Ground Rules (or are they?)

Rules are not made to be broken. Rules are made to be adhered to, they are made to provide a structure, an ethic, a framework. The rules of The Carpaccio Files are simple:
1) No Chains: Here is a perfect example of the ambiguity and classist nature of the rule. Clearly, this rule has never been followed. Nobu (http://www.noburestaurants.com/), with 24 locations worldwide ranging from Waikiki to Budapest, clearly qualifies as a chain. Yet Nobu 57 has been featured on these pages (I hope so, since I was at Nobu 57 last year). Roy's (http://www.roysrestaurant.com/), has multiple locations across eight states. I have been to Roy's in Kauai, San Francisco, New York, Tampa, Newport Beach, Calif, and Philadelphia. Where, I ask is the enforcement of this "rule?"

2) No revisits, except for quality control purposes: My boy Brian Murphy (http://twitter.com/knbrmurph) asked me a long time ago, "can you vouch?" meaning was I willing to use the credit of my good name. Therefore, if I'm going to recommend a place, it is my personal responsibility to make sure I'm vouching for quality, hence repeat visits to Fang (San Francisco), Bern's (Tampa), Oishii (Boston). I put my name on the line for these establishments.

3) If beef carpaccio is on the menu, it must be ordered:  Naturally. Why else name the blog carpaccio in the first place?


How, then, can we explain the constant violation of rule number 1? The simple answer must be "class." TGI Fridays is a chain, as is Houlihan's, Olive Garden and Nobu. The difference is that one (Nobu) is so spectacular and exclusive that it doesn't feel like a chain. The difference is clearly class based. Perhaps the rule should be revised to say no "bad chains." Or maybe I should just be consistent...