63102 Fri Sep 17 00:20:23 -0700 2004 44 2 Los Angeles Area 0 337724 Everyone is aware of the controversies that swirl incessantly on this board, which is likely a good thing. Bunch of independent thinkers never bashful or fearful of speaking their mind. So I have mused in the past about the very few establishment which appear to garner thumbs up from virtually all hounds absent any serious detractors. There has to be enough posters involved to get statistics, otherwise it doesn't count (2 posts & 2 yes votes is not enough). Also, one could probably allow a lone dissension as the exception necessary to prove the rule. And perhaps even mentioning them here will jinx their unique status. Anyway, a few restaurants that seem to be 'unanimous' thumbs up of late include: -- Lucques -- Langer's -- Il Pastaio -- Lawry's -- Josie I think either Angeli or Angelini may be one too. In any case, the all thumbs up club is exceedingly tiny given the hundreds of restaurants discussed around here. If you're aware of others please so indicate. Thanks for your help. Fri Sep 17 00:20:23 -0700 2004 0 bernardo 1 337725 Not sure what you mean by unanimity or what you are trying to get at here. Some of these places may not inspire debate because they actually reach their target markets more effectively. Lawry's is on your list, for example, and I would never weigh in with a positive or negative opinion because I have no interest in going. That shouldn't count as an endorsement-- any more than it should be considered a condemnation. Fri Sep 17 00:27:27 -0700 2004 337724 0 Dbird 2 337735 If you don't know what I mean then I'm sorry. There are hundreds of restaurants that attract a large number of posts. In almost every case there are both advocates & detractors. I can provide dozens upon dozens of examples if you like. Then there are the very few & far between exceptions, places with that almost everyone seems to think deserves thumbs up within its category, based on enough posts to be statistically significant. Now if that just doesn't happen to rattle your chain, then that's OK with me. Fri Sep 17 02:08:11 -0700 2004 337725 0 bernardo 3 337743 I think this thread might wind up generating more heat than light, but FWIW, I can't ever remember seeing a negative post about Carousel (I've never been, myself.) Fri Sep 17 05:22:21 -0700 2004 337735 0 Gene 3 337863 I think the best loved restaurants are ones that are not loved by all. They have something that definitely appeals to some of us in a big way. And they have something else that's a turnoff to others. My sense is that any place that had a unanimous recommendation would probably be a little bland and not too exciting. This, for example, might explain the (unmerited, IMHO) appeal of The Cheesecake Factory. Fri Sep 17 18:27:22 -0700 2004 337735 0 mc michael 4 337899 I seriously doubt from what I've read here that denizens of this board would even come close to bestowing a unanimous thumbs up to Cheesecake. ET or other chains. Fri Sep 17 22:42:17 -0700 2004 337863 0 bernardo 5 338033 I'm sure he was referring to the public at large. Sun Sep 19 03:27:54 -0700 2004 337899 0 Jon 4 338043 Exactly why I love Dino's for their Day Glo Chicken and marinade soaked fries, it isn't your Grandmother chicken anymore...or ever. Sun Sep 19 09:11:26 -0700 2004 337863 0 WLA 1 337728 I would add Melisse and 2117, and perhaps Gorikee. I would strike Lawry's from your list. Fri Sep 17 00:42:43 -0700 2004 337724 0 ipse dixit 1 337736 Add: Philippes Marouch Zankou Tacos Baja Ensenada Subtract: Lawrys Fri Sep 17 02:09:08 -0700 2004 337724 0 bluemonster 1 337745 Drop Langers. Add Brents. Fri Sep 17 05:52:26 -0700 2004 337724 0 Jon 1 337748 You will never come up with a consensus list here. I love Josie. There are other posters who do not. Langers is another one in which