Critics' Choice

The 25 Greatest Restaurants in America

This is it, Gastronomes! This is the only restaurant guide you'll need this year. This is the guides' guide, the critics' choice, the chefs' secret. The last word. Let us explain:

Although Americans now spend 87 billion dollars at 320,000 eateries each year, great confusion abounds--even among food experts--about the top spots. In France, of course, most diners abide by the rankings of the famous Guide Michelin or Le Nouveau Guide. But until now, there has not been a definitive authority on American dining. Our local guides are too, well, local. The national travel books rarely rank restaurants. There are plenty of restaurant awards, but few of them impress gourmets. And the gourmet magazines, with few exceptions, review only their advertisers.

As a result, it's not easy to find the best restaurants this land has to offer. Greatness, clearly, is part of the problem: A thorough dining survey here might take years and a small army of inspectors.

But Playboy wanted the survey. So we recruited an army--120 of the world's most formidable food authorities: the finest chefs, the most respected restaurant critics, successful restaurant owners, wine experts, cookbook authors, knowledgeable amateurs and the hospitality industry's elder statesmen. In general, the folks who actually know and regularly visit America's best restaurants, including cookbook king James Beard, famed French chefs Paul Bocuse and Jean Troisgros, New York Times food editor Craig Claiborne and--to eliminate any regional bias--experts from more than two dozen cities. (True, we missed a few. For example, New Orleans' controversial restaurant writer Richard Collin thought the whole idea was a terrible one. TV's French Chef, Julia Child, liked the idea--but not Playboy.)

Each was asked: "What are your five favorite restaurants in America, in order of preference, without regard to price or location?" We asked for their favorites, rather than the "best," because not everyone felt qualified to pass judgment on the best--or even to define the word. But almost everyone, with a bit of thought, had favorites. And by asking the best judges their favorites, we figured we'd get the top restaurants. To be sure, we got a few quirky replies. But with about 600 nominations in the survey, a single choice--or even ten--doesn't count too much. For that reason, we let restaurateurs vote for their own restaurants (about 65 percent did).

The quest in all this, of course, is a consensus of our experts' opinions--an authoritative ranking of America's best restaurants. How do we do it? Alas, we discovered, there is no single right way to calculate a consensus. In fact, according to "The Impossibility Theorem" by Nobel Prize-winning economist Kenneth Arrow, all voting systems have flaws.

But after consulting Arrow, and various mathematicians, we opted for a voting method that considers both a restaurant's frequency of mention and its position of choice. Most important is how many experts name the place; but there's also a small bonus if a restaurant places well on a given expert's list. That way, ten fifth places count for more than a few first places. And a few epicures cannot vote to propel an unpopular restaurant to the top of the heap. The winners, generally, are broadly favored.

What follows, then, are the greatest restaurants in America, as near as ballots and 120 talented tongues can discern. Obviously, not every result will please every critic. And, clearly, older establishments (such as New York's "21" Club) will have an edge over new and less familiar spots (such as Los Angeles' L'Orangerie). French food seems to dominate, but not completely. Many of America's best chefs still hail from France. And big cities, such as New York, are blessed, because that's where the money and the customers are.

Speaking of money, none of these restaurants is cheap. Barring a collapse of the dollar since presstime, you should plan to spend at least $100 to $200 for two at dinner, depending on your lust for liquor and lobster. There are exceptions: The Palace will cost you closer to $400 for two. Chez Panisse, Jack's Restaurant and The Mandarin should certainly cost you $75 or less; Trattoria da Alfredo, $50 or less, including everything. Most of these spots take one sort of credit card or another, except for Chez Panisse, Trattoria da Alfredo, Jack's and Le Bee-Fin. Jeans and casual dress are OK at Chez Panisse, The Mandarin and Trattoria da Alfredo. Elsewhere, dress for church. Reservations, by the way, are essential just about everywhere.

1. Lutece--249 East 50th Street, New York, New York (212-752-2225). In the collective opinion of Playboy's gourmet panel, André Soltner's Lutèce is the top restaurant in America. Named after the an cient name for Paris, it's located in an elegant Manhattan brownstone. Paul Bocuse, France's most celebrated chef, considers it his Stateside favorite. Jean Troisgros, one of Bocuse's few French culinary peers, sent his son there to work. Burton Wolf, co-author of Where to Eat in America, thinks "Lutèce is the closest to classic French cooking." Food critics Gael Greene and Seymour Britchky, not to mention former White House chef Réné Verdon, love it.

