Superlative of Good;
1. excelling all others
Cover of January bon appétit: BEST OF THE YEAR
Cover of December Food & Wine: Best holiday recipes; best wines to bring to a party
Cover of January Food & Wine: best recipes for 2010; 20 best pasta, chicken & vegetarian dishes
Cover of Jan/Feb Imbibe: Savor the World’s Best Rums!
Cover of January Washingtonian: 100 Very Best Restaurants; Best of Fairfax
Cover of December St. Louis Magazine: Best Soups and Sandwiches
Cover of Jan/Feb Saveur: The Saveur 100, our annual guide to the world’s best foods
I could go on…..
Maybe somebody could explain to me the (perceived) notion that us bumbling schlubs out here have no particular powers of judgment or taste, but would rather plunk down 3 – 5 bucks and let some nameless magazine editor decide what is “best” for me. You know what? Maybe I wouldn’t like the Black Truffle Gnocci from Perennial in Chicago, maybe I don’t agree that New Austrian cuisine is the best of 2009, maybe I don’t think that the Reuben from Café Provencal in St. Louis is the best sandwich, do you think Komi is the number one restaurant in Washington, or that 3 Bar & Grill is the hundredth place you would go to eat in DC? As an aside, what does “very best” mean anyway? Are they better than just plain “best”.
And, in reading the articles and lists, I don’t find much verbiage like: “here’s a list of beers that our panel thought you might like to consider”, or “we believe that you stand a good chance of getting a good meal here”. No, the American obsession with “who’s number one?” means that one beer/sandwich/wine//dish/restaurant supersedes all others. It stands alone, no ifs, ands, or buts. I have long believed and ranted that in order to find out what you prefer most (loosely termed best for you), one must sample the whole variety of whatever. With the cultural diversity and heritages of this nation, to think that one reuben sandwich would be universally most appreciated is just plain silly. Judging by the plethora of magazine covers, I might be in the minority here. Good.
Perhaps words like “preferred” or “favorite” I would accept, but I suppose it doesn’t have the marquee value they're looking for. I suppose all we can do is accept a “best” as a recommendation. Data to consider.
I will point out in the case of my Saveur, besides the banner of “World’s Best” on the cover, it also says “Our readers share their favorite ingredients, chefs, tool, tips, and more”. The list was winnowed down to 100 from the thousands submitted by readers over the last year. The list is not in any order, just 100 deemed worthy by the editors. It does contain some interesting things, and each of the entries has a little paragraph to go with (written by the submitter). No. 72 (from a lady in Illinois) is Pyrex Glass Measuring Cups ("They are the little black dresses of the kitchen"), those ubiquitous red marked things we all have in our kitchens, No. 91 is the state of Wisconsin with a nice photo spread of the state’s varied foods and beers: Old Potosi Beer, “Melty Bars” from Oaks Candy in Oshkosh (by gosh); small batch Gin from Death’s Door Spirits, and so forth. No. 33 is “The Apprentice”, that wonderful book by iconic Jacques Pepin; 19: Arthur Avenue in the Bronx… Ever hear of Lupini Beans? - number 32 (which i will check out). So it’s not a real list of “bests” its just a bunch of eclectic favorites so I can live with that. Anyway, Saveur continues to be set apart from the rest (IMHO). Pick up a copy if you can.
Speaking of magazines, is there anybody else out there in readerland that shares my dislike for those damn stiff cards that get built in to the magazine? Usually are recipe cards, or sometimes large ads, but they dominate the slicker and more flimsy pages of content, and get in your way of thumbing through the issue. Try to rip them out? Good luck. Usually tears across the middle or destroys the binding of the magazine itself. Some even have purported perforations which are supposed to help you but they are generally as useless as the back of battery packs (Easy Open Tab!)
Anyway, be very wary of somebody making up your mind for you – taste, explore, read, learn, and then decide what’s “Best” for you alone. To thine own self be true! And of course
DFD
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