there have been posts that are totally in the "I don't get this at all" vein. You have already seen what the Langer's selection generated. We don't need consensus. We need ever evolving, great chow rec's. Didn't you just post this same question a couple of weeks ago? Fri Sep 17 09:09:11 -0700 2004 337724 0 WLA 2 337751 "...You have already seen what the Langer's selection generated..." Whoops, make that the other L restaurant, Lawry's, you mentioned. And even Spago has had it's share of detractors here. Fri Sep 17 09:42:15 -0700 2004 337748 0 WLA 2 337760 Well, leave it to hounds to not even agree whether they want or need consensus, let alone what consesnsus is (what is 'is'?). OTOH, I think reasonable people will agree that there are some places that just seem to get overwhelming thumbs up in their category. And I'm not counting the sort of posts that say well 'this place is awesome' or 'this place sucks' or 'I just don't get it' but then give no particulars at all. For example, if you ordered some of the mayo strewn contraptions at Langer's rather than simple hand cut pastrami on rye with a smidgeon of dark mustard then that would explain a lot. Reports have to contain sufficient substance & detail to be useful to critical hounds. And as I readily admitted in my post, I have brought this subject up periodically before. Furthermore, any such list would be moving target that needs periodic updating. Thanks for your help. Fri Sep 17 11:17:31 -0700 2004 337748 0 bernardo 2 337913 I don't recall ever reading a post that said Langer's pastrami wasn't all that. Sat Sep 18 01:16:35 -0700 2004 337748 0 JJ 3 337950 Here's one. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/52844#270438 Sat Sep 18 13:57:56 -0700 2004 337913 0 WLA 4 338012 In my criteria for consensus, I specifically said 'recently', maybe I should be more quantitaitive. Suggest we go back no further than 4 months. If we can produce more than one credible complaint about Langer's within the last 4 months (no forged documents please), then I say off with their head, at least as far as my list is concerned. Sat Sep 18 21:15:52 -0700 2004 337950 0 bernardo 5 338017 Langer's has served the same food for nearly 100 years. I think 4 months or 4 years are not going to give you a consensus. Are you too new to the board to have seen Mr. Grub's annual LA CH vote for your favorite restaurant? It really is your idea but voted on by all the active hounds on the board. I imagine it may come up again later this year if Mr. G has the time to compile all the replies and post the tally. Sat Sep 18 23:13:42 -0700 2004 338012 0 WLA 6 338018 Okay 63 years, not a hundred. Sat Sep 18 23:24:58 -0700 2004 338017 0 WLA 7 338022 The old man's been there 53! Sun Sep 19 00:23:24 -0700 2004 338018 0 Curt 1 337750 Spago Fri Sep 17 09:25:55 -0700 2004 337724 0 Just Larry 1 337757 What about Saddle Peak Lodge. It inspired Josies as she was the executive chef at Saddle Peak Lodge. Fri Sep 17 10:42:19 -0700 2004 337724 0 Eric 2 338255 Ditto. I went for the first time last night and it was great. Even being out in the middle of nowhere was nice. The food was perfect. And I don't remember any CH posts about sucky SPL experiences. Mon Sep 20 15:50:38 -0700 2004 337757 0 nater 1 337759 I think that the only place where I have seen near 100% approval is Gorikee in Woodland Hills. It's only been on the board for about two months, a fair number of posts and, to my recollection, only one person had a negative comment. And that was about the spartan decor; there was praise for the food. Fri Sep 17 11:15:01 -0700 2004 337724 0 TomSwift 2 337814 To me the jury's still out on Gorikee....the one time I went I had the rib eye with wasabi sauce which was just ok, not a very good quality of meat. I liked the goat cheese salad ok. As I posted before