Indeed, so many of the food experts we polled mentioned Lutèce among their five favorites that it virtually sautéed the competition, handily topping the score of the first runner-up, Wheeling, Illinois' Le Français.

OK, you say, what makes this place so good? Five things, basically:

Skill: A great restaurant--a world-class restaurant--stands or falls on its food. At 47, André Soltner is not merely skillful; he's a culinary athlete in his prime. In all of America, in the entire 87-billion-dollar restaurant industry, there are probably no more than a dozen chefs in his league.

Now, it's more or less true that great chefs are born, not made, and Soltner was born in the Alsatian town of Thann. Alsace, of course, borders Germany. And Alsatian chefs are said to combine French creativity with German discipline. Anyway, that's what Alsatians say.

By the time a suave cosmetics heir named André Surmain decided to open Lutèce at his New York town house in 1961, Soltner had spent more than a dozen years behind various stoves. He was an accomplished baker. His sauces were like satin. He could roast perfectly. He understood fish. He was one of France's finest young chefs and head chef at Paris' popular Chez Hansi.

Surmain brought Soltner to New York. He paid him just $95 a week, but Soltner stole the show. He made America's lightest puff pastry and filled it with poached oysters and crab. He served definitive snails, each one baked in a tiny clay crock. He tamed a trite beef Wellington and turned it into a magnificent individual filet mignon en croÛte. By 1965, Soltner owned 30 percent of Lutèce. In 1972, he bought out his boss.

Creativity: Monsieur Soltner is a restless chef, which works well for the customer. The savory snails and beef that made him famous are still on the menu, but the daily specials feature more and more of the lighter nouvelle cuisine. One day, you discover, there's striped bass poached in seaweed. Or a breath-takingly light, warm sweetbread salad. Or sea urchins, simmered and served in their shells. All right: The salmon appetizer comes in a cream sauce. This isn't Weight Watchers.

Quality: None of this, of course, would work if the food were second-rate. Lutèce's wonderful roast duck comes with fruits de saison. During peach season, it's peaches. When the fresh raspberries come in, it's duck with raspberries. Even the lemons served with tea are perfect--the most intensely fragrant lemons my nose knows.

Service: The service at Lutèce is egalitarian; newcomers do not get the cold shoulder, Anyone who can afford to spend $100 on a dinner for two is a valued customer. Come back four times and you're an old friend.

The staff numbers 35, including chef de cuisine Christian Bertrand, eight waiters, two bus boys and three captains. They are uniformly polite and attentive. The captains are remarkably familiar with the 20,000-bottle collection of fine French wines, from the ten-dollar muscadet to the $800 Château Lafite-Rothschild 1890. On many nights, Soltner solicits the food orders himself.

Atmosphere: Horn & Hardart, the automat folks, used to advertise that "you can't eat atmosphere." And that's true. But there's nothing wrong with the ambience at Lutèce. As you walk into the narrow town house, there's a little bar. Nearby, Madame Soltner presides over the reservation list. Farther in, past the bustling kitchen, a few large, quiet tables are nestled. Beyond them, a bright garden room offers slate floors, wicker chairs, trellises and a huge skylight. Upstairs, the rooms are furnished like private dining chambers: thick carpeting, period furniture, long curtains. Both floors hold only about 80 diners.

Lutèce serves dinner Monday through Saturday, lunch Tuesday through Friday. It's closed Saturdays in June and July. The prix fixe luncheon costs $18. Dinner diners should plan to spend at least $100 for two, with main courses alone ranging between $16.50 and $18. During August, the restaurant closes for several weeks. During winter, Soltner, who hates heat, likes to get away from the stove for a week of skiing.

2. Le Francais--269 South Milwaukee Avenue, Wheeling, Illinois (312-541-7470). From the outside, this looks like your average Maison de la Sunday Dinner suburban French restaurant. But inside, there's a plush dining room, slick service and the genius of a chef even other chefs consider a genius. The chef (and owner) is Jean Banchet. He makes a lobster sausage that's worth dying for. The intensity of his soups and sauces borders on psychedelic. Even the mixed pâté appetizer boasts eight spreads--everything from simple pork to mousse of goose. Always, it seems, there are a dozen specials. And the waiter won't just recite them; he'll show them to you: tender roast pheasant on a bed of honey-sweet crisp cabbage. Dover sole and lobster mousse en croÛte. Can't decide? Try the stuffed-veal and stuffed-capon combination plate. But save room for the homemade sorbets, because if there's any problem with the food here it's one of excess. Trained in superchef Paul Bocuse's kitchen, Banchet (we're proud to say) first came to America to cook for the Playboy Resort at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Today, he's surely the rising star of American dining. And he's only 39. Altogether, Le Français is well worth the hour's drive from Chicago.

