John Lethlean and Necia Wilden clearly had plenty of criticism about the predominance of Sydney and Melbourne restaurants in their Top 50 List published in The Australianon 5 September. Hence the follow-up piece, with the headline "When it comes to superior cuisine, money counts", that appeared this weekend to explain the choices. "The letters to the editor were predictable, if understandable, accusations of bias," they concede. "In fact 25 of the restaurants in our A-list were in NSW and a further 13 in Victoria." The question they try and answer in this latest article is: But why is the lion's share of this nation's restaurant talent confined to a relatively small though populous corner of thecontinent? Their conclusion is that it is all about money. Smaller cities simply do not have enough eaters prepared to pay $200 or more for a meal. They argue:

"By our reckoning, a great restaurant, beyond delivering the obvious trifecta of first-rate food, atmosphere and service, is one with a strong and palpable sense of identity, where the good attitude of the owners and staff imbues every aspect of the experience and where a sense of fun and light-heartedness is not forgotten in the rush to create a serious gastronomic experience. Is it that surprising, after all, that the lion's share of great restaurants is in our most populous and affluent cities? When you visit the US, do you expect to find as good restaurants in Boise, Idaho, as in New York? In England, would you expect to find more Michelin-starred restaurants in Liverpool or London? It's time to catch up with reality. Australia, like everywhere else, isn't a level playing field. Or should that be dining table?"

On the Lethlean/Wilden thesis, visitors to Europe would expect to find most of the 3 Star Michelin restaurants in the continent's capitals but that is not, in fact, the case as these tables show:

On my count, of the 55 restaurants in Europe that have been awarded three stars by Michelin, only 12 are in capital cities. Quality thrives in the provinces in Europe but not, so our experts tell us, in Australia.