New York Magazine released its Cheap Eats issue this week, complete with a specific five-star system unique to the Cheap Eats list. The stars are explained as follows:

To the usual system of measures, we’re adding another, one we call the FWII Factor (For What It Is). Hereby, a frank is judged on its own terms, not against a USDA prime T-bone. Pizza can achieve perfection, and on our list, it has—twice. The FWII Factor recognizes that all food—even the cheapest—is capable of greatness.

Five stars is categorical perfection—the best in its class. (There’s no five-star hot-dog stand, but we’re still looking.) Four stars is reliably, consistently excellent. Three means you can be assured of a generally delicious meal. Two means very good all-around, and one, although not an endorsement of everything on the menu, is a reflection of a particular strength or point of interest. It’s a place that’s well worth visiting, that improves New York’s culinary landscape, and that deserves recognition. For what it is.

Amed with their new criteria, which we like, we hit the list. It seems fine at first glance, but then we took a closer look. Momofuku -- yep, 'ino and 'inoteca -- not too bad if you lay off the wine, Bánh Mì Saigon Bakery -- hell, yeah, Lupa. Lupa? Since when is Lupa cheap? We went back to read the fine print:

For the purposes of our monthly “Underground Gourmet” column and this “Cheap Eats” issue, we mostly limit ourselves to restaurants where entrée prices seldom exceed $20. On rare occasions, we make allowances for the compulsory splurge—or bottom-feed at the lower end of a pricier menu. But even the most literal-minded penny-pincher must agree that in this town, cheap is a relative term.

That seems like a bit of a cop out to us. It would be fairly easy to replace the high-end eats on the list with cheap eats that would meet a more commonly accepted definition of "cheap," or at the very least, to keep the cutoff consistent throughout. We do like the top 5 new cheap eats of the year (yay, Fatty Crab!), and the breakout lists for top 5 pizza, burgers, prix fixe and brunch. What would you add to the list?