Excerpt from a Conversation with an Award-Winning Travel Writer
Snippet of a conversation overheard at a coffee shop between the publishing house editor (E), a beta reader (BR) and Alan Travel (AT), author of the new NYT best-selling guidebook: “The 73 Best Restaurants in Europe”.
E: …[our lawyers] can dispute some of the claims. Separately: did you have a book title in mind?
BR: Um, not really. Alan?
AT: Meh. Nothing sexy. Editor?
E: I like to go back to the purest origins. What did you do to before writing the book?
AT: I spent three months in Europe eating at its best restaurants.
E: How many restaurants did you eat at in total?
AT: About two hundred.
E: And how do you know if a restaurant is the best?
AT: It’s kind of up to me, isn’t it? That’s the whole deal here. I found most of the restaurants by doing research online, reading essays from the best food writers. I watched some Chef’s Table.
BR: Sorry, just to clarify - you visited places that other people thought were the best restaurants?
AT: And I whittled down the list from there.
E: Brilliant. Any ideas?
BR: Oh, uh, what about something like — My 73 Favorite Restaurants in Europe, Of 200 The Internet Recommended I Go To?
AT: Bleck. Ew. Nobody will read it. Not juicy enough.
E: Bone fucking dry. More juice, Beta?
BR: Um, okay, what about — My 73 Favorite Restaurants in Europe (Of 200)
AT: Why 200? Feels unnecessary.
BR: If we don’t say that, people might think you visited every restaurant in Europe.
E: My god, it’s true. Excellent work, Beta. Drop the 200.
BR: So, My 73 Favorite Restaurants in Europe?
AT: ‘My favorite’ sounds kind of weak. Is anyone actually picking that up in a bookstore?
BR: I dunno. But if you say something else, like ‘Best’, people might actually think this is a comprehensive list of the best restaurants in Europe judged on some universal criteria.
AT: So we have it, then.
BR: We have it?
E: Alan, would you do the honors?
AT: The 73 Best Restaurants in Europe.
* * *
Written in 2025.
* * *
E: …[our lawyers] can dispute some of the claims. Separately: did you have a book title in mind?
BR: Um, not really. Alan?
AT: Meh. Nothing sexy. Editor?
E: I like to go back to the purest origins. What did you do to before writing the book?
AT: I spent three months in Europe eating at its best restaurants.
E: How many restaurants did you eat at in total?
AT: About two hundred.
E: And how do you know if a restaurant is the best?
AT: It’s kind of up to me, isn’t it? That’s the whole deal here. I found most of the restaurants by doing research online, reading essays from the best food writers. I watched some Chef’s Table.
BR: Sorry, just to clarify - you visited places that other people thought were the best restaurants?
AT: And I whittled down the list from there.
E: Brilliant. Any ideas?
BR: Oh, uh, what about something like — My 73 Favorite Restaurants in Europe, Of 200 The Internet Recommended I Go To?
AT: Bleck. Ew. Nobody will read it. Not juicy enough.
E: Bone fucking dry. More juice, Beta?
BR: Um, okay, what about — My 73 Favorite Restaurants in Europe (Of 200)
AT: Why 200? Feels unnecessary.
BR: If we don’t say that, people might think you visited every restaurant in Europe.
E: My god, it’s true. Excellent work, Beta. Drop the 200.
BR: So, My 73 Favorite Restaurants in Europe?
AT: ‘My favorite’ sounds kind of weak. Is anyone actually picking that up in a bookstore?
BR: I dunno. But if you say something else, like ‘Best’, people might actually think this is a comprehensive list of the best restaurants in Europe judged on some universal criteria.
AT: So we have it, then.
BR: We have it?
E: Alan, would you do the honors?
AT: The 73 Best Restaurants in Europe.
* * *
Written in 2025.