Counter-offerings

In this month's Gourmet (a way less pretentious mag than it sounds), the big trend is going from the four-star snobbiness of white-gloved dining rooms to four star food at 1-star countertop settings. Many high-falutin' chefs are opening diner-ish counterparts to their well maniucred dining rooms. A new contributor, Anthony Bourdain, reminds us that "Restaurants are supposed to be about food - aren't they? They're supposed to be...well...fun." I like this guy already.

He mentions new crowded low-maintenance shops from France to Chicago, but none in Los Angeles. L.A. has some things going for it: The desire to enjoy luxury, in casual-ness. No one bats an eyelash when top chefs (like Wolfgang Puck) serve their dishes in grocery stores. I like that. I like that you can walk in a $200/person restaurant in jeans. It's about time this lack of pretentiousness has caught on in other cities. As long as other trends don't spread--I'd hate to see the average Chicagoan Botox their pits because they sweat a lot. Something like that needs to be contained here, don't you think?