Have we reached peak food list yet? There’s no surer vehicle for clicks than lists, however Pavlovian they may feel when you’re the one clicking on them, and food media have taken to them with a vengeance, announcing the ten best burgers and the 11 sexiest pho joints and the 12 chicken ‘n’ waffles you must eat now to be a playah. I could certainly make a case that lists are edging more substantive food-related content out of the marketplace—”I’m gonna write about sexism in wine selling just as soon as I finish ranking Chicago’s ten hottest somms”—but I’d be a hypocrite for doing it because I write them too. Though I didn’t write the one that incited the most anger last week: Chicagoist’s list of the 12 best tacos in Chicago. If we’ve hit peak food list, it’s clear that we’ve hit peak skeptical commenter on food lists too.
Locally made lists certainly can be better, but it’s up to you to be a savvy reader and judge how much actual tasting rather than just googling went into the list. I only write about places I’ve really been to, and I use an assignment as an excuse to finally try some places I’ve been meaning to get to forever (Mabenka was really good), but any review represents a specific point in time and there’s no telling if my visit, which could have been in 2009, represents today accurately. But then there’s no telling if my visit last Tuesday does, either. Restaurants are ever-changing things.
