I have some bad news to report this morning. The great New York Times – The uppity, uppity New York Times – is once again beating up on Chicago in its most popular Sunday edition. This last Sunday, The New York Times delivered to the world a special section entitled The Restaurant List. Twenty pages of what The New York Times declared are the 50 best restaurants in the United States, two of which are in Los Angeles and San Francisco, two each in Denver, Minneapolis, and Miami. Three best restaurants in Washington, DC. And, according to The New York Times, there are four best restaurants in New York. OK, OK, but, I’m wondering, how are the restaurants in Chicago stacking up? On The New York Times list, Chicago has one best restaurant, just one. Excuse me, please, but in the Oscars of the food world, Chicago chefs and restaurants have won more than 50 famous, highly-competitive James Beard Awards. Chicago is known around the world for its great chefs and restaurants. So, who’s testing restaurants for the New York Times list, and how is the testing being done? That 20-page special section in the Times answers neither one of those questions. So, I say it’s time for the New York Times to stop beating up on Chicago and to start shaping up its journalism.

Walter Jacobson gives his Perspective: