Restaurant Rankings

For each category, we use a 5-scale of icons, but a more detailed description is provided here.  Note that we value food first, service second, and ambience, a distant third.  Older reviews use only text descriptions, on account of being translated by monks from the original latin.

This is the Overall Quality Ranking.

1 Egg.     Poor.  Skip it. Chew on your hand instead.
2 Eggs.   Okay.  Passable.  You won’t program your GPS to the destination, but you won’t object if  your friends want to come back.
3 Eggs.   Good.  Well, good. Depending on other factors, you would consider coming repeatedly.
4 Eggs.   Excellent.  You wish you had your own table there.
5 Eggs.   Outstanding.  It becomes difficult to think of how they might have improved things.

This is somewhat intuitive but also a matter of perspective.

1 Treasure Chest.    So cheap it is silly.  This is largely limited to countries with weak currencies.
2 Treasure Chests.  Inexpensive.  An easy lunch or dinner any night of the week.
3 Treasure Chests.  Moderate.  An example would be a modestly priced bistro.  Fine for an occasional outing.
4 Treasure Chests.  Expensive.  You'll think twice about going here.  Unless it is fabulous food, you might not be getting value for money.
5 Treasure Chests.  Ouch!  Try to get somebody else to pay for this.

Gluten-Free Menu Options: What variety awaits the GF eater?

1 Menu.    Very Restricted.  Visit this restaurant often if you enjoy eating the same dish frequently.
2 Menus.  Somewhat Restricted.  You would come here on occasion, but the menu is still restricted.
3 Menus.  Reasonable.  There is enough variety that you would consider coming here repeatedly, assuming the quality was also good.
4 Menus.  Good.  There is good variety. It would be fairly easy to come here and choose something you were in the mood for.
5 Menus.  Absolutely Unrestricted.  This restaurant is entirely gluten free.

Gluten Free Diner Comfort ranking: Does the GF eater feel secure?

1 Smiley.  Terrified.  You sense the staff have never heard of the issue or they are clearly dismissive or uninterested.
2 Smilies.  Anxious.  The knowledge or apparent attitude of the staff, or obvious errors, make this a place you would come to only if there was no other choice.
3 Smilies.  Cautiously Comfortable.  You feel that with the right questions and a willingness to clarify any questionable food items, you are unlikely to anger your gut.
4 Smilies.  Comfortable.  As always, you ask questions about a dish before you order and dive in, but you feel the restaurant staff get it.
5 Smilies.  As Relaxed As It Gets.  This restaurant gets it. You mention the issue and they start indicating which items are safe and which are a hazard. They indicate they can alter sauces or substitute.