself many many times. The lobster is his "signature" dish. So how can they screw up on this one????
Bread for the dinner were all horrible. Cold, hard and chewy. Can they at least bake the bread for the dinner instead of using some old stuff?
The rabbit, veal and oysters and pearls were good. But that is all that is on the menu.
What a disappointment!
Having eaten in most of the American ones on the list, it has no credibility. With the exception of French Laundry, none is impressive, and certainly no the ones in New York, and CERTAINLY not Blue Hills/Stone Barns.
I've had the luck to try many of the foreign ones and they are vastly better. The list is, ultimately, quite silly and certainly not accurate. Unless all of the judges eat at each restaurant the same night ,and the same meal, this is a test of nothing.
I've had the luck to try many of the foreign ones and they are vastly better. The list is, ultimately, quite silly and certainly not accurate. Unless all of the judges eat at each restaurant the same night ,and the same meal, this is a test of nothing.
After FIFA can this type corruption be far behind? After all, how can one judge art or beauty? It is alway in the eye or taste, in this case, of the beholder or judge!
1
Included in the category of "best meal ever" would also have to be a couple of sausage biscuits," heavy on the onions," from BURGER KING, to which one can add, on returning home, a sliver mot two of cheddar cheese washed down with a senior coffee or two, and for desert, one of BK'S delicious chocolate chip cookies(two for a dollar). And the service is always polite, professional and never condescending.
One of my fondest remembrances of dining at the Coupole, which, as I indicated, deserves mention in the list of best restaurants in the world, was one night when the famous Dominican painter, CARDENAS, came in with his entourage, which included his compatriot,Oscar de La RENTA, studying in Paris at that time(This was the early 1960's). At one point in the meal, CARDENAS stood up and led his entourage in singing "Matilda," which went something like this"Matilda, Matilda, Matilda, she take me money and she run Venezuela. All the other patrons enjoyed it.That moment is engraved in my memory, and every time I think if it I get goose pimples. De La Renta, by the way, had two favorite haunts in those days: the abovementioned Coupole, and the Café Dome right down the street, where he would stand at the bar, "le zinc," and alternately sip his brandy and play what the French called "le tilt," or pinball machine.
I love La Coupole, too, and Brasserie du Dome down the street. These "best" lists are worthless, except they help me identify restaurants I should never visit, as they will be crowded with people who blindly follow "best" lists.
how about the bast restaurant in the world that you can get into at 8 pm on a saturday night by reserving less than 4 months in advance?
So apparently a woman's place is still in the kitchen at home! It must be the reason they didn't get on this list.
1
It's really up to a handful of critics who decide who's the best and where they fall on the list? Please...
The people who eat there are the ones who decide. the people who call and make reservations. the people who love a place so much, they go constantly. I could never, would never eat at Noma. I have no interest in tree moss unless I'm hot gluing some in a craft.
My point is the ones paying the bills and eating there are the true voters, not a group of hoity toity idiots.
Also, these restaurants fighting over who should be number two or why they're number 14 this year when they were number 6 last year ?
Are you kidding?
Want to do a real top 50 in the world? Put a generic form online that can be translated into just about any language and have a non-biased third party business tally up all the votes. THAT'S how you get a real rating.
NOT from media, other chefs, bribed critics and so forth. If I had a great restaurant and was successful, who cares where I appeared on a stupid list?
The people who eat there are the ones who decide. the people who call and make reservations. the people who love a place so much, they go constantly. I could never, would never eat at Noma. I have no interest in tree moss unless I'm hot gluing some in a craft.
My point is the ones paying the bills and eating there are the true voters, not a group of hoity toity idiots.
Also, these restaurants fighting over who should be number two or why they're number 14 this year when they were number 6 last year ?
Are you kidding?
Want to do a real top 50 in the world? Put a generic form online that can be translated into just about any language and have a non-biased third party business tally up all the votes. THAT'S how you get a real rating.
NOT from media, other chefs, bribed critics and so forth. If I had a great restaurant and was successful, who cares where I appeared on a stupid list?
All such lists are by definition subjective, arbitrary and at times biased. So I am not sure why people get their knockers in a knot. A yelp review is probably better because of the larger sample size than a bunch of celebrity taste buds.
