Austin Burgess

Austin Burgess is co-founder and CEO of Pearl, with Emmett Haley. He signs the comparative calls: which room at a given tier is worth the rate, because he has been in enough of them to know.

The record on Pearl runs to 48 US states, 18 countries and 161 cities: 608 restaurants, 139 Michelin stars, 154 wineries, 124 bars, and 113 places on World's 50 Best lists. The wine is on the ground in Piedmont, Tuscany, Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux, and in Napa, Sonoma, Willamette and Santa Barbara. He collects seriously. On a $400 by-the-glass list, the question is which bottle is worth the pour, and which producer is paying for the placement.

Before Pearl, he was a rocket scientist, then a product leader. He studied aerospace engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, with a minor in computer science and AI, was inducted into Sigma Gamma Tau, and led a senior design team recognized by Gulfstream. He writes from San Francisco.

Pearl's curators publish their maps, and that breadth lets a three-star note sit against its real peers. Austin's job is to keep the comparison honest: a room against its peers, at its price, or the note does not run.