Omnivore - Another example of foodie cultism?

An ongoing foodie dispute in our city compares two of its izakayas. Some think Shoya Izakaya in Doraville is best. Others prefer Miso Izakaya in the Old Fourth Ward.

The SoSoSouthern blog votes for the latter and recently compared specific dishes. The post starts this way:

Shoya Izakaya is all the rage right now. A lot of my chef and foodie friends are crazy about it. Stacey and I finally made it there last night. I can use one word for our visit.
Disappointed.

The way everyone has been raving I was looking for one of the best meals ever. Really, that’s been the reaction of everyone. Well, no one has said it’s the best meal they ever had, but everyone loves it. And these are food people, chefs mostly. Just goes to show ya. I don’t know what it goes to show ya, but it goes to show ya.

I’ve actually not visited Shoya myself, but I do wonder if this is another example of foodie cultism — not on par with, say, the Canonization of Peter Cheng and Jeff Varasano, but enough so to make me wonder. When I found Varasano’s pizzeria greatly overrated, I received lots of incredulous mail from other foodies, many of whom had become followers of Varasano during the days he was “perfecting” pizza at private parties.

I’m certainly not immune from foodie cultism. I’m just saying....