The criterion for inclusion or a star ranking is simple, according to Naret: "It's what's on the plate." It's not about the service, the scene, the ambience, just the cooking.
How curious, then, is the entry for Il Sole, one of the 263 distinguished restaurants that made the cut from the preselected 900 to be featured in the guide: "Il Sole teems with buzz, so if a sauce lacks pizazz, or a pastry is dry, no one seems to care."
As for the abysmal quality of the prose, Naret defended the book this way: "We are in the business of rating. We're just getting into the business of writing."
He wouldn't say anything further about who the inspectors were. I strongly suspect, though, that one of them lives in Brentwood. Otherwise, it's just too odd that a whopping 17 restaurants there are listed.
Conejo Valley is also a mini gastronomic wonderland, according to Michelin; listed restaurants include Cafe 14, Hampton's, Mandevilla, Onyx and Suki 7.
For whatever it's worth, Michelin Guide Los Angeles 2008 gives its one-star rating to 15 restaurants: Asanebo; Cut; the Dining Room at Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel & Spa; Joe's; La Botte; Matsuhisa; Mori Sushi; Ortolan; Patina; Providence; Saddle Peak Lodge; Sona; Tre Venezie; Valentino; and Water Grill. Three restaurants get two stars each: Melisse, Spago and Urasawa. No restaurant received the three-star rating.
I'm betting that Angelenos are too smart to care.
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brenner@latimes.com
Times staff writer Betty Hallock contributed to this report.
