Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I don't see how anybody's feelings about Plotnicki personally have anything to do with the validity of the guide. The guide's ratings are not based on his own opinions of the places included. If people don't like him, that's their business - but it's important to separate out the guide from the man. I'm sure some people hate Tim and Nina Zagat too, but that really doesn't have anything to do with their guide. If a restaurant in Chicago (or elsewhere) didn't make the cut - it's because it didn't. To take that personally or to somehow link that with Plotnicki's personality is just silly.