Ratings Explanation

= Excellent
= Very good
= OK
= Not great
= Nasty

I have just published my 150th post, and I thought that it might be time for a better explanation of my rating system.  Now that I've been using it more, I think I understand it better now myself.

First of all, this is an entirely subjective rating.  I have zero experience or training in rating anything, but I have my opinions, and these ratings are entirely my own.  I have disagreed with many people as to my ratings, but that's fine by me.  If you disagree, feel free to leave a comment.  As long as comments are respectful I have no issue with someone noting a disagreement.

As I have ruminated on what exactly goes into the ratings themselves, I have realized that the primary factor is this:  How excited am I at the thought of returning to eat at this restaurant?  Of course this combines several factors including how good the food was, how expensive it was, the relative quality of the food to its location (i.e. "good" Chinese food in Yokosuka might be terrible in China).  But all of those variables can be summed up in the answer to that one question.

If I am extremely pleased and excited to return, it would get an "Excellent".  A really good place that I look forward to coming back to gets a "Very Good".  A place that was so-so and I wouldn't mind going back to, but probably wouldn't go out of my way for, it gets an "OK".  A place that I didn't enjoy much and would probably avoid given a choice would get a "Not Great", though I might go back there again if I was with friends who wanted to go.  Lastly, a "Nasty" is reserved for places I loathe, wouldn't go back to even if begged to, and actively encourage other people to avoid. 

Hopefully this clarifies for anyone wondering what my thought process is behind the ratings I use here.