Gourmet's Top 50 Restaurants

Gourmet's Top 50 Restaurants wrote:1. Alinea, Chicago
13. Charlie Trotter's, Chicago

Those were the only two Chicago spots to make the list, compared to seven New York City restaurants.

True... but allow me to put on my frat boy cap...."We're number one! We're number one!"

Seriously though, it is just another list. Trying to compare and rank Resturant August to Fore Street (1)to Alinea is somewhat futile. They all provide wonderful expierences in their given context. My guess is that is why they moved away from ratings for a number of years. I guess rankings sell...

(1) Oddly enough, while I have had nothing but wonderful meals at Fore Street a number of other sites that cover food in Portland, ME have been giving it downhill warnings for years... given all that Iwas suprised that it was still in there. Nice to see that they atleast appear to be voting with their stomachs as opposed to collected ramblings and musings.

I'm thrilled that Chicago and Alinea were number 1, and that Alinea and Moto received significant discussion, but I think when you stand back and think about it, it's kind of ridiculous for Gourmet to come up with an annual top 50 list that spans the nation. I suspect reputation alone has a lot to do with landing and staying on the list.

BR wrote:I'm thrilled that Chicago and Alinea were number 1, and that Alinea and Moto received significant discussion, but I think when you stand back and think about it, it's kind of ridiculous for Gourmet to come up with an annual top 50 list that spans the nation. I suspect reputation alone has a lot to do with landing and staying on the list.

I don't disagree with your point and I doubt Gourmet does either -- they only produce this list every 5 years.

I'm thrilled for everyone at Alinea. This is well-deserved recognition.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:-- they only produce this list every 5 years.

I'm thrilled for everyone at Alinea. This is well-deserved recognition.

=R=

Well they used to produce the list every year. I still have the issues from 1999-2001 in my magazine rack. I thought that the choice to change formats for the Restaurant Issue was in line with the change in direction from the then new editorial staff rather than simply extending the period between creating the rankings. I could be completely wrong in this though... I am sure, however, that I couldn't agree more with the congradulations for chefg and Alinea.

Stagger wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:-- they only produce this list every 5 years.

I'm thrilled for everyone at Alinea. This is well-deserved recognition.

=R=

Well they used to produce the list every year. I still have the issues from 1999-2001 in my magazine rack. I thought that the choice to change formats for the Restaurant Issue was in line with the change in direction from the then new editorial staff rather than simply extending the period between creating the rankings. I could be completely wrong in this though... I am sure, however, that I couldn't agree more with the congradulations for chefg and Alinea.

You're right about the fact that the list used to be annual. I wonder what prompted the change. For me, the 5-year range makes the list seem more significant, even though that may not be the intention.

=R=