I had breakfast with Jean Luc Naret this morning.
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Okay, it was me and a few other journalists, and publicists, and Michelin staffers at Bouchon in the Time Warner Center. While I nibbled on a croissant with apricot spread, listening to M. Naret recap the 2007 NYC guide (results today, books on sale tomorrow), I made a mental note to figure out that mobile phone posting feature, because I could have been texting the goods directly to snack.
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I knew that, while I sat there, the results were being posted online and emailed to media en masse, triggering a rush of writing and posting. And I wondered - what had I gained by heading to midtown so early in the morning? Aside from an advanced copy of the book, not a whole lot. I'm always hoping for some fantastic annoucement like, "...and the next city is Chicago," or a golden nugget of information. But M. Naret is the ultimate spokesperson in that he is smooth, soigné, and always speaking in sound bites. I've never seen anyone get him off-message.
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If you want to recreate your own breakfast with the director of the Michelin guides, grab yourself a coffee and plug in to my podcast interview with him. If you go and sit under the Samsung sign on the third floor of the Time Warner Center- it will be almost exactly the same.
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And the results. Yes - the winners and losers. Little has changed from last year's ratings. The big stars are pretty much still in place, with only a couple minor changes. And likewise, little has changed from last year's criticisms and comments. Will it matter that the current five inspectors are American? And that they're based in New York working full time on the guide? Probably not. It's much more fun to complain. In fact, I cannot think of a single guide book, rating list or critic, that has not been dissected, discounted and disagreed with. Is there any restaurant rating system that people actually like and agree with?
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