Customer Reviews

2009/ 2010 Paris Restaurants (ZAGAT Restaurant Guides)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just spent 2-1/2 weeks in London and Paris. I must say that the restaurant recommendations are good but I do not find it a practical guide for people who travel for extended periods, unless of course you can afford $150 - $300 dinners for 4 every night for 17 days. Remember most people eat more that one meal a day. I tucked the book away and started asking the locals.

I have been very disappointed by all of the restaurants I chose using Zagat Paris. I'm a big fan of the Zagat guide to New York, but this one is much less reliable. The guide overlooks many good restaurants (including some covered in many guide books) and gives overly positive reviews to mediocre restaurants. I suspect the book is not updated as regularly as those for big American cities.

This updated Zagat guide for the world's most visited city by high-income folks (i.e. those most likely to eat out) is very useful for picking a resto over another when there is no other information (a friend, etc.)

But let me emphasize the flaws:

It is apparently Zagat *policy* to have snide snippy remarks. The editors like them. So the five word sound-bite that is a great turn of a phrase then has a high *editorial* probability of being selected for the descriptive narrative. After all, if the majority of the comments are "Good food, excellent service" you only include that quote *once*, while the scattered "off night" comments will get feature billing, right along with the more accurate ones.

So, when you have a resto with a high score for food, but catty remarks, guess who seasoned the pot a little? Editor snide, that's who.

The numerical technique is what we would call in statistics "model over fitting." The differences in food from someone who scores a 22 is just not that much different from a 20, so the accumulated scores, while conveying information, are not properly "ranked" and should more appropriately be "grouped."

The best features though, are the INDEXES. Food places that are kid friendly, serve at odd hours, serve regional or foreign food, etc. etc. are all very helpful.

What the guide lacks though is an easy way to look for a "mexican resto in the 4th arrondisment." Some obvious cross geographical cross indexing is left undone.

So, given that a culinary idiots votes count as much as someone who is a food expert, and given its emphasis on catty remarks and snide asides that are (mostly) undeserved, there is still a lot of value in the Zagat's guide for Paris. Just take it for what it is worth, not what it claims to be. Democracy, alas, is a poor method for valuing food. In purely democratic Zagat's guide a ballpark hot dog would be a culinary acme. The wise cautiously read between the lines.

Carried this book with me all the time during a recent trip to Paris. Of course, it is difficult to have a bad meal in Paris but it helps when you have so many restaurants to choose from. The other option is to use [...] on your phone...