Alinea is the 10th best restaurant in the world, according to S. Pellegrino's annual 50 best list. No surprise there, most foodists would say. But Charlie Trotter's, which ranked 38th last year, doesn't make the cut this year. No surprise there, either, others say.

Taking the top spot: El Bulli in Spain. In second place: Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck (apparently that little norovirus episode didn't hurt much).

Meanwhile, TimeOut Chicago explains why we should all take this list and others like it with a grain of salt.