I personally tend to agree more with Amanda Hesser's definition of a four star restaurant more than Frank Bruni's. A little appreciated section of her review of Masa was Amanda's definition: "No matter how exquisite its food, a three-star restaurant does not have this power to transport you. What elevates a restaurant to four stars is the intangible delight occasioned by a chef's meticulously fashioned vision. At El Bulli in Spain, one of the top restaurants in the world, the room is casual, but the sense that you are on Ferran Adrià's planet, eating Ferran Adrià's creations never escapes you. The same sense pervades Mr. Takayama's sushi bar, where diners are cast under his spell. But it is missing from the tables. " When you go to a four star restaurant, you see this totality of a chef's vision that you don't see otherwise. This is why Babbo is not a four star restaurant. Beyond the fact theat Babbo's decor and the such are not appropriate for a four-star restaurant , when you go to Babbo, you are not transported. Babbo is a great three-star, but not a four-star. This is similarly why Bouley is a four-star restaurant. Apparently, many have had bad meals at Bouley. However, even at those "bad meals", David Bouley's vision shines through. There is something about the entire milieu that is differant; there is a unique gestalt about them., that pervades every pore of the restaurant. A four-star is more than a restaurant with great decor, great food and great service. They have emotion behind these qualities.
