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Comment by JohnFen | Hacker News Reader

The struggle is real, although the problem of gems getting ruined because they became too popular existed well before AI (or even the internet). The internet (and probably AI) just compress the timelines.

I learned to deal with this by internalizing that any truly fantastic place is only temporary so I should enjoy it during the relatively short time it's fantastic. Once it gets beyond a certain level of popularity, it either degrades to a point where it's no longer exceptional, or it becomes too difficult to actually get into anymore.

In my town, there are a handful of truly exceptional restauranteurs who struggle with the very same issue. What they've taken to doing is starting exceptional restaurants and running them for a couple of years, then shutting them down and starting anew with different ones with different food styles in different locations.

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How do they get the words out to the locals when they move place? Or from a different perspective, how does a local learn which new restaurants are truly exceptional? Do people constantly try new ones that just pop up?

I find myself living in the same town in years without finding a single restaurant that I can call "truly exceptional". They range from "I'd rather eat cup noodle", to "the food is worth the money". I don't know if I'm just unlucky, or if I lack some sort of culinary detective skill.

> How do they get the words out to the locals when they move place?

These particular restauranteurs are effectively local rock stars, and they have a fan base that keeps track of what they're up to. That fan base then tells other locals.

> Do people constantly try new ones that just pop up?

Lots of people do this as well. Any non-chain restaurant that opens up has very busy first weeks as everyone who cares gives it a try.

> I find myself living in the same town in years without finding a single restaurant that I can call "truly exceptional".

Yes, I'm fortunate in that the town I live in (which is a smallish mid-size city, not a big one) values exceptional dining as part of the culture, so people who enjoy making exceptional food are attracted here. Not all cities are like this.

I love how you make sure not to mention the city name, so that not too many people will suddenly show up

lol! That's not why. I just prefer to not to be too revealing about personal information on the internet.

That sounds like a really lively local culture! Hopefully, I'll get to experience something like this in the future.

We have a thriving live music and live theater scene, too. Everything took a very serious hit with the pandemic, though, and it isn't what it was before. But it's coming back.

> how does a local learn which new restaurants are truly exceptional?

Do you really live in a small town?

In my experience, someone goes there, then tells other people. The news spreads in like weeks in small towns. It is known weeks in advance if a new place will open.

There is zero chance an exceptional restaurant would evade my discovery. I can name almost all about twenty resturants that operate in total. Of which 2 are 'exceptional'.

People just tell me without me asking.

Edit: By 'name' I also meant 'the place by X'.

> The struggle is real, although the problem of gems getting ruined because they became too popular existed well before AI

Every single human being for all of human history who has thought that something got ruined by becoming popular they themselves "ruined" that thing for someone who came before them.

I think things have accelerated over the last decade or two with the computer always connected to the internet that we call a phone and the advent of _influencer_ and algos that pray on people's FOMO. Not only food places are getting the treatment.

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