Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

i am a numbers person, so those appeal more to me. i like the idea of breaking out a dining experience into categories, such as: atmosphere (10), service (10), value (10), food (20), giving food more of a weight noting it's importance. this way, the readers have an idea as to why a restaurant received the rating it did.

2 things...1. peanut butter cookie dough (in a bag), make one big cookie, top with nutella. 2. waffles.

I don't have a strong preference for letter grades vs. stars vs. numeric scores... as long as you understand the value of the rating, it's pretty much same-same to me. Being able to use plus or minus does allow for nuance, which is helpful. But the 14 possible ratings aren't much different than Zagat's 30 point scale (which in reality is more like a 14-29 scale).

But I do very strongly agree with the idea of "context" -- i.e., comparing an A+ dive to a B- haute cuisine? Their scores are relative.

Perfect real-life example: Out here in So California, the Zagat for In-N-Out chain is a 24 for food, while Morton's and Ruth's Chris are both rated 25 for food. Clearly, comparing an above-average fine-dining-type steak house to even the country's best drive-thru fast food joint, is like comparing saltines to artisanal bread. (Similarly, in NYC, Gray's Papaya at 20 vs. Nick & Stef's at 22 may be accurate, but in wholly different contexts.)

I've always wanted to see at least two levels of categorization, and ideally three or four... it's alway been my one huge peeve with Zagat, especially when you're in an unfamiliar area, and have no real way of being sure what kind of eatery you're in for.

Ed - I like your alpha-rating system for one simple reason - NYC is "starred" out - just completely starred out - TONY, NYM, NYT, RG, etc ad naseum. If you had chosen to go with stars I think you would have created dis-interest from the outset.

I also think that the alpha-system allows you to go into more areas of the eating/dining experience...
Food A
Bun C
Burger A
Seating D
Decor B
Service A
etc, etc

Good luck - I look forward to your reviews - have always loved to read your take.

Michael Chiarello doesn't even use a knife to chop his garlic anymore. Is the gadget he uses from Pampered Chef????? I really like Tyler and was not thrilled to see him shilling for A. What is so appealing about Guy Fieri that he has multiple shows on FN? What's with his pants? My hair is on fire!!!!

Here is why Guy Fieri won Next Food Network Star he is friends with Michael Chiarello. If you watch Entertaining with Michael (and I been watching him for years) you would have seen Guy years prior to him ever showing his Biker Guy cooks with jewelery act. I did.
His restaurants serve regular american food
http://www.johnnygarlics.com/
http://www.texwasabis.com/

As for Tyler I still love him. He has mouths to feed same as anyone else.
If he wants to sell himself to the masses who are we to deny him.
Food snobs that is who.

Guy Fieri restaurants all seem like chain restaurants in the making (with names like Johnny Garlic's and Tex Wasabi's ) so the TGIF spokesrole is hardly a shock...