Man, we can tell how long we've been doing this by the number of Zagat posts we've amassed!

The 2008 edition is out: your nice alphabetical list of restaurants with a grade for food, decor and service, as rated by the users of Zagat. This year, it is going 2.0, with the introduction of such spiffy new things as colors, as in two of them, black and red! Post-it "love it" tags to customize your book! And a map (Tenderloin free, by the way) where you can locate the best restaurants. It's not a book; it's an interactive gastronomical personal planner.

The book mentions a few trends in the city: izakayas becoming the new small plate, or restaurants becoming eco-conscious, or even, as for the Cliff House, carbon neutral. (Oy.) One trend that is not mentioned is the whiny fuss by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, which denies health care for restaurant workers. Because organic, sustainable, locally sourced vegetables? It's good for you and the planet. But healthy bussers? That's class warfare! As the intro blurb states: in 2007, "new and established restaurateurs took even more initiative to do the right thing." If only!

The best places in the city according to Zagat? Same as last year, with Gary Danko, Boulevard, and the Slanted Door, all immovable in the top 3. Of the restaurants highlighted as newcomer in the previous edition, Ame, Coi and Range made it in the city's top food list this year. Congrats!