50 Best Restaurants

On a whim, I picked up the October issue of Gourmet magazine, which featured an article on the 50 Best Restaurants in the country. As one might expect, New York and California are reasonably well represented. However, I was shocked to see that among the elite few was L'Etoile restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin.

It so happens that crankycrank and I lived in Madison for several years, and we've eaten at L'Etoile. In spite of the fact that we were younger, poorer and less likely to have a fine meal, I recall the experience as quite mediocre. In a city where the words "culture" and "diversity" are nearly sacred, there is very little cultural diversity, especially in the realm of dining (I make one exception for Thai food). While L'Etoile's status very likely comes from its use of only locally grown ingredients, the food there is (or at least was on that birthday many years ago) simply uninteresting. I have no qualms about spending a good amount on a good meal. Crankycrank and I do that with regularity now that we're older and in much better financial shape. But for that price, you don't need to stuff my stomach with food, but you do need to stuff my tastebuds with yum, and L'Etoile failed.