Thumbs down on Zagat

In his food and wine columnist hat, the LAT's David Shaw has had it with the Zagat guide ratings for Los Angeles restaurants.

Zagat is enormously successful and enormously influential — a veritable bible for tourists, business travelers and local residents alike. But how can you trust "surveyors" — as Zagat calls its voters — who choose as the best restaurants in all of Greater Los Angeles some restaurants that aren't even the best in their own neighborhoods?

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My complaint is Zagat's tendency to ridiculously overrate many restaurants. This year it's worse than ever...

Shaw goes out and samples some of the restaurants rated highly in the new Zagat and comes back disappointed. In fairness, he does give Zagat L.A. editor Merrill Shindler a chance to explain how the ratings are done, and it's pretty lame. Shaw's Bottom line: use Zagat for phone numbers and addresses, but not for the rankings.