How Good Is Your Food?

There's a new annual survey and list of U.S. restaurants and food service businesses – fast casual, fine dining, food service and more – that will be used to educate eaters and celebrate restaurants for their good practices.

The objective of Good Food 100, according to food industry veteran and founder Sara Brito, is to move the restaurant industry forward and laud eateries that are active in their efforts to build a better food system by supporting state, regional, and national good food economies.

"Good food is more than just taste,” Brito says. “Eaters look to ratings, lists and awards to help navigate the proliferation of food choices. Good Food 100 Restaurants is a game changer, shifting away from recognition based on opaque standards and subjective criteria, to recognition based on objective standards and transparent criteria defined by economic impact.” 

Data collected will be used to quantify restaurants on a link rating system of 2 to 5, based on percent of total food costs spent to support state, regional and national ‘good food’ producers and purveyors.   

“Chefs are no longer just cooks," added Brito. "They are trusted authorities and advocates who have the power to educate and catalyze change among not only their colleagues, but the general public as well.”  

The big questions are whether consumers will actually understand the rating system, and how the rankings and data fit in with other popular tools like Zagat and Yelp – and whether we have the time and energy to use it.