their wine list consisted of red, white or rose and I ordered a glass of red it was served cold from the ice box. Pretty tacky. All the posts I have read go on about how friendly everyone is there, which is great, but is it maybe clouding people's judgement of the food? Or maybe I just ordered the wrong items. I'll give it another try one of these days.... Fri Sep 17 15:01:57 -0700 2004 337759 0 markn 1 337762 Nozawa Campanile Il Grano Larry Flynt Supper Club Cabaret Crustacean Chili's (for the fajitas!) McDonald's (for the McRib!) Fri Sep 17 11:41:03 -0700 2004 337724 0 Bert 2 337764 lol Fri Sep 17 11:43:49 -0700 2004 337762 0 Harold 2 337773 On the serious side, if you take a careful look at posts over the last few months, you'll see Nozawa, Crustacean & Il Grano & possibly others on your list have generated more than a few negative posts, so despite a spate of praise from regulars (everyone's vote is equal around here) IMHO they don't qualify for consensus status at this time. That might very well change in the future though. Also, we're talking just sit-down places here. Fri Sep 17 12:08:19 -0700 2004 337762 0 bernardo 3 337780 I do believe you're missing the fact that Bert was being ironic about every place he named. Fri Sep 17 12:38:03 -0700 2004 337773 0 Harold 4 337892 I'm a bit slow Fri Sep 17 22:30:44 -0700 2004 337780 0 bernardo 2 337816 Don't forget one of the biggest lightning rods, Valentino!! Fri Sep 17 15:07:40 -0700 2004 337762 0 markn 1 337763 Hi... As far as I can recall, Wat Thai Temple's weekend food court garners praise from nearly every poster who's visited... Fri Sep 17 11:42:19 -0700 2004 337724 0 silence9 2 337768 Yeah, but wasn't sure it qualified as a restaurant Fri Sep 17 11:59:21 -0700 2004 337763 0 bernardo 3 337777 Wat Thai qualifies as a restaurant to me more than Crustacean does. My tongue is firmly in my cheek of course! ;-) Fri Sep 17 12:20:39 -0700 2004 337768 0 elmomonster 2 337890 Thumbs up! Try to make it the first Sunday of the month. Fri Sep 17 22:15:10 -0700 2004 337763 0 Joe MacBu 1 337770 Can't recall seeing any recent negative comments about Vert. I would add it to your list. Fri Sep 17 12:05:45 -0700 2004 337724 0 WildSwede 1 337775 Thanks for all the input already & future too. I fully realize we'll never achieve perfection here with such a list, but as the saying goes, a perfect plan is the enemy of a good one. I'll give it another day & afterward revise the list based on your valued inputs. Then I'll post the revised list for everyone's feedback. Fri Sep 17 12:17:33 -0700 2004 337724 0 bernardo 1 337798 I think Josie was just OK and kind of boring, but definitely not nearly as good as the hype it gets on this board. Fri Sep 17 14:18:06 -0700 2004 337724 0 Ernie 2 337829 For the present purposes, we need only a simple thumbs up or down, although some specifics would not hurt either. Fri Sep 17 16:03:01 -0700 2004 337798 0 bernardo 3 337837 OK, given the price-to-food ratio, I would say thumbs down. Fri Sep 17 16:34:16 -0700 2004 337829 0 Ernie 2 337855 I have to concur with Ernie. Not just one of the dishes was sub-par, but all were (dessert, appetizer, soup, and entree). The truffle fries were excellent and the service was outstanding! Add Jiraffe to the list for me! Fri Sep 17 17:27:31 -0700 2004 337798 0 Funwithfood 3 337940 My last post was unclear--I have not heard any negs regarding Jiraffe, they should be added to the concensus list. Sat Sep 18 12:44:44 -0700 2004 337855 0 Funwithfood 2 337912 I concur. Sat Sep 18 00:52:23 -0700 2004 337798 0 SpongeBobSquarePegs 1 337903 Even though the comparison will draw many a fued, Renu Nakorn and Thai Nakorn are always heralded. Fri Sep 17 23:04:34 -0700 2004 337724 0 Curt 2 337919 Thanks, will keep in mind for future revisions. Sat Sep 18 02:02:34 -0700 2004 337903 0 bernardo