During his time as a restaurant critic for The Times, Pete Wells has become both feared and revered in the world of dining — crowning those at the top and dethroning those whose time has passed.

But when the pandemic arrived, handing out stars to fancy restaurants made no sense anymore. A fundamental change was needed.

Guest: Pete Wells, a restaurant critic for The New York Times. 

Background reading: 

• For the return of The Times’s star ratings this year, Pete Wells visited La Piraña Lechonera, a weekend party in a Bronx trailer where one man serves up the rich flavors of Puerto Rico.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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