I've yet to find a Yelp review that was of any real value. They either have an axe to grind or are pumping up the reputation of the place for one reason or another.
2
Any list of the best restaurants that does not include La Coupole in Paris on the Boulevard de Montparnasse cannot be a serious survey. I dined there numerous times when I was a student--it was that reasonable--and when I return periodically to the city, I always make it a point to have at least lunch or dinner there. In addition to the food, which is unfailingly excellent,there is the ambiance that is unmatched by any restaurant in the world. And it is not that expensive.
3
La Coupole, while a fine, somewhat touristy brasserie, is not remotely in the tier of these restaurants.
1
Taking this list seriously is like buying a "worlds best father" mug for your Dad.
6
I live in one of the great US places (especially for its size) for restaurants at all price points, varieties of fare, fine service, ambience, etc. This listicle, and the list referenced, is completely irrelevant to me and to most readers who got so far as to read this comment.
1
These lists are just high-end listicles. Arbitrary, subjective, fairly meaningless.
I have, on occasion, had the opportunity to dine at 5 star rated restaurants and I can say with certainty that while they were very good restaurants I was underwhelmed.
5
Thanks, but I'll stick with US News & World Report's list. After all, they've never been wrong about colleges.
2
Perhaps the" best" food is what you have available when you are really hungry. (from an old Eastern fable)
8
The cost of a meal referenced in some of the comments is staggering. Not sure who is picking up the tabs, but it sure isn't your typical corporate traveler.
1
Cowboy and Dan, some people save up money to splurge on things they really want to do. Maybe they do without Starbucks every day (a rip-off in my opinion when a $30 Moka pot will make the same thing day after day for next to nothing) or something else. Sometimes it's not worth it; but most times it is.
As an aside, I'm not a fan (at all) of 'tasting menus.' They're almost never satisfying, and I don't just mean filling, and don't represent good value. If you like something, sorry, you get one bite or maybe two. If you don't like it, that course is a waste. Give me an a la carte menu every time.
As an aside, I'm not a fan (at all) of 'tasting menus.' They're almost never satisfying, and I don't just mean filling, and don't represent good value. If you like something, sorry, you get one bite or maybe two. If you don't like it, that course is a waste. Give me an a la carte menu every time.
1
Fresh and top of the line food production for the 1% who can afford it and who probably will throw most of it away because they are trying to stay thin.
Excess and waste....Chef's please find something else to protest about!
Excess and waste....Chef's please find something else to protest about!
2
The hubbub created by this list is just one more indication that our food and celebrity chef-obsessed culture has lost its collective mind. Why should anyone care about a list where all but the 1% could enjoy a meal?
3
Not a single restaurant in either India or China? How it that even possible?
Number 24 is in Shanghai and number 38 is in Hong Kong so there are actually two in the list in China.
There are 190 or so countries in the world, and only 50 restaurants in the list. So it's not unusual that some countries might not show up in the list.
There are 190 or so countries in the world, and only 50 restaurants in the list. So it's not unusual that some countries might not show up in the list.
Look carefully -- 2 in China and 2 in Hong Kong in top 100 (Ultraviolet in China is 24) and 1 in India. That said, it still feels like both of those countries are underrepresented on this list.
Taking a quick glance and seeing EMP so high and Alinea so low- comparatively-makes this list irrelevant in my dining choices.
I think EMP is a far better restaurant than the gimmicky Alinea. I was surprised that French Laundry was ranked relatively low.
I respectfully disagree. EMP is campy and gimmicky, and tired (see most of the published food critiques and this has been my experience as well) whereas Alinea breaks the mold of convention in terms of cooking application, flavors, service, and dining expectation.
Tut, tut! Who really cares about the rumblings from this Insiders Club - a club whose "stars" cater mainly to the fancified tastes of the well-to-do. Go pick your own 50 best or 10 best in your town, country according to your tastes and your pocketbook. Employing this appraoch will bring more than enough satisfaction. Buon appetito!
