I like to eat in a restaurant.
Whoa. Wait. Back that up.
I like to eat in a GOOD restaurant.
Food for me, is way more than ingestion. I have to really like something to eat it. I am not picky, by any means. There is a distinction. I will try just about anything, and I have. Some things, I give multiple chances. (Like rubbery, tasteless, deep-fried, calamari. I’ve never found it any other way.) On the flip side, one of the things I have loved traveling through Europe, are the amazing food explorations. So many discoveries, really.
But that’s the gist of the deal. I would rather not eat something, if I can find another thing that tastes better. In fact, I will pass it by and wait, until the next opportunity arises.
As a result, I eat the same things over and over again. This is not tiresome for me. In fact, I simply like the way some things taste. Eggs. Apples. Cauliflower. Any vegetable. I could eat those things, anytime, anywhere. Endlessly.
But restaurants are another world. I guess, in years past, I haven’t paid much attention to the Michelin Ratings. Actually, I just think that in recent years, this rating system has gained steam, and popularity, in our culture.
The Guide has been around for a long time. It all started in Clermont-Ferrand in central France. Way back in 1889. That is when these two guys, brothers, Andre and Edouard Michelin founded their tire company. And they named it after themselves. Michelin Tires.
At that point, there were only 3,000 cars in their country of France. So, they had a big, grand vision, of more cars, with tires times four.
So yes. Edouard and Andre wanted to make people drive more, and wear out their tires. But, to make it all sound very coolio, they made a small guide. Their little red book was filled with handy information for travelers. They had such things as maps, tips on how to change a tire, where to get your “petrol”, and those kinds of tidbits. But, quite amazingly, they included a listing of places to eat or take shelter for the night. You know, to ease the worries of the weary traveler.
In 1889, the guides were free. About 20 years later, they started charging for them. And, in 1926, the guide began to award stars for fine dining establishments. At the start of this, you could only pull in one star.
Of course, they have embellished on this, over the years. And here, from their own site: “The guide now rates over 30,000 establishments in over 30 territories across three continents, and more than 30 million MICHELIN Guides have been sold worldwide.”
That is a lot of ranking.
I’ve never seen one, but I sure do hear the term on the news, and in articles a lot, when it comes to the credibility and notoriety of the restaurants.
But here is the deal. They only have the guides for select cities. Camden, Ohio is not one. You would think that any town with four pizza places, and a dairy bar, would get SOME kind of listing. But no.
The way of the food world. That very big and influential industry.
These days, anything might go. We now have Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg teaming up with their nifty cooking show. Potluck Party. No joke. And in the Fall, they are releasing a new cookbook, called “From Crook to Cook.”
Making Mama Proud.
I can’t make this stuff up. I guess if a couple of garage mechanics can give five-star ratings for Fine Dining, two ex-cons can teach us how to make Holiday Brownies. In states where it is LEGAL, that is.
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“There is nothing new except what has been forgotten.”
― Marie Antoinette
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“It is only when the mind is free from the old that it meets everything anew, and in that there is joy.”
― Jiddu Krishnamurti
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“Change is the end of something you know and the beginning of something else that you don’t know. Something new that holds opportunities.”
― Kholoud Yasser
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