More lists

[Alex Lake]

What's the forumite view on OAD?

I see they do several lists of top restaurants in various places. Here's a newish one focusing on "Classical" style

Europe Classical 2023 English OAD Opinionated About Dining

Top UK restaurant here is The Ritz.

Maybe of more interest to people like me is their "Casual" list

Europe Casual 2023 English OAD Opinionated About Dining

Mostly in Spain, it seems, but UK entries Lisboeta and Nob Rot, among others make the list.

 

[Guy Tremlett]

I've used OAD for many years as a great reference point when travelling - especially the Casual lists as you highlight. Have had much success.

 

[Will Devize]

I see the sweary Scotsman is still riding relatively high.

I haven't been in nearly two decades but am led to believe the big man has been unable to justify his 3* reputation for quite some time. Careful analysis of the data appears to show a puzzling inverse correlation between the standard of his cooking and the exact moment that the first series of Kitchen Nightmares USA aired.

Having said that, I am still rather partial to his dish of scallops with cauliflower puree and caper/raisin dressing, although my attempts to fathom a decent wine pairing remain mostly farcical.

 

[alec frusher]

I see the sweary Scotsman is still riding relatively high.

I haven't been in nearly two decades but am led to believe the big man has been unable to justify his 3* reputation for quite some time. Careful analysis of the data appears to show a puzzling inverse correlation between the standard of his cooking and the exact moment that the first series of Kitchen Nightmares USA aired.

Having said that, I am still rather partial to his dish of scallops with cauliflower puree and caper/raisin dressing, although my attempts to fathom a decent wine pairing remain mostly farcical.

Few of my 3* experiences have justified their reputation - I would include RGR in that but still ranks higher than a few others. My favourite restaurant experiences have mostly been at the 2* level

 

[Thom Blach]

The Opinionated About forum was my first foray into the internet. I was always greatly entertained and sometimes informed by it, among which were the contributions of half a dozen or so who are stalwart current members here, until its sudden disappearance. To say that the proprietor Steve Plotnicki is not universally adored may be litotic but I must admit to having always enjoyed his provocative persona.

 

[Charles Muttar]

I see the sweary Scotsman is still riding relatively high.

I haven't been in nearly two decades but am led to believe the big man has been unable to justify his 3* reputation for quite some time. Careful analysis of the data appears to show a puzzling inverse correlation between the standard of his cooking and the exact moment that the first series of Kitchen Nightmares USA aired.

Having said that, I am still rather partial to his dish of scallops with cauliflower puree and caper/raisin dressing, although my attempts to fathom a decent wine pairing remain mostly farcical.

Have you tried Musar Blanc? I make that recipe at least 1x/yr and pretty sure that works quite nicely, as did Gravonia...

 

[Claude Kolm]

Thanks for pointing these lists out. Like Thom, I was an original participant on OAD, I suppose it was15 or so years ago, and got kicked off for not potentially making enough money for the site's owner.

Now I understand why Americans who think they are well-informed about eating in Paris keep going to the same small number of generally-ok-but-not-great establishments and think they are hitting the heights of Parisian gastronomy. There are literally hundreds of restaurants as good and often better than most of the Parisian ones on the casual list, but that's fine with me, as it keep the less-informed tourists out of the really good places (and the places with the great wine lists). The classical list is not quite as bad, but still out of date (e.g., includes at least one restaurant that has closed and others that have shown decline from what once made them interesting). This is really groupthink in all its blindness.

 

[Thom Blach]

This is really groupthink in all its blindness.

As must be any methodology which collates the infrequent experiences of individual diners. It is indeed very out of date, but no such list can ever be more than diverting.

 

[Keith Prothero]

Never heard of OAD and have no idea what this thread is about. By the way, who do you think initiates the most threads ? My money is on Alex

 

[Alex Lake]

OAD stands for "Opinionated About Dining" and seems to be some sort of crowd-sourced lists of what are the best restaurants in various categories in various parts of the world. Yet another list of such things, but one that seems to be of certain merit.
Maybe you should do one - "Opinionated About Fizz"? ;-)

 

[Will Devize]

Have you tried Musar Blanc? I make that recipe at least 1x/yr and pretty sure that works quite nicely, as did Gravonia...

I'm on a similar annual schedule. Hadn't thought of either of those two but will definitely give them a go, prob Gravonia first as I actually have some.

The raisin is the fly in the ointment here. It works beautifully as part of the dish but throws off most traditional wine pairings. Perhaps some sort of Port chaser is required purely to satisfy this element!

 

[Sean Hardon]

OAD stands for "Opinionated About Dining" and seems to be some sort of crowd-sourced lists of what are the best restaurants in various categories in various parts of the world. Yet another list of such things, but one that seems to be of certain merit.
Maybe you should do one - "Opinionated About Fizz"? ;-)

Keith won't be interested. I might have missed it in the main list, but there were no NPM restaurants. Makes me think it's a paid for list. I also didn't see the L'Arpege or La Marine there either. Which we regularly see in the world's 100 lists.