8
Oh, gag me with a spoon. Fantastic restaurants of an infinite culinary variety can be found everywhere--many of them up dark alleys, with 10 or 20 tables, prices that accommodate the less-than-effete, in big cities and little backwaters, where the chefs (of any sex or sexual persuasion) visit with diners, add special touches, who even impart a great cooking tip or two. One of the great joys of traveling is finding them. If it requires $600/plates and a guide to tell you where to eat, you've no sense of adventure, no sense of discovery, you're completely corrupted by your sense of your own highbrowism, and you've no mind of your own. So for all the rest of us, be assured that those special little places you've discovered in your adventures are probably better and certainly more relaxing/enjoyable than any restaurant on this list, you can use your salad fork for the main course without being scolded or booted from the premises, and you'll leave with enough cash to try 20 more eateries in 20 other cities. Best meal ever: a special companion, a baguette, cheese, fruits, a bottle of wine beneath beneath a big shady tree along side a remote byway. Twenty five bucks tops.
20
Great comment. How about being more specific in your recommendations--offline, of course.
1
You probably shouldn't trust any lists that tout restaurants or hotels. I have eaten at several of the American "best" restaurants and some are worth the money and time and some are way over-rated. The hotel, restaurant, and travel industry in general makes FIFA look like the Girl Scouts.
4
Where's McDonald's. I LOVE that place!
4
Let's see the critics fight over a new list: The 50 Best Restaurant Critics in the World. I'll humbly accept membership on that list as soon as I polish off my Big Mac.
2
How silly to think that something as subjective as a dining experience can be objectified. How about a list of the top 100 paintings or top 10 operas? This serves no purpose other than as a marketing tool.
4
I would like to see the list by location. A browsable map would be nice.
3
No Paul Bocuse? Surely you jest.
1
"Occupy 50 Best"?!?! Yeah, because THAT is what the "Occupy" movement was about: making sure the world's most elite restaurants are selected on a fair basis. For crying out loud.
1
the whole idea is silly; like the Oscars. Just foodies patting each other on the back, while half the world starves
7
How about if all voters had to eat at 500 or so restaurants being taken to each one blindfolded and all restaurant names and logos removed, so they didn't know which one they were at. Then let them vote. Not possible, OK, let's just have fun with this and let's recognize it as a way for these restaurants to make money. I see nothing wrong with that.
I cannot take any "World's Best" list seriously that does not include Le Château Blanc on Queens Blvd.
1
This list is the FIFA of the Culinary world.
6
The problem is not this list, the problem is taking the list seriously. Let it live as it is, a PR-vehicle with dubious validity, nevertheless comprising some pretty powerful (and likely amazing) restaurants.
Trying to correct list, perfect the methodology, expose the conspiracy, or any approach other than just letting the list be as it is in all its flawed glory are just, as they say, feeding the trolls (pun intended).
Trying to correct list, perfect the methodology, expose the conspiracy, or any approach other than just letting the list be as it is in all its flawed glory are just, as they say, feeding the trolls (pun intended).
14
I've long suspected that these numerical lists of subjective impressions, for dining, wine, etc., were created to meet the needs of business people who were long on money and short on taste, or the time to acquire it.
One of my goals in life has always been to have more taste than money and so far it isn't even close.
As an example, my favorite restaurant in the world is Chez Panisse. I have never had a meal there that was not extraordinary or an experience that was flawed in any way by pretension or a lack of genuine concern for my comfort.
Chez Panisse is never on these lists and doesn't want to be. Other restaurants where I love to eat, Mi Tierra in San Antonio, Flagstaff House, above Boulder, same deal.
If you are trying to justify a huge charge to your expense account I guess these lists are helpful. If you want good food, use your own judgment.
One of my goals in life has always been to have more taste than money and so far it isn't even close.
As an example, my favorite restaurant in the world is Chez Panisse. I have never had a meal there that was not extraordinary or an experience that was flawed in any way by pretension or a lack of genuine concern for my comfort.
Chez Panisse is never on these lists and doesn't want to be. Other restaurants where I love to eat, Mi Tierra in San Antonio, Flagstaff House, above Boulder, same deal.
If you are trying to justify a huge charge to your expense account I guess these lists are helpful. If you want good food, use your own judgment.
24
Agree! I had lunch at Chez Panisse today, and the food was not presented in small, vertical towers with unidentifiable garnishes or layers. Instead, the soup, entree, and dessert were crafted to raise the flavors of simple and utterly fresh foods to their highest potential. The perfect balance of tart poached apricots in a crisp galette with just enough sweet butter to delight and not overwhelm, was an experience that will linger. This is the kind of craftmanship that should be rewarded.