3. The Four Seasons--99 East 52nd Street, New York, New York (212-754-9494). This is a vast, dramatic place and the best large restaurant in America. Its design, by Philip Johnson, includes a famous bubbling pool and three-story windows alive with shimmering metallic curtains. The cuisine is usually as impressive as the decor: The kitchen turns out a definitive rack of lamb and splendid roast duck. At lunch, New York's power brokers dine here, in season on the hot pheasant salad or the equally excellent wilted spinach and bacon. The wine cellar is stocked with an impressive collection of American vintages, some of them under ten dollars at presstime. The menu changes four times a year, hence the name. The decline apparent here a few years ago has been reversed; partners Tom Margittai and Paul Kovi deserve a lot of credit.

4. L'Ermitage--730 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, California (213-652-5840). Inside L'Ermitage, freeway Los Angeles disappears. Spacious parlor rooms boast huge tables and an abundance of sterling, crystal and fresh flowers. Chef-owner Jean Bertranou has made the most of the Pacific Coast's natural bounty: The moist and utterly greaseless salmon is smoked right at the restaurant. Puff pastry comes stuffed with poached sea urchin. Fresh squab are filled with chopped veal and mushrooms. Local fruits are transformed into intense sorbets. The service is properly attentive. The wine list is expensive and mostly French. Unfortunately, Bertranou is ill and hospitalized as we go to press; his staff and associates seem to be doing a creditable job without him.

5. La Caravelle--33 West 55th Street, New York, New York (212-586-4252). Now almost 20 years old, this is the classic "New York French restaurant"--red upholstery, tightly packed tables, pastel murals, crystal etched with a tiny caravel. Chef Roger Fessaguet has been president of the professional chefs' association here and his kitchen still turns out solid standards: snails, pâté, mussel soup, roast duck in a creamy pepper sauce, fine Channel sole, feather-light quenelles (pike dumplings), plus daily specials. The staff tries to please, but, frankly, sometimes the place seems a bit noisy and harried. A dish now and then will fail. It's still a fine restaurant; be sure to order a dessert soufflé early in your meal.

6. Le Perroquet--70 East Walton Street, Chicago, Illinois (312-944-7990). Owner Jovan Trboyevic is the grand admiral of Chicago restaurateurs; you get to his third-floor flagship by private elevator. The dining room is bright and cheerful. The service is polished. The food is clever, much of it faultless. The salmon mousse is rich and light. Le Perroquet serves silky lobster bisque. It imports fine smoked salmon. The entrees are interesting: poached baby lamb, delicate pink slivers of roast veal, luscious duck. OK: On one visit, the lotte in sea-urchin sauce was a bit too salty. The preserved goose seemed a touch dry. This is a serious restaurant, folks. It takes chances. It's worth visiting.

7. Chez Panisse--1517 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California (415-548-5525). In a residential district just off the Berkeley campus, chef Alice Waters has been polishing her version of what you might call hippie haute cuisine since 1972. The house is a simple wood-accented affair; the food is fantastic. Downstairs, she serves a lavish five-course feast (set price: $15-$18.50). A typical menu might start with black caviar. Then comes homemade buckwheat noodles in a creamy goat-cheese sauce. The main dish is charcoal-broiled marinated duck, with grilled tomatoes and rosemary baked potatoes. Plus green salad and fruit. Miss Waters has been known to recreate famous feasts from the past. And there is an annual garlic festival. Upstairs, this summer, Panisse plans to operate a bistro.

8. The Coach House--110 Waverly Place, New York, New York (212-777-0303). Set in a Greenwich Village town house, with leather chairs and walls crowded with paintings, this place has developed a reputation for great American food, though the menu boasts such American dishes as escargots de Bourgogne and veal piccate à la Française. Maybe it's the American chicken pie. The Coach House turns out consistently fine black-bean soup, roast beef and rack of lamb. The striped bass is almost always breath-takingly fresh. Owner Leon Lianides is justly proud of his homemade chocolate cake and his dacquoise. Good service, a better-than-average selection of American wines at (more or less) reasonable prices.

