That’s literally what Michelin set out to do. That said the one star places are always the locals’ favorites. The Bib Gourmand list is also a better indicator of where people actually get amazing food on a regular basis.
11 Likes
If your party is the only group of people at a given location or event whose attire isn’t at the same level of formality as everyone else there then doesn’t that imply that your group is underdressed for the occasion?
6 Likes
FWIW art in a museum isn’t there because it’s objectively good art either since there’s no such thing anyway. It’s mainly the historical significance of some of the collection that gets people wanting to go to the Louvre since some people have it as a bucket list item (just the site itself is pretty impressive) or treat it a bit like a pilgrimage. I honestly wouldn’t judge some one for wanting to see pop art in Paris more than the Louvre though. In fact, I’d probably assume they were into contemporary art or something.
In this era of social media and generally overhyped dining “experiences” I tend to think that preferring some local food that is more geared towards eating than performing eating rituals isn’t really all that gauche.
12 Likes
Reinforces my decision to stick with the Guide Duchemin.
4 Likes
And the ongoing pandemic is giving us the opportunity for many more ageusia trained Duchemin guide inspectors!
2 Likes
I personally think that restaurants like that are a way to fuck with stupid rich people.
I take a good burger for 8 Euro in a local diner any day over this pretencious bullshit.
13 Likes
How does one eat that? I’ve only ever eaten pork chops with my fingers. I’d expect the bread to get in the way. 
@wolfman_al2 “Sir does not comprehend; this is not any mere pretentious bullshit; this is Soufflé de Connerie Prétentieuse!”
8 Likes
The condescending waiter sketch from Mitchell & Webb (featuring Olivia Coleman before she was famous as well).
10 Likes
As one of my chef colleagues once said of a steak sandwich, “It’s not bread, it’s an edible serviette.”
10 Likes
and it’s not going to be anywhere like in this article
It’s more likely to be some hole-in-the-wall Mexican place next to a dive bar where you realize “OMG these are literally the best nachos in the world”
7 Likes
I think we had two very different childhoods…
(ETA: unless that is a short order term for some dish.)
Well we don’t live there so we won’t be much help 
our friends wanted to try having one of those fancy tasting-menu experience dinners as part of celebrating a few things. We normally live in a boring suburb in Michigan.
1 Like
Take a celery stick, smear peanut butter on it, then put raisins on the peanut butter. Voila! Instant kids snack food with a cool gross name. You can use chocolate chips but raisins go better with both peanut butter and chocolate. See also: dirt cake, which is an Oreo trifle with gummy worms.
8 Likes
Mom, well into her 70s at this point, still insists on preparing a full thanksgiving spread and accepts only minimal assistance. She’ll occasionally allow me to bring a side dish. The one thing she allows my brother who lives with her to do is prep the “appetizers.” This plate traditionally consists of sweet gerkins, cubes of cheddar and Swiss cheese, and ants on a log. Because that’s my mother’s definition of fancy. I always look forward to the ants on a log because she somehow makes them much better than I can. Even when she lets my brother do it.
8 Likes
Fancy ants?
2 Likes
Ah! Got it. I’ve had the log, but never had it with ants. Guess I’ve got something new to try. (Extra bonus: the bunnies like all the ingredients, too, so it can be an inter-species culinary treat. 
)
4 Likes
I think the best burger I had was a result of a grease fire in a small propane powered grill at a swimming party a number of years ago. A trusted friend of mine was running the grill, I was swimming, and I noticed a LOT of smoke coming out of the grill and the friend unscrewing the small propane bottle from the grill. After we confirmed the fire was out, I decided to try one of the burgers that was on the grill when it caught. The outside of the burgers was sorta crunchy, but the insides… oh man. Cooked medium well, and the crunchy outside sealed the juices in. We’ve never managed to replicate it, and not for lack of trying, either. 
(it’s a running gag at parties both of us are at to set the grill on fire from cooking burgers on it.)
2 Likes
They have 4.5 stars on google reviews. I’m definitely noticing a trend where google reviews always have higher star ratings than other platforms.
Blackbird was fantastic. It’s sad to add it to the dead list of my former haunts like Green Zebra, Takashi, Trotter’s, and Courtright’s.
It’s a little disappointing to think that within a 30 minute drive of where I live now, there are less than a dozen sit-down restaurants, none of which would have anything to do with food much better than cafeteria-grade.
Montreal has some fabulous joints at less than 2 hours’ drive, but I wanted an actual Michelin-starred restaurant, the closest one is a short 6 hours’ jaunt away.
4 Likes
You made me curious. It looks like my closest one is a mere 5 hour drive away, way down in CT.
I was surprised Boston didn’t have any. At least, none that showed up on the Michelin map.
3 Likes
