Originally Posted by
lancebanyon
I was wondering if maybe the US is tougher because outside of major metropolitan areas there are fewer high-end places, sort of skewing the supply/demand curve for those tables. I just did a spot check on my iPhone of places within 50 miles of my house (I live in a rural area) and there are 41 Michelin-starred restaurants (34 - one star/3 -two star /4 - three star) in that area. There's such an incredible diversity of nice places that you don't even really worry about not getting a reservation; if a place is full you simply call another.
Outside of major metropolitan areas I don't think there's enough demand for high end dining to really support a diverse restaurant population. There are a few exceptions - California wine country comes to mind. Not to over generalize, but I think many Americans are less interested in fine dining than many Europeans. Most people I know who don't live in a big city consider Applebee's a fancy restaurant.