9. The "21" Club--21 West 52nd Street, New York, New York (212-582-7200). Frankly, we were surprised this restaurant ranked as high as it did; the food is often artless. But here is proof that a great restaurant can mangle fine provisions as long as everything else is perfect. This former speak-easy's many loyal defenders admit its flaws and love the clubby atmosphere, devoted service and aging appointments. For example, Vic Bergeron, who owns Trader Vic's, says it's his favorite restaurant in America. Straightforward, simple dishes are usually the best bets, especially the seafood and the beef. Prime seating is in the downstairs bar; from its ceiling dangle model planes and trucks sporting the company logos of the tycoons who dine here.

10. Ma Maison--8368 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, California (213-655-1991). Just six years old, Ma Maison is part of the Los Angeles restaurant renaissance that includes L'Ermitage. The owner and host is Patrick Terrail, enfant terrible of a famous French restaurant family. Pat's easy to recognize: He wears striped suits, a red carnation and clogs. By day, Hollywood gathers beneath his lawn-party-tented terrace for some of the most spectacular salads in town, including an unsurpassed mixture of baby shrimps, scallops and crawfish with fresh local legumes. There's seafood pâté and fish en croÛte, steak and rich desserts. At night, the action moves inside to the main restaurant, a ramshackle bungalow decorated with Terrail's memorabilia, including empty five-pound caviar tins. The duck comes in two courses: the breast first, with pears, then the leg, with salad. Good service and interesting wines. For some reason, the phone number is unlisted.

11. Maisonette--114 East Sixth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio (513-721-2260). This is a culinary oasis in a region better known for great ribs than for grand restaurants. The decor is lavish; the service is quick and sophisticated. The food, frankly, is not nearly so good as at Lutèce or Le Français. But for a medium-sized city in the Midwest, it's memorable. Start with the snails or the mussel soup (the quenelles and the seafood pancake can be rather heavy). The duck is popular--breast meat is sliced, with kiwi and orange; mallards are roasted with goose liver and cognac. Sure, the rack of lamb has more fat (continued on page 256)Critics' Choice(continued from page 196) than at The Four Seasons. But then, how many New York restaurants still sell Château Lafite-Rothschild 1973 for $39 a bottle? Finish with chocolate soufflé. And don't make WKRP jokes.

12. La Grenouille--3 East 52nd Street, New York, New York (212-752-1495). A simple room of comfortable banquettes and chairs, this restaurant displays spectacular sprays of flowers. It's also one of the few great American restaurants owned and managed by a woman--Madame Gisèle Masson. The food, often compared to that of La Caravelle, is classic Big Apple French, for the most part. Lovely ham and melon, an ample plate of mixed appetizers and a popular dish called Little Neck Clams Corsini: tiny clams poached in butter, parsley and wine. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the roast duck, lamb or chicken dishes. And the frog's legs (La Grenouille means the frog) are clearly the best in town, perhaps the best in America: tiny plump legs sautéed to a perfect gold in garlic and butter. As at La Caravelle, the soufflés make a fine dessert. Like La Caravelle, La Grenouille can get noisy.

13. The Palace--420 East 59th Street, New York, New York (212-355-5152). There is nothing else in America quite like this place; nothing so ambitious, so grand or so expensive. A huge dining room holds only 50. Everywhere, you see gold, sterling, crystal and fine imported china. The food is fabulously rich and generally excellent. A typical dinner begins with cold lobster-and-walnut salad or smoked salmon stuffed with black caviar. Then comes a saffron mussel soup. Then comes a hunk of swordfish as high as a layer cake, poached in green butter. Then a bit of sherbet in vodka to cleanse the palate. Then your main dish: say, a boneless rack of lamb in thyme and garlic accompanied by tiny fresh vegetable bundles tied with scallions. Then a crisp green salad. Then cheese. Then huge fresh fruits. Then three or four sinful desserts. Then coffee and cookies. Then chocolate truffles. Oy! A recent set-price dinner was $95. With mandatory tip and tax, it comes to $125 per person without wine. A good vintage costs another $250. Figure $400 for two, minimum. Oddly enough, owner Frank Valenza has recently filed for bankruptcy, though the restaurant will continue to operate.