I recently ate at two high-end restaurants here with a visiting friend, and we both agreed that our $600 meal tasted exactly $100 better than our $500 meal. It was uncanny. Maybe we can be on the next judges panel!
12
I have eaten at some of the listed restaurants and some great ones that are not on the list. There isno such thing as 50 best.
The smart thing is to make reservations at the restaurants that did not appear on the list. You can get a table between 7:00 and 9:00, unless you're in Spain, where eating at 10:00 or 11:00 is best.
The smart thing is to make reservations at the restaurants that did not appear on the list. You can get a table between 7:00 and 9:00, unless you're in Spain, where eating at 10:00 or 11:00 is best.
17
There isn't even such a thing as single best. This list, and other lists of sundry things, are symptomatic of our times and time before that: when in doubt, institute a list and make it a tradition.
1
I was glad to see that Daniel got knocked down, but #80 is still far too high. I'm no stranger to haute cuisine, and the meal we had there a while back was laughable in almost every respect.
6
Considering it takes months to possibly get a reservation at either The French Laundry or El Cellar de Can Roca (And I'm guessing at many of the Top 50), to try and state that the voters have eaten at all or most of these restaurants is absurd. I'd love to see the travel budget of the person who ate at The French Laundry, Central, Noma, No.9, El Cellar, Narisawa and Gaggan. It might as well be a list of Top 50 Restaurants Foodies Would Like to Try.
37
I go to many of these restaurants as a solo traveler, when I realize that business takes me to a place with a famously exceptional restaurant. I've rarely emailed a restaurant more than two weeks out, and they always manage to squeeze in the solo diner. I find they also treat the solo diner extremely well.
That's not how the voting works - you are a part of a group of people who votes for your region, and you have to list your most favorite dining experiences (and why) and then you also name a couple of places outside of your region. Those votes all get jumbled up with the other voters' in the other regions.
Thanks so much for choosing me as one of your voting members but
I have decided not to vote any more in your awards. I have been feeling this way in the last two years, and now I can´t do it anymore.
As you know, cooking is a romance with produce, space, service, timing and silence. This runs counter to the sentiments I observe in so many of my colleagues who are so concerned with the awards that they spend the year lobbying the electorate, jetting to conferences, and, in my view, wasting precious time: walking away from the true values of what restaurants are.
Awards created a fictitious, hyper-competitive ambiance for our cooking culture.
Innovation seems to be the prime value. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with that, it has moved us away from valuing craft in pursuit or so-called art. Young chefs attempt to cross bridges, long before they should just for the sake of being new, different and famous. Art is an intellectual thought, and eating good food and wine has more to do with the senses and with sharing. Wine and food makes us more acute, witty, trenchant. Only then can it stimulate our thoughts and improve our communion with our peers, friends, lovers. Certainly food can be intellectual, but in a more silent, dare I say humble, way.
To be sure, I have been greatly honored to be number 7 on your list the first year.
Its just that my cooking life has no links with these awards anymore.
So I wish you all best,
Let us break bread together.
Francis M.
I have decided not to vote any more in your awards. I have been feeling this way in the last two years, and now I can´t do it anymore.
As you know, cooking is a romance with produce, space, service, timing and silence. This runs counter to the sentiments I observe in so many of my colleagues who are so concerned with the awards that they spend the year lobbying the electorate, jetting to conferences, and, in my view, wasting precious time: walking away from the true values of what restaurants are.
Awards created a fictitious, hyper-competitive ambiance for our cooking culture.
Innovation seems to be the prime value. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with that, it has moved us away from valuing craft in pursuit or so-called art. Young chefs attempt to cross bridges, long before they should just for the sake of being new, different and famous. Art is an intellectual thought, and eating good food and wine has more to do with the senses and with sharing. Wine and food makes us more acute, witty, trenchant. Only then can it stimulate our thoughts and improve our communion with our peers, friends, lovers. Certainly food can be intellectual, but in a more silent, dare I say humble, way.
To be sure, I have been greatly honored to be number 7 on your list the first year.
Its just that my cooking life has no links with these awards anymore.
So I wish you all best,
Let us break bread together.
Francis M.
100
I am glad I read this NYT article not because of the absurd 50 best but because of the wisdom in this reply from Francis M. Thank you.
