Noma is the best restaurant in the world, again

Just as it was in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014, Copenhagen’s Noma is yet again the best restaurant in the world. That’s according to the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards, announced this week with great fanfare. As might be expected from a group of judges who have selected the same winner five times, this year’s picks have drawn familiar criticisms: Winners tend to skew heavily European, incredibly expensive, and male. Apparently, it’s a small world, after all, with restaurants in Asia, Latin America, and Africa hardly registering. That’s in spite of changes in the voting process that were meant to level the playing field, like ensuring gender parity in the 1,000-person voting committee and disqualifying previous top-ranked restaurants from winning again. Noma was able to reclaim victory on a technicality, The Guardian reported, because the new Noma changed both its address and concept in 2016. If you’re rolling your eyes at the entire universe of fine dining (and you’re definitely not alone), might we recommend this refreshing piece from New York Mag’s Adam Platt questioning the relevance of the white tablecloth?