14. Windows on the World-- 1 World Trade Center, New York, New York (212-938-1111). This restaurant has the finest decor in New York; the decor is New York. Through its windows atop the World Trade Center, you get a dazzling. God's-eye view of the most spectacular architecture in America. So dazzling, in fact, that you can forget that the food is a bit erratic. However, the rack of lamb, red snapper, trout in pastry and other relatively simple dishes are usually more than adequate. The real star here, aside from the view, is the wine list. Twenty-nine-year-old Kevin Zraly, a boy genius of the wine trade, has created a list of 600 vintages, including one of the finest collections of American wines in America. And at shockingly reasonable prices. A special Cellar in the Sky serves a five-wine dinner ($50 lately).

15. Le Bec-Fin--1312 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (215-732-3000). Chef and owner Georges Perrier takes great pride (and the dinner orders) in this small downtown restaurant, generally regarded as the best in Pennsylvania. It's classic French cuisine, tempered with Perrier's skill and imagination. Appetizers arrive on a huge serving cart: beautiful raw slices of beef in a water-cress sauce, a light shrimp pâté. A fish course might include the lightest pike quenelles in America or a miniature lobster stew served in a small silver pot or sole with broad noodles in cream sauce accented by truffles and red caviar. For the main dish, try the squab stuffed with goose liver and leeks. Or the tender roast pheasant. Green salad or cheese are included. Rich frozen Grand Marnier soufflé for dessert. A classic French wine list. But, warning: No credit cards. Bring cash. A lot of it, or your checkbook.

16. Ernie's--847 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California (415-397-5969). Nestled in the shadow of the Trans-America pyramid, Ernie's is old San Francisco, done up in Barbary bordello shades of crimson and crystal. Challenge the kitchen--but not too hard: wine-poached oysters with leeks are delicious; but a raw-scallop-and-warm-water-cress salad here tastes a little like slug salad on glass. The rack of lamb is flawless. The sautéed sole is as sweet as any in the city. Perfect Caesar salad. Individual soufflés and baked Alaska make fine desserts. The service is attentive, though the hostess can be brusque. The extensive wine list emphasizes French vintages.

17. Trattoria Da Alfredo--90 Bank Street, New York, New York (212-929-4400). Surely one of New York's finest dining bargains, this restaurant offers what may be the best Italian food in town. All the pastas cost $5.50 as we go to press; but don't miss the tiny meat-stuffed doughnuts in cream sauce called Tortellini della Nonna (translation: Grandma's dumplings). A hearty Caesar salad costs $3.25. A bouillabaisse-like fish cacciucco is the most expensive item on the menu at $7.25, but prices are due to rise. Specials include veal, chicken, Cornish hen and duck. Try the chocolate cake for dessert. There's no wine served, but you're free to bring your own (a decent wineshop is three doors away). Reservations can be difficult to get: New York's food establishment dines here regularly. Alas, owner Alfredo Viazzi prints the menu in Italian only.

18. Commander's Palace--1403 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana (504-899-8221). This is the quintessential New Orleans restaurant, set in a rambling old house in the Garden District. Local gourmets insist that Le Ruth's, in nearby Gretna, serves higher haute cuisine. But Commander's is New Orleans. Operated by a branch of the Brennan family, Commander's serves excellent corn-and-crab chowder and intense garlic bread. Pan-fried trout with roasted pecans and tournedos Coliseum (filets of beef in two sauces) typify the rich local cuisine. Best of all: the Sunday jazz brunch, with a funky Dixieland trio and some splendidly rich egg dishes.

19. The Mandarin--900 North Point Street, San Francisco, California(415-673-8812). Owner Cecilia Chiang gets general credit for championing exotic northern Chinese cuisine in this nation of chow-mein eaters. But a lot of people figured she'd go broke when she opened in 1960. Instead, she went big time. And by 1968, she could relocate in lavish quarters boasting Asian art, Oriental rugs and a fine view of Alcatraz. Sure, you can now get tea-smoked duck, Mongolian fire pit and beggar's chicken elsewhere; they became popular here. For the uninitiated, Mongolian fire pit is a sort of lamb barbecue; beggar's chicken cooks in a clay cocoon. The Mandarin makes excellent chiao-tzu dumplings and a definitive mu shui pork (a Chinese taco stuffed with pork, egg, vegetables and a rich brown sauce). Don't come here for lunch--the service is slow and the kitchen's getting ready for dinner. Better yet, call in advance and ask Mrs. Chiang or her staff to arrange a banquet.