1
The safest bet is that there is not one "best buy" among them.
12
Truly, first world problems.
51
I don't know how much weight Yelp reviews weigh on folks, but I find Yelp to be pretty accurate.
Those "diners and dives" on this list of 51-100 that rate only a 4 on Yelp, don't belong on the list. If a joint can't pull a 4.5 on Yelp, it ain't worth it.
One shouldn't have to spend $400/person to get a decent memorable meal.
Those "diners and dives" on this list of 51-100 that rate only a 4 on Yelp, don't belong on the list. If a joint can't pull a 4.5 on Yelp, it ain't worth it.
One shouldn't have to spend $400/person to get a decent memorable meal.
16
The list is an embarrassment, and no one in the business takes it seriously. It would be better if the NYT and every other serious forum simply ignored it. "Part of the fun," maybe ... as is buffoonery.
15
Why is the list an embarrassment? It is no different than others but more accessible. Having eaten at many of these restaurants, I can say that I would probably agree on the list and would quibble a bit at some of the placing but it would be a quibble. There is absolutely no reason to argue and it's fun to read and reference.
1
Sounds like Yelp!
3
Unless there are strict qualitative and quantitative measures, any "best" list is going to be questionable.
I recently read an article with a number of "bars to visit before you die." One had an incredible view - but I can think of a half dozen others that do. One was steeped in history and was the birthplace of a popular cocktail. Again, I can have a mint julep, bloody mary, or B&B at the bars considered their originators. Do places that are too similar get cheated because they split votes? Do people not want to vote for a restaurant that did well the year before, and does that mean they aren't the "best" anymore?
As an accountant and a compulsive list-maker, I don't think I would use someone else's list as gospel no matter how well-researched it was.
I recently read an article with a number of "bars to visit before you die." One had an incredible view - but I can think of a half dozen others that do. One was steeped in history and was the birthplace of a popular cocktail. Again, I can have a mint julep, bloody mary, or B&B at the bars considered their originators. Do places that are too similar get cheated because they split votes? Do people not want to vote for a restaurant that did well the year before, and does that mean they aren't the "best" anymore?
As an accountant and a compulsive list-maker, I don't think I would use someone else's list as gospel no matter how well-researched it was.
4
Where are the female chefs?
24
YES! I was just about to post the same question!
1
As the professional kitchens are dominated by male chefs, it is purely reasonable to expect the 50Best list to be the same. In fact, there is a best female chef award, but not a best male version. Maybe have a look at the number of female Michelin starred chefs as an indicator to the ratio of male to female chefs.
4
Breaking news - this just in - Global Top 50 lists are arbitrary, nonsensical, inaccurate, and possibly racist, sexist, elitist, speciest.
Next - over the transom - Annual Worldwide University Rankings may be a sham... except when Cambridge does well.
Next - over the transom - Annual Worldwide University Rankings may be a sham... except when Cambridge does well.
22
I would hope the rankings would be elitist and speciest!
I think those who say it doesn't matter are being really frivolous themselves. A great meal is something that last forever in one's memory and changes what one believes is possible with food. It isn't just entertainment either: great art is life changing. A truly great restaurant experience is so far beyond a mere restaurant meal, there is almost no comparison. As for the difference between the #1 restaurant and the number 10 restaurant? Lets consider a Oscar winner compared to all the other 8 or ten nominees: when everything goes right with Oscar voting, there is a very big difference indeed. Twe difference between a great Picasso or great Pollock or great Basquait and their more mediocre product is pretty profound too. When we see documentaries or read any of the fine books about food at El Bulli in it's day, it is so clear they'd raised dining to another level few of us ever experience, and that few other chefs ever get close.
That we all eat so many times a day as part of our lives creates a common thread for these rare experiences with our own lives and our own kitchens that makes all the politics of fine food and polls worth dwelling on.
I eat in few of these places I read about but just reading about them (starting way back with Ruth Reichl's amazing reviews in the times) means a great deal in my life.
Should the voting be fair? fought about? debated? of course, just as ballet and music and art and fine writing is worth discussing endlessly.
That we all eat so many times a day as part of our lives creates a common thread for these rare experiences with our own lives and our own kitchens that makes all the politics of fine food and polls worth dwelling on.
