Restaurant magazine unveiled its Top 50 restaurants in the world yesterday and the big news: Chicago has two restaurants making the cut!  That's not bad since the list contains a total of eight U.S. restaurants. So the two restaurants are -- can you guess? -- Alinea, which ranks at No. 36, and Charlie Trotter's, which ranks at No. 30. OK, no surprises there, but we're sure Mr. Trotter is breathing a small sigh of relief about the order.

We're still curious: Do you think that Restaurant mag got it right? Which one is truly the better restaurant -- Trotter's or Alinea? Or better question: Are these lists even meaningful?

In case you're wondering: The No. 1 ranked restaurant? Well, The Trib's Phil Vettel has the full story here.

Compare Alinea to Trotter's? Come on. Anyone who is able to appreciate the art of dining at either of these venues can appreciate the fact that they can not be compared. As if you were to ask, compare the sounds of Jazz to Blues.

Both chefs are highly acclaimed. Trotter has perfected his style. To say that Chef Trotter is “breathing a sigh of relief” is insulting. Chef Trotter has been a dominating figure in the culinary world long before Chef Achatz picked up a wisk.

Chef Achatz has made his entrance to the gourmet world with great ambitions. His vision of the dining experience differs from many other chefs, which makes him stand out. Chef Achatz is very deserving of his acclaim, but don't insult him by comparing him to Chef Trotter either.

Stop comparing. They are completely different. And what about Chef Cantu? He not only started playing food before Chef Achatz, but has redeveloped how food is prepared. His many patents pending deserve to be numbered on this list.