Why We Can’t Stop Ranking Things

Ottawa loves a list. Top 10 patios. Best brunches. “Can’t-miss” burgers. Our feeds drip with them, each one promising authority, clarity, order in a messy dining world.

But lists aren’t about truth — they’re about comfort. A number on a page feels definitive, like someone has done the thinking for you. #1 is better than #2, case closed. Until you click another article and find the same restaurant at #17.

Rankings, though, are seductive. They make food feel like sports, like there’s a scoreboard somewhere keeping track. Restaurants chase the validation, diners chase the bragging rights. Everyone plays along, even when the rules are arbitrary.

The real trick of a list isn’t accuracy — it’s attention. Numbers spread faster than nuance. A carefully considered essay about a chef’s craft will get a polite nod; a numbered list of “Ottawa’s Hottest Right Now” will get bookmarked, argued over, reshared.

Maybe that’s why chefs roll their eyes in public but secretly scroll in private. Because even if lists don’t tell the truth, they tell a story. And in a city without many food voices, the story that wins is often just the one with the biggest headline font.