20. Le Lion D'Or--1150 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, D.C. (202-296-7972). This is certainly the capital's best restaurant, a purveyor of haute cuisine in the style of Lutèce and Le Français. Chef-owner Jean-Pierre Goyenvalle's game is game: In season, he serves venison, quail, partridge, Tennessee wild boar and even bear. He also makes a silky lobster stew, striped bass in pastry, duck breast with black-currant sauce and all the other conventions of grand French dining. Almost everyone seems to order the giant flaming orange soufflé for dessert. The wine list, appropriately, includes impressive American vintages--among them, Robert Mondavi's magnificent 1974 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Despite tapestries on the ceiling and the rugs on the wall, Le Lion D'Or can get rather noisy. In Washington, no one seems to mind.

21. London Chop House--155 West Congress Street, Detroit, Michigan (313-962-0277). This restaurant is not in or from London, and it's not really a chophouse. It is certainly the best eatery in Detroit and a fine American-style restaurant by any standards. It's dark and clubby; color caricatures hang from the rafters. Its seafood is splendid: hearty New England clam chowder, wine-steamed mussels, garlicky baked clams (almost a dozen items, the menu informs, are garlicky or garlic-scented). The sweet fillets of Winnipeg pickerel broiled with fennel and brown butter would do credit to any fine French restaurant. There's handsome lamb and half a dozen salads. There's also a potent pear-and-bread pudding with bourbon sauce. Owner Lester Gruber prides himself on his wine cellar, and it's one of the finest in America. The menu's flip side lists more than 150 interesting vintages, including 25 cognacs. And each (text concluded, on page 263, following "Choice Critics" on page 262) day, more than a dozen wines are available by the glass.

22. Jack's Restaurant--615 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, California (415-986-9854). Various Jacks have owned this place since it opened in 1864, the current being Jack Redinger. Seafood has always been a favorite here, in a city famed for seafood. And the place was considered worth rebuilding after the 1906 quake. It still produces a perfect version of rex sole meunière, great little oysters, super salmon. There are daily specials, the best of them including sorrel soup and leg of lamb. The banana fritters also have a large following. Jack's serves various steaks and chops, but there's a French touch to it all. There have been occasional reports of sloppy service, but the general opinion is favorable. The decor is simple, prices rather reasonable. Closing hour is usually 9:30 P.M.

23. Fournou's Ovens--905 California Street, San Francisco, California (415-989-1910). This may be the finest hotel restaurant in America; it's certainly the personal pride of Stanford Court Hotel president James Nassikas. And to prove it, last year he spent $1,000,000 improving the place with a dazzling glass sunroom. The food can dazzle, too: The kitchen's ovens turn out a splendid roast lamb and as crisp a duck as you could ask for. The service is downright friendly. The desserts are lavish. And Nassikas has assembled one of the greatest collections of California wines in California.

24.-25. L'Orangerie--903 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, California (213-652-9770). This restaurant might well rank higher on our list if it were more than two years old. It's a successful French restaurateur's re-creation of a 17th Century European greenhouse--greenhouses of that era being more akin to palaces than to seed stores. The French liked to eat amid the orange blossoms and Gerard and Virginie Ferry serve splendid food: A simple salad of bacon, egg and chicory turns out subtle and rich. There's moist duck in a rich wine sauce. On one night, four kinds of fish have been flown in from France. And L'Orangerie makes a mean hot apple tart for dessert.

24.-25. Tony's--1801 South Post Oak, Houston, Texas (713-622-6778). This is, by most estimates, the finest restaurant in Texas. It serves what they call Continental food down here: airy quenelles in a shellfish sauce, lobster bisque, capon. It also does a pretty fine job with beef, a local delicacy. The waiters are so polite you'd think the place were full of millionaires, which, of course, it is. The wine collection is fittingly grand; several walls of it are available for your inspection.

The Top 25

America's Greatest Restaurants

You won't go wrong here, Either

These fine restaurants missed our list--but not by much. All of them were well regarded, but some were up against stiff local competition. Some are off the main trail. A few are new and relatively unfamiliar.

