Zagat Survey

The following reviews are excerpts from Zagat Surveys, a series of regional dining and lodging guides based on extensive ratings and reviews contributed by restaurant-goers and frequent travelers. Ratings of rooms, service, dining and public facilities are based on the following scale: 0-9 poor to fair; 10-19 good to very good; 20-25 very good to excellent; 26-30 extraordinary to perfect. Cost figure reflects surveyor's estimate of the rate for a double room for one night.

The following reviews are excerpted from Zagat Surveys, a series of regional dining and lodging guides based on extensive ratings and reviews contributed by restaurant-goers and frequent travelers. Ratings of food, decor and service are based on the following scale: 0-9, poor to fair; 10-19, good to very good; 20-25, very good to excellent; 26-30, extraordinary to perfection. Price reflects surveyors' estimate of the price of a dinner, drink and tip.

Tired of being stuffed into narrow jets, deprived of food and herded like cattle, frequent fliers want one thing more than any other from airlines: improved comfort, according to this year's Zagat Airline Survey. Zagat, better known for its restaurant and hotel ratings, polled 9,394 frequent fliers, asking them to rank 46 carriers on the basis of comfort, service, on-time performance and food.

If the 2000 edition of the Zagat Survey is to be believed, there is some serious food being prepared in Ventura County. This is particularly so in the Conejo Valley, where a few restaurants are ranked alongside some of Los Angeles' top-scoring eateries. First, some background: Each year, restaurant-goers can complete a lengthy questionnaire for Zagat critiquing restaurants they have frequented.

Pascal and Morton's of Chicago drew the highest ratings among Orange County restaurants in the 1997 edition of the Zagat Survey, a guide that ranks restaurants nationwide. The highly respected guide, which each year offers bite-sized critiques of top eateries around the country, describes Pascal as offering everything to be found at a bona fide restaurant in France "minus the 11-hour flight."

Call it the people's-choice film guide. Zagat Survey, one of the most trusted names in the field of restaurant recommendations, has elbowed its way onto the shelf alongside Leslie Halliwell, Leonard Maltin and Roger Ebert. The esteemed surveyors have just produced their first "Zagat Survey Movie Guide: 1,000 Top Films of All Time."

The cost of a typical U.S. restaurant meal can vary widely by city. Here are some average prices for one dinner, one drink, tax and tip at restaurants reviewed by Zagat Survey critics: New York: $29.28 San Francisco: $25.55 Washington, D.C: $24.49 Los Angeles: $23.72 Chicago: $23.16 Boston: $21.83 Las Vegas: $20.80 Honolulu: $19.88 Atlanta: $19.41 Seattle: $18.97 New Orleans: $17.83 Dallas/Fort Worth: $17.34 Denver: $17.08 St. Louis: $16.71 Houston: $14.86 Kansas City: $14.

Zagat Survey, the publisher of the burgundy-colored restaurant guides, hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to find a possible buyer. Tim and Nina Zagat, who founded the closely held business as a hobby in 1979, said they also were considering partnerships or joint ventures. Zagat might fetch at least $200 million, the New York Times said.