I’m not a foodie, and I don’t have a bunch of chef friends, but I’ve always been told that I’m good at picking restaurants. And honestly, the record is hard to argue with.

Being good at picking restaurants is like a badge of honor for someone who is culturally jewish.

What I’m really doing is a vibe check on whether the place seems to know what it is, and whether all the ways they show up agree about that. That’s narrative systems: how meaning holds across signals.

Coherent narratives build trust. When the narrative doesn’t hold together, no amount of polish compensates.