The sameness of these places, the predictable feel, the lack of a true sense of place (they are all aesthetics) means the movement was never true. Sean Brock will survive because he’s a great chef. His food means something.

The same thing, essentially, happened to boutique hotels. You could go to a “boutique hotel” anywhere in the world and see the same design and the same tribes of people doing the same things drinking the same cocktails. And you would find artfully arranged green apples on the tables on every floor of every hotel…