japan
 

referred to as the culinary capitol of the universe. we are here now. i have eaten my way thrugh spain, france, italy, and london. none hold a candle to japan. the 1*'s are 50 bucks, and the food is outstanding. the 3*'s at $200 are fantastic.

not just the japanese restaurants, the french and chinese resturants are also fabulous.

tokyo recently lost 2 of their 3* restaurants, and now has only 15(paris has 10, london 7).

i thought they probably had local raters, but this is a good food paradise.. the restaurants of kyoto are also great.

I agree that the raters are most probably local. (they're way too generous for me outside of France)

London has two 3*'s, and the UK has four in total. Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester seems questionable to some people but I haven't been there myself. I think Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is deserving. I noticed that L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in London just lost a star. Not sure why yet.

Am not such a big fan of the London Atalier.

I had a great meal there last year. Going to take a wild guess though that the Paris Atelier would blow me away..

I just had lunch at the London L'Atelier on Friday and it was the best I'd had there in a while. One star strikes me as being pretty fair, but the combo of some amazing starters with solid main courses and the infamous truffled mashed potato does make it a worthwhile dinner destination.

I think Yahillwe might be saying that it doesn't compare with Robuchon's best, which I would entirely agree with. All the same though...

The last time that I ate at the London one was a couple of years ago. Too many things didn't sit well with me. The room looked way too dark. Then the different themes or whatever of each floor.. and the food was way too greasy for my taste.

I prefer(ed) the Paris (7th) and NY ones. Maybe because they knew that I am not a fan of access butter and I know (knew NY) the chefs and people who work there, so I always get the extra treatment.

My wife and I went to Jean Georges for Thanksgiving dinner. It had been a while since we had been there. We were very, very impressed with both the food and the service. Enough Thanksgiving tradition but with some very creative touches. And the wine pairing was inspired. The wines were all ones we had never heard of and from wine areas we weren't familiar with (well, except Champagne) but all were outstanding and very well matched with the food. We are planning on venturing back for a regular dinner.

Which one?

Should have gone there. We went to highly recommended inn, and not only was is super super expensive, but not worth the money and time.

The one on Central Park West, which is the original. We were in the more formal dining room, I think they have two dining rooms now.

At the trump hotel?

Yes.

Have you eaten at Public? Going there tonight. Supposedly it has a Michelin.

No, I haven't tried it. Let us know how it is. Always looking for tips on good places.

Have to admit, the menu and pictures don't look that appetizing. Since I am invited I can't say anything. A dear friend gave me the name of a resto, Charlie Bird. Have you been?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/di...d-in-soho.html