TRIPLE A ANNOUNCES ITS FUDDY-DUDDY AWARDS FOR 2001 By John Mariani As surely as the Mobil Guides come out with their always outdated five-star restaurant awards each year, the AAA has just announced its own Five Diamond Awards, which yet again prove the power of the hotel lobby. Scroll through the AAA list and you'll find scant recognition of the excellence of free-standing dining rooms, much less innovative ones. But stick a restaurant in a posh hotel, spend millions on its decor, and bring in corporate chefs who change every year or so, and you've got a winner, according to AAA. Not that I have any problem with praising many restaurants of the AAA list, including Mary Elaine's at The Phoenician (Scottsdale, AZ); Le Cirque 2000 in The Palace, NYC); The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton (San Francisco), and Picasso in Bellagio (Las Vegas).  The more expensive, the more extravagant the restaurant, it seems, the better. But of 51 restaurants so honored, only 5 free-standing restaurants in the entire U.S.--Seeger's in Atlanta, Charlies Trotter's in Chicago, L'Espalier in Boston, Aureole in NY, and Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia (all first-rate)--make the cut! Can one take a list seriously that does not recognize the excellence of free-standing restaurants like Bacchanalia in Atlanta, Spiaggia in Chicago, Tribute in Detroit, Alan Wong's in Honolulu, Tony's in Houston, Valentino in Santa Monica, Commander's Palace in New Orleans, Le Bernardin (among at least a dozen others in NY), The French Laundry in St. Helena, Gary Danko in San Francisco, and so many others? Of course, it counts heavily to be a stultifyingly fancy French restaurant to make the list. Of the 51--allowing for the vagaries of modern cuisines--I count more than half that are resolutely French; every New York restaurant chosen is French. Not a single Italian or other ethnic restaurant makes it, with the exception of the Marquesa (Pan-Mediterranean) in the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in AZ. Perhaps worst of all, how can you trust awards that are clearly based on outdated visits months before a change of chefs took place? There are new chefs at The Dining Room at The Ritz in Atlanta, Aureole in NY, and Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia, and Le Francais in Wheeling, ILL, was sold to new a new owner-chef months ago. Not to mention AAA's praise of restaurants whose putative chefs are rarely on the premises, e.g., Alain Ducasse and Jean-Georges (both NY). Will you dine well at the 51 restaurants honored by AAA? Absolutely. Is this a list of any significance whatsoever? Only if you believe the more expensive and pretentious a hotel dining room can possibly be the better it is. Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: jwdineline@aol.com Copyright © 1998 Inter Active Media Solutions. All Rights Reserved. The interactive components of this site require that you use a current browser version of Explorer; be sure to maximize your window out so you can see the entire page. This page was created by Inter Active Media Solutions.