Skip to main content

Best Restaurant Lists

Once again I was confused.   I know its not the last time.  Here comes some affluent targeted article about the best places to drop money that is burning a hole in your pocket.  It would appear that it has very little to do with the food and everything to do with being seen hanging for an hour at these places amidst others that have more money than you to dispense.

Of the most recent survey (choking on water as I type) of 50 best in the USA there is one random place from San Francisco, ranked in the mid 20s  run by an erstwhile South Indian who worked his way through the Taj kitchens to be head chef here.  The cuisine it appears is some kind of Indian and French fusion.  Now granted there is a lot of science and art coming together to make some of these amazing dishes but the BEST moniker seems to be misplaced somewhere.

The big deal in this business is a Michelin rating.  His place has two for 2016.  I mean to me that is also somewhat mystifying - a 100 year old tire company from France has a side gig rating food establishments.  Perhaps they should focus on rest stops?  Avoid the burgers on I-5 near Bakersfield while you wait for the tires to be checked out.  Not yam about places that have food presentations that might look like something you would put on a pedestal and charge a fee for public viewing or a stone building in NYC that houses the winning location Per Se.  I mean the place is actually called Per Se.

I have not the audacity to dine at any place that wants more than $30 per person no matter the type of nutrition being offered compounded with recommendation on the attire I must wear.  See, to me that tips the scale.  Why don't food establishments focus on their food and service and let the customers decide their wardrobe choices?  All they need to worry is if the guest can pay for service rendered.

But vanity is part and parcel of our lifestyle and getting vainer by the day.  So such accolades and the prices that go with it I suppose are here to stay.

Feel like going up to NY just for spite - dine at this fancy place and when it came time to pay - conjure a deadpan look and go - I forgot the PURSE EH!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

On the go(zay masta) in Japan again

Cool cat the Japanese are Tokyo at dusk  My second visit to this land of the rising sun after almost a decade. Back then clearly I was wet behind the ears product manager and likely didn’t pay attention to all (efficient) things Japanese. But today I did and of course continue to be impressed. It is as much the obvious stuff like on time travel that is both clean and comfortable and all that which makes it possible. The impressive landmark and landscapes that these humans have put together despite their cramped (or because of it) surroundings and precarious geological conditions could amaze a novice architect among us. But it’s also the little things that someone had to think about which have a phenomenal impact on day to day lives that make the Japanese stand apart. Below are few random examples- 1. Providing a very fine machined wooden toothpick in every packet of wooden chopsticks. The said chapsticks are simply set on the To Go counter of any food vendor/ convenience store wher...

Presumptive Society

Today's world is hyper connected.  I am not so sure what it means but you hear it a lot.  It is probably hyper but not sure how connected it is.  Sugar (fermented or not) is available in many ways than before and so getting hyper is easy.  It is probably more a threat than cocaine since it is sold legally. And what is this connected stuff?  Most people I encounter seem disconnected from reality.  So going back to this assumption that we are connected there are subtle and no so subtle instances of how brands and companies and middle men try to portray someone - A linkedin profile for somebody working for X years at a place advertises to the connected network that so and so is CELEBRATING X years @ Such and Such Inc. Do we know if (s)he is celebrating or cringing?  Perhaps a better way to portray will be - So and So LASTED X years @ such & such inc. Then it exhorts the readership to go ahead and congratulate them for this lasting effe...

The Central State aka MP

Narmada river and site of Omkareshwar Indore Rajwada or palace of the Lady Holkar   Somewhat geographically centered in India is the hot landscape of MADHYA PRADESH. A region I had a faint memory of visiting as a young lad eons ago. Now in my (along with my best half) quest to get to know lands far and wide I got an opportunity to visit Indore city and surrounding areas in MP. It begins with an evening visit to a bustling old market selling native snacks both savory and sweet. It is the realm of jewelers who run night time street side restaurants once they close their primary operations at dusk. Think of it as desi style block party that I am told goes into wee hours of the morning. My impression was it is worth one visit.  The humid and hot ambience along with crush of humanity doesn’t make for a pleasant dining experience but the sheer variety of foods sort of makes up for it. From piping hot coconut filled fritters to oodles of milk based sweet confections, I gorged on item...