Editorial
The standards.
The whole brand is the bar. These are the ten rules that decide what does and does not show up on a list. We update them in public when we change them.
If it isn't a must, it isn't on the list.
Good is not enough. A must is something a thoughtful person would regret skipping. Most things are good. Few things are musts. We err on the side of cutting.
Every list is written by a local.
One curator per city. They live there. They have lived there. They eat there on Tuesdays, not just Saturdays. No parachute writers. No 48-hour assignments.
Every entry passes an editor.
Curators draft. Editors gate. We push back, ask for cuts, ask for proof, ask for conviction. Boring entries do not make it. Bad entries do not make it.
No paid placements. Ever.
We do not sell spots on lists. We do not accept comped meals or stays in exchange for inclusion. A business cannot pay, sponsor, or trade its way onto a list. Period.
No affiliate links inside list bodies.
We may use affiliate links in clearly marked travel-planning sidebars. We do not, and will not, place affiliate links inside the body of a Must. The list itself is editorial.
Disclose conflicts.
If a curator has any business relationship with a place, they disclose it and recuse themselves from that entry. The editor finds another curator or cuts the entry.
Living, not static.
A must can be downgraded. A must can be removed. When a chef leaves, when a building closes, when a place declines, the list updates. We date the last review.
Specific over general.
Not 'try the seafood'. The dish, the room, the time of day. We name. If we cannot name a specific thing, the entry does not exist yet.
We tell you what is hard, slow, or worth the queue.
If the line is real, we say so. If the seat is twenty seats, we say so. We do not pretend everything is convenient.
We never use AI to write a Must.
Lists are written by humans who have been in the room. Editors may use software for spell check, organization, or research. The judgment is always human.
When we get it wrong
Tell us. We update the list.
We will sometimes be wrong. A place will fall off. A staff change will gut a kitchen. A neighborhood will move on. When that happens, write to us. We will revisit the entry, and either defend it on record or pull it. Either way, we will date the change.