First of all, the very sad news of Judy Rogers’s death.  Chef Rogers ran Zuni in SF; one of my favorite restaurants on the planet.  Versatile, simple in the best sense, a good and convivial room, and delicious ingredients.  57.  Yikes.

Then we have all the Michelin stars in Tokyo announced last night.  I kind of get it and I kind of don’t.  Why does “Sense,” a Chinese restaurant, get one star when “Signature,” in the same hotel, which is a great French place, get none?  Why do raw fish restaurants get any stars at all?   It’s raw.  It’s fish.  It’s delicious.  So what?

Locally, my song to “Giulia” in Cambridge continues.  I just hope that my love for a place doesn’t kill it.  That’s what has happened to many places I loved in Boston; I like good, simple food prepared with high end ingredients rather than bars that happen to sell food that are run by people who buy cheap cuts of meat and put tons of stuff on them.

Which leads to the horizon: Locanda Verde, Betony, Rotisserie Georgette, Esca, Perla, and Second Avenue Deli.  Now we’re talking.