Eater 38 - Off the Rails? [Anywhere]

I used to seek advice from the Eater 38 - the “definitive” list of “essential” restaurants in a particular area - but lately I’ve encountered some clunkers when traveling, and the Boston 38 https://boston.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-boston-38 , in particular, seems to be biased toward hipness. The number of (what I consider) “essential” Boston restuarants that aren’t on their list is approaching 38.

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Thanks for your post. It seems to me to be a strange list. Could you share with us your essential Boston restaurant list?

That’s fair, I guess I invited the question. I’m typing on a mobile device so I’ll start by describing what makes a place “essential “ to me. To me a food establishment is essential when it is woven into the fabric of the place, a reference point that many people from the area share. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best in any sense, but essential places often are. It does mean that they do something well, and they’ve done it for a while. Long enough so that many people will know. An essential place has staying power - and proven consistency.

It appears to me that when the staff at Eater says “essential “, it’s in the sense of “OMG this is so good you have to try it”. There are a few places on their list that make mine…but only a few. I’ll give examples (and reasoning) when I get to a keyboard tomorrow.

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I think their interpretation of “Essential” has changed since it started (and differs from the English language meaning of the word):

This guide is our shortlist of the city’s must-hit restaurants, updated quarterly to reflect changing tastes and trends. Overhauled for the fall, the list includes an expanded Taiwanese spot, a dynamic South Indian restaurant, a Lyon-inspired brasserie, and an inspired Thai restaurant that keeps getting better.

All of the restaurants on this list have been open for at least six months, and we visited them many times throughout the course of putting together this guide.

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That explains a lot. Contrast that with this statement about the Eater Chicago 38:

This collection of Chicago’s best restaurants provides answers to the classic question, “Where are the spots everyone should eat in Chicago?” The regularly updated list recognizes some all-time greats, restaurants that have pushed culinary boundaries, and more. This is as much for locals who want to make the most out of their nights as it is for visitors unfamiliar with the city.

I guess the cool kids are in charge at Eater Boston.

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You need to consider who’s writing these articles. In NYC, its often someone who just moved here, doesnt live here, or very young. Rarely you’ll find experienced food enthusiasts that live here for over 20 years, like say your typical HO contributor

In order to appear on Eater in the first place, a restaurant must spend on marketing. So to some degree its advertisement that leads to social media hype that leads to “essential”. If not marketing, its connections. I just went to a hyped restaurant in Staten Island where the owner is friends with Elvis Duran from Z100. Now they are in the NYT top 100 even though the food is fairly average.

In NYC its a random list of hyped new and some classics. As Saregama said, not really essential anymore. But at the same time, my list of 30 would look random to others.

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That new description of the Essential 38 sounds more like the Eater Heatmap, which I understood to be the new hip places. I liked the differentiation between the “Essential” - which kept places like Sarma on it month after month - vs. the hot new places to try.

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Sarma is on this most recent list. So is La Brasa, which is in my neighborhood and seems to have a new chef and to have almost no one there when we look in and when we visit.

Recently we were in Miami, and Eater was no more useful than any other aggregates internet list unfortunately. It’s a useful jumping off point, but by no means definitive.

I’m not sure if that’s the case with Eater Boston or not, but there have been some significant conflicts of interest in the past (Eater editors being contracted by restaurants in other capacities).

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Years ago a coworker opened a restaurant in Brooklyn. It was terrible. But after spending over 3k on marketing they appeared on the Eater hot list, even tho it wasnt really very hot, and the place closed within a year

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That’s really disconcerting …

FWIW, here’s my list of essential Boston restaurants. Happy to discuss reasoning, for places not on the list as well as those on it. No particular order. What’s missing?

Saltie Girl
Bar Mezzana
Grill 23
Fox and the Knife
Harvest
Sycamore
Branch Line
Neptune Oyster
Mamma Maria
The Daily Catch
Mike’s Pastry
Legal Harborside
No Name
Border Cafe
Row 34
Sullivan’s
Kelly’s Roast Beef
Aquitaine
Miracle of Science
LA Burdick’s
Cafe at Gardner Museum
Eastern Standard
Sonsie
Fenway Park
Meyer’s + Chang
Clear Flour
Puritan and Company
Toro
Area 4
Toscanini’s
Regina Pizzeria
Eataly
Yvonne’s
Troquet on South
Salty Pig
Mistral
Oleana (by extension Sarma/Sofra)
Trade (by extension Porto)
O Ya

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Nice list.

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Fun list (love the inclusions of Fenway and Miracle of Science). I think No Name closed a few years ago (no tears from me over that).

In the pantheon of Bostonian essentials, does Little Donkey qualify? (I haven’t been post-pandemic so I don’t know if it’s resting on its laurels.) Coppa? (Never been.) I think Santarp’s belongs. In the South End — Anchovies, JJ Foley’s, DeLux (I think it’s still there). Bukowski’s. Maybe Prezza. S&S? Koreana. All of these with the caveat that I am now a country mouse who rarely goes out in the “big city” anymore. And forget about crossing the North Shore-South Shore border.

I’m sure I’ll keep thinking about this thread all day long.

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nice list. the only thing i’d change is swap modern pastry for mike’s.

No Name closed abruptly at the end of 2019, filing for bankruptcy.
Ironically, article from

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Yes. Hipness is all Eater’s about.

Your definition makes much more sense.

Yikes. I knew No Name closed, didn’t curate carefully. I think Little Donkey is on a trajectory toward essential, but I think it’s not quite there yet.

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Good call. Wasn’t totally committed other than I didn’t want to list both.

S & S is definitely “woven into the fabric”

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