I eat in few of these places I read about but just reading about them (starting way back with Ruth Reichl's amazing reviews in the times) means a great deal in my life.
Should the voting be fair? fought about? debated? of course, just as ballet and music and art and fine writing is worth discussing endlessly.
11
Granted, my tastes are not as sophisticated as some, but what makes the meal for me is good company. I enjoy a tender steak or flavorful fish, but even mediocre food seems spectacular when I'm talking, laughing and enjoying my companions. I don't need to drop $500 a person to have a memorable experience. Give me Threadgill's in Austin, a chicken fried steak, a big glass of iced tea and my best friends, and I promise you a night you won't forget.
7
I would have hoped people had higher objectives in life than the memory of a dinner, but I suppose such are the values of some, certainly of this correspondent
3
I totally disagree. The Oscar-winner or #1 on this list are both essentially arbitrary. Someone above faulted the list because how could one reasonably distinguish between #1 and #2 or #10? The fault is with the reader who assumes there really is a big difference or one at all. You may prefer #5 and I may prefer #17.
As for the 'voting going right,' a lot depends on the year. Look at 1939 for example:
Gone With the Wind
Dark Victory
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Love Affair
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Ninotchka
Of Mice and Men
Stagecoach
The Wizard of Oz
Wuthering Heights
Every one of those movies is pretty much an immortal classic. Gone with the Wind won; but it might not be your favorite or mine (I'm also a huge sucker for Goodbye Mr. Chips).
'The Lion in Winter' lost to Oliver in 1969 and 'Lawrence of Arabia' beat out 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' Very hard to call whether one is better than the other.
As for the 'voting going right,' a lot depends on the year. Look at 1939 for example:
Gone With the Wind
Dark Victory
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Love Affair
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Ninotchka
Of Mice and Men
Stagecoach
The Wizard of Oz
Wuthering Heights
Every one of those movies is pretty much an immortal classic. Gone with the Wind won; but it might not be your favorite or mine (I'm also a huge sucker for Goodbye Mr. Chips).
'The Lion in Winter' lost to Oliver in 1969 and 'Lawrence of Arabia' beat out 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' Very hard to call whether one is better than the other.
1
There will always be people who seek out restaurants for the quality of the food and those who go to restaurants to be seen and look at others. The list of the 50 claiming to be Best is for the latter. At least the ultra-small portions, the size inversely proportional to the price, may save the visitors of the 50 from committing the sin of gluttony.
6
It all sounds like a wholly-owned subsidiary of FIFA in operation. Creating the list can be done with sufficient screens: 1) each meal averages at least $400 per person; 2) wines are marked up at least 300% from the price of a bottle at a store; 3) judges and a small sociogram of acquaintances eat at no cost, multiple times; and 4) the high-end food industry supports the judging organization with ad revenue. There can also be categories of restaurants such as 1)- those where all the food appears in the shape of precious little towers with some slender stick of something on top; and 2) those in which all the food is presented on oversized plates or bowls making the scanty portions even more ridiculously small to the eye.
41
How many jurists ate at the top fifty and the next 100 in an 18 month span so they truly be an honest set of "jurprs"? The whole exercise is a nonsensical fraud, albeit a victimless crime. I once was dragged to eat at the exalted place in Copenhagen, although i forget its name.Anyway, I renamed it the Naked Emperor . Thankfully someone else picked up the absurd tab there, and I ordered up a real meal later on that night at a lovely neighborhood seafood joint for one-third the Naked Emperor price because I was starving after the "new nordic" experienece
12
It's called Noma and I'm so happy, after reading your post that I couldn't get in after trying for three months. I've been to many Michelin restaurants in Europe, Asia and NYC and have usually been underwhelmed especially in the 2 and 3 star places.
1- and 2-star restaurants are typically the best. Good food without all the extras (linens, extra service, etc.) that make them 3-star restaurants.
1
The must absurd part of this exercise is the belief that there is enough actual discriminating power to make a ranked list where #1 is really better than #2, #2 is really better than #10, and #10 is really better than #40. Perhaps you could vote for an unranked Top 10, followed by the next Top 20 or something like that. Presuming that one can compare New Nordic to molecular gastronomy to traditional Japanese cuisine on an apples to apples basis is even crazier than breathlessly following the latest US News list of Top Universities each year.
