With the release of the new Mobil Guide, the current _cause celebre_ here in ol' St. Lou is the demotion from 5 to 4 stars of the community's favorite son, Tony's, and a similar demotion from 4 to 3 of two other high-end Italian places. I have numerous questions for the group. For those of you on the proprietor's side, how do you view the Mobil Guide? If you're listed, does it have a tangible effect on your business? (I doubt anyone will want to address this other than anon.penet, but does something like 5 v. 4 stars allow for higher pricing?) And for the plain old gourmet (and gourmand) foodies, does anyone use the Mobil Guide to determine where to eat out (either at home or when travelling)? I've usually viewed it and several other of the ratings systems as overly institutionalized -- at least here in St. Louis, it seems like new restaurants never get high star ratings (which is actually embedded in some of the criteria, I think). And from both an economic and and everyman perspective, I would guess that it's much more important to maintain a healthy and interesting middle-tier of restaurants than to have 1-3 so-called "five star" places in your metropolitan area. Anyone have anything on this (or other) subjects to contribute to this discussion? joe bonwich restaurant writer the riverfront times st. louis [email removed]
St. Louis, MO