In the battle of sushi versus foie gras, sushi wins. Or so says the Michelin Guide, which has decreed that Japan has more top restaurants than France for the first time since the book started rating restaurants in The Land of The Rising Sun in 2008.
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When you consider that Michelin is a French company and has produced the
guide starting in 1900, that's quite a feat for Japan. The country
racked up a total of 29 three-starred restaurants in the 2012 edition
while France eeked by with just 25.
Of course, this only means anything if you believe the Michelin
Guide to be the definitive arbiters of taste. Europeans and Western food
critics are reportedly up in arms over the upset, accusing Michelin of
grade inflation.
And they're not the only ones. Some Japanese also expressed some
skepticism over the distinction, citing that foreigners couldn't
possibly be qualified judges of what's good and bad in their hallowed
cuisine.
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Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.