There’s a reason everyone loves holes-in-the-wall, Barber says.

Dan Barber:  Yeah overrated restaurants. I don’t know. I don’t know if I wanna pin someone on overrated restaurants. I mean I think all restaurants are overrated. That’s the problem. You know it’s like every restaurant that’s gotten great, you know, recommendation tends to come at it with a lot of exaggeration. And I don’t know if that . . . Is that my fault? Is it the public’s? Is that the eating public’s fault, or is it the media’s fault? I’m not really sure, but there’s something going on there that the expectation level is just too high and it’s always gonna disappoint. Which is why, you know, you hear . . . Nine times out of 10 you just hear, “I just like going to the informal place, you know, down the street. You know the place with the Mexican burrito and stuff.” Well of course you do because your expectation level is nothing, and it’s tasty food, and it meets the expectation, and it’s cheap. And it’s fun and informal and like, you know, it informs you and sustains you in a way that, you know, a big fancy restaurant can’t. So I don’t know. I find myself being disappointed by going out often, but I don’t know if it’s me just expecting a lot and then falling short. Or if it’s, you know, being played up before I get there? Recorded on: 2/11/08