Whoever came up with the Gayot list of Top 40 Restaurants for 2008 is as bad as Adam Platt, NY Mag’s pontificator. André Gayot should be rolling over in his grave. Okay, well – he’s not dead … so that’s a bit hard to do, but you get the idea. I would not be surprised to hear that “the nameless” never actually ate at the restaurants that appeared on that Top 40 list, or on any of the other lists for that matter.
My biggest problem with Gayot is that they played it safe and took absolutely ZERO risks. Are we to believe that Le Cirque (internal) is on this list for any reason other than it’s name? Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago? I mean, come on… the place is great (I’ve been there once), but price point does not automatically vault any restaurant into the upper echelon. There are number of places equally as impressive where you would have a hard time approaching $300/head. While simple classics are being overlooked far too easily these days, I find it hard to believe they couldn’t do better than that!
Understandably, Atlanta restaurants are nowhere to be found on the Top 40. Newly opened Top Flr gets a shout out on the Top 40 Cheap Eats in the US. That nomination is laughable at best. Top Flr is a stones throw from my house. I’ve eaten there many times and it is no better than a one to two-star restaurant. It is also overpriced. I’ll post my full review, with score, in the next few days.
Meanwhile, 4th & Swift, a restaurant I do enjoy quite a bit, was named as one of the Top 10 New Restaurants in the US. It’s a place I enjoy thoroughly and though it has no business on this list, I’ll give Gayot a pass for this. As with Top Flr, I’ll post a full review soon!
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