People love to rank things even when there is no statistical significance. Let's just see this as a fanciful exercise with no precision.
PS. I did eat at Noma last year, and it was definitely the best meal I've ever had. Sadly with my current budget, I might make it through the Top 100 in, oh, about 100 years.
People love to rank things even when there is no statistical significance. Let's just see this as a fanciful exercise with no precision.
PS. I did eat at Noma last year, and it was definitely the best meal I've ever had. Sadly with my current budget, I might make it through the Top 100 in, oh, about 100 years.
35
I'm glad people can still be proactive about transparency in restaurant ratings. There is so little else going on in the world. Everyone who has already posted has pointed out that the remains of the meal come out the next day in a form that has so far eluded rating mechanisms ("my bowels were a tad too watery, 4.5 of 5 stars"). Restaurants are a form of entertainment, and it is legitimate to compare costs with those of sports venues, the theater and arts, or even a stay at a great hotel. But anyone who truly worships great restaurants doesn't need to consult a rating, and the entire rating process feeds into the idea (no pun intended) that people have to be told what is good. I agree with everyone that there are more important things to worry about.
7
Perhaps a slight misinterpretation of the occupy movement. And the 4th main headline? [deep sigh]
2
Hard to know where to start with this, but, better late than never to the party on this NY Times. I've bemoaned the lack of transparency for years at the Worlds 50Best: http://chefhermes.com/worlds-50-best-the-culinary-version-of-eurovision/ From May 2012!!
Also, I think that you find that it doesn't carry the weight with diners the author makes out it does; Michelin has the upper hand there. Yes, should a restaurant make a sudden change upwards (note Noma when it toppled El Bulli, which my site leaked 4days prior to announcement), but Noma was already on the list prior to this & it clearly made little difference until the PR of the top spot.
I also think that you'll find that the World's 50 didn't make Robuchon's reputation either, instead it was his fabled 3* restaurant Jamin which created that, which closed 9years before Worlds 50 Best even started.
Also, I think that you find that it doesn't carry the weight with diners the author makes out it does; Michelin has the upper hand there. Yes, should a restaurant make a sudden change upwards (note Noma when it toppled El Bulli, which my site leaked 4days prior to announcement), but Noma was already on the list prior to this & it clearly made little difference until the PR of the top spot.
I also think that you'll find that the World's 50 didn't make Robuchon's reputation either, instead it was his fabled 3* restaurant Jamin which created that, which closed 9years before Worlds 50 Best even started.
1
I'm in nyc and I am always looking for modestly priced meal. The rest means little to my family.
10
Tempest in a Teapot.
6
Agreed. Not unlike "The Wrath of Grapes" feature in yesterday's Sunday Magazine, this is handbags at dawn.
4
Are the costs of dining at the 50 Best included in the reviews?
The first time I dined at The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia, I was thrilled with all aspects of the experience. The cost was high, yes, but the proportions were excellent, tasted wonderful, and allowed me to leave the restaurant comfortably full.
The next day was Monday and I returned to work. My point, it was just a restaurant. Putting the best food and restaurant in perspective is difficult. It is also transitory and ends the your first bowel movement the next day
The first time I dined at The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia, I was thrilled with all aspects of the experience. The cost was high, yes, but the proportions were excellent, tasted wonderful, and allowed me to leave the restaurant comfortably full.
The next day was Monday and I returned to work. My point, it was just a restaurant. Putting the best food and restaurant in perspective is difficult. It is also transitory and ends the your first bowel movement the next day
20
Same can be said for a professional sports game, a concert, a vacation, etc. These restaurants are entertainment and experiences, not a caloric function.
9
Inn at Little Washington is my #1 in the US. Perfect experience for adults in every way. Plus, a couple at a nearby table was clearly on their first post-birth restaurant outing with a tiny infant. The staff was so accommodating--came by and chuckled the kid's chin and chatted with the new parents, their course arrivals were of course adjusted when one of them had to leave to take care of the kid's needs. It was a fine thing to behold.
The Herbfarm in WA is my #2, in their incarnation a couple of locations ago. Sadly, have not had a chance to be there since. I hope they're as idiosyncratic as they used to be.
The Herbfarm in WA is my #2, in their incarnation a couple of locations ago. Sadly, have not had a chance to be there since. I hope they're as idiosyncratic as they used to be.