News

Each product is independently selected by the (obsessed) editor. What you buy through our links may earn us a commission.
This week, a group of food journalists, luxury goods sponsors, chefs and industry followers gathered in…Berlin? Zurich? Well, wait. This sounds wrong. 1 second. Oh yes, they are in Antwerp this year. In any case, everyone is there, wearing a habitual matching red scarf, and unveiling the list of the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” in 2021. This is an annual celebration of destination dining venues, which is unique in the real world. Most people will never be able to dine for the following reasons: high cost, inconvenient location, and the super-rich in society generally prefer exclusive companies.
so! Who is the big winner this year? Of course it is Norma! Doesn’t it look like it’s always Norma? This is a huge leap for René Redzepi’s high-quality Nordic compounds, which climbed all the way from No. 2 in the previous list. In the top five this year are Geranium in Copenhagen, a 45-minute walk from Noma; Asador Etxebarri in the Basque Country; downtown Lima; and Disfrutar in Barcelona. (If you want to know, the representatives of New York City are Le Bernardin, Cosme and Atomix.)
But wait, you mean. I thought a certain restaurant in France was the winner, but I didn’t see it here? Indeed, Mirazur, a seaside palace in southern France with intricate seasonal cuisine, topped the list in 2019, and since the “50 Best” (Pandemic) skipped its list in 2020, it remains the “best” restaurant until this morning. in the world. But no more! Now it’s Norma again.
Oh yes, where is Eleven Madison Park? I thought it was the best restaurant in the world? No, your eyes will not deceive you: EMP also does not appear on the list, although this is not because of the recent series of nonchalant comments by Secret Meat Chamber or New York hometown critics. EMP, Mirazur and some other places are not eligible for the list because… they have won before. Now they are on the edge of a kind of “50 best”, still considered actionable, but ultimately unable to rank: these restaurants are the best, they may actually still be the best, but we will never know, because This list is even more compelling if a new place wins every year. (Before the implementation of this once-and-for-all policy in 2019, Noma had repeatedly ranked first because its original location (previously winning site) was closed at the end of 2016, so it was technically successful.)
Now, you might be wondering, is it a bit strange for them to do this while the deadly global pandemic is still going on? perhaps! At least local critics in New York have completely abandoned stars and rankings because the industry continues to struggle from destruction, death, and frustration for more than a year and a half. The idea of ​​a star—or any other subjective quality indicator at this time—is harmful to everything we have already lost. The idea is that the huge and complex work that still needs to be done in front of operators and workers is completely re-established. stand up.
But global elites — at least some of them may be looking around for a decent meal at the moment — also need to eat, besides, this list is a celebration of industry resilience and promises of recovery, and so on.
To be sure, for restaurant owners, entering the “50 Best” club is a very profitable way to return to work. Your diners are the richest people in the world, and they will come to your restaurant, ready to pay for a good time. They will pay more than $400 or anything else for your food, and they may pay more for wine, cocktails and coffee, and anything else you can think of. Once you are among the “50 best” chefs, you can and absolutely should cook for as many rich gourmets as possible 7 nights a week. Then you can open another restaurant and do some more.
However, not everyone can charge a couple $1,000 for dinner. Entering this list is a huge achievement. It requires extraordinary drive, ambition, vision, sacrifice, perseverance, and what football commentators call perseverance to build a restaurant that is considered to have won such awards. It also helps a lot if the person who built the restaurant is a male, because the places on this list are disproportionately run by chefs with Y chromosomes.
Even so, these are not really the best restaurants in the world. They are not even the best restaurants in their respective metropolises, rural small farm towns or fairytale European villages. The truly best restaurants in the world at the moment may be the taverns, Mexican snack bars, or eateries on the corner of your apartment. They have been on the verge of extinction for more than a year, and have experienced forced closures, takeaways, outdoor dining, and the return of indoor dining just for the sake of Continue to operate and serve the neighbors. The real best restaurant in the world may be the cheap sushi restaurant on the street, where the counter chef always chats with your daughter to make her feel special, and at the same time expands her palate through a variety of carefully crafted snacks. What is the best restaurant in the world? This is a restaurant that serves delicious chicken soup. A noodle restaurant that opens late or a bagel restaurant that opens early. It is any place where you can stay in without notice and feel cared for-this feeling is increasingly valuable these days, and when bookings require months of advance notice, non-refundable prepaid fees on credit cards, and airplanes , This feeling is difficult to achieve a ticket to one of the world’s financial capitals.
Each product is independently selected by the (obsessed) editor. What you buy through our links may earn us a commission.