sandralist

Okay -- I can't really quote it much (I think Fodor's would take it down for copyright reasons) but one of the things that the article mentioned is a group that calls itself "Occupy 50 Best" that protests against the way the restaurants receive their rankings and the impact on food cuture.

The FT article gave a link to the Occupy 50 Best petition -- and that is not behind any paywall

http://occupy50best.com

sandralist

http://occupy50best.com/arguments/

TJinSOMA

Sandralist - don't disagree the ratings can be somewhat mysterious (or often appear to be arbitrary). One of my favorite restaurants in my hometown lost their Michelin star and I think it is wonderful (and much better than some that retained their stars). While the #2 ranking drew us to the restaurant, the decision to cancel the cooking class and have lunch here was his twist on old classics (I like modern food when there's some reasoning behind it versus just being different for the sake of it). Will report back post trip.

tjhome1

Thanks for sharing Sandralist - it is always interesting to get a different perspective and clearly there is some validity to the points that are made. It looks like a similar voting system to the Oscars or the Booker Prize - and quite probably the has the same impacts - most people will not think that Best Picture or the Booker prize winner is the best film or best book of the year but it would certainly make me want to see that film or read that book - mainly for the reason that people who work in the film industry or people who read lots of books have decided to give it their top ranking.