Bern's Steak House--Tampa--6500different wines!

Box Tree--New York City--Cute, romantic, Continental

Café Chauveron--North Miami Beach--Fine New York French, transplanted

Dodin-Bouffant--New York City--Daring nouvelle cuisine

La BourgogneSan Francisco--Bay Area haute cuisine

La Tulipe--New York City--Gourmet staffer Sally Darr turns gourmet chef

Le Chantilly--New York City--First-class French

Le Cirque--New York City--More first-class French

Le Cygne--New York City--Still more first-class French

Le Lavandou--New York City--And even more first-class French

Le Ruth's--Gretna, Louisiana--If Paul Bocuse cooked Creole

Michael's--Santa Monica--L.A.'s rave new wave

The Other Place--Seattle--Homegrown game

Oyster Bar & Restaurant--New York City--If it swims, it's here in Grand Central Station

René Verdon's Le Trianon--San Francisco--Kennedy's White House chef

Scandia--Los Angeles--Wacky, ambitious Norse fare

Shun Lee Palace--New York City--Gael Greene's favorite Chinese

Tadich Grill--San Francisco--Fresh Pacific seafood

"Windows on the World has the finest decor in New York; the decor is New York."

Choice Critics' Choices

some of our guest panelists reveal their favorites

Everyone knows Trader Vic's restaurants down in the Sixties when they rants. Vic Bergeron is the Vic in question. His favorites in America:

1. The "21" Club, New York City

2. Brennan's, New Orleans

3. Chasen's, Los Angeles

4. Perino's, Los Angeles

5. Trader Vic's, San Francisco

Paul Bocuse is France's most famous chef, knight of the French Logion d'honneur, cookbook author and owner of Restaurant Paul Bocuse in Lyon. His favorite American restaurants:

1. Lutèce, New York City

2. Le Français, Wheeling, Illinois

3. Le Perroquet, Chicago

4. L'Ermitage, Los Angeles

5. Gerard's Relais de Lyon, Bothell, Washington

Malcolm Forbes publishes Forbes magazine. He also pilots hot-air balloons. And he reviews restaurant--in Forbes. His five favorites, in no particular order: Le Cygne, Lutèce, La Grenouille, La Caravelle and The "21" Club--all in New York City. Says Forbes, "I would match (hem to Paris' best."

William M. Gaines publishes Mad magazine. You probably didn't know that he's also a distinguished gourmet, a wine collector, a member of Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs food and various wine clubs. His favorites: favorites:

1. The Palace, New York City

2. Claude's, New York City

3. Laurent, New York City

4. Le Français, Wheeling, Illinois

5. La Bourgogne, San Francisco

What, me worry?

Gael Greene reviews restaurants for New York magazine and writes bawdy best sellers such as Blue Skies, No Candy. Her favorite restaurants are all in New York City:

1. Dodin-Bouffant

2. The Palace

3. Lutèce

4. Le Plaisir

5. The Four Seasons

Henri Gault and his partner, Christian Millau, turned France's food world upside down in the Sixties when they championed a more delicate nouvelle cuisine. Their magazine, Le Nouveau Guide, has become a gastronomic Bible. In America, Millau likes The Palace in New York City and the Oyster Bar & Restaurant in New York's Grand Central Station, Ma Maison in Los Angeles, Michael's in Santa Monica and chef Jean Louis Pallidan's cooking at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Andy Rooney produces and performs for CBS-TV's top-rated 60 Minutes. His hour-long documentary an American dining, Mr. Rooney Goes to Dinner, established him in the hearts of epicures everywhere. His choices, in no particular order: The Quilted Giraffe, New York City; Palm, New York City; Joe's Caterers, Albany, New York; Le Français, Wheeling, Illinois; Chasen's, Los Angeles.

The New Yorker's roving reporter and resident gourmet, Calvin Trillin, has long maintained that Arthur Bryant's Barbecue in Kansas City, Missouri, is America's best restaurant. His five favorite restaurants in America: Arthur Bryant's Barbecue.

After Paul Bocuse, few French chefs are better known than Jean Troisgros. His restaurant in Roanne, France, is a temple of fine dining. His American favorites:

1. Lutèce, New York City

2. Le Français, Wheeling, Illinois

3. L'Ermitage, Los Angeles

4. Tony's Houston

5. Le Bec-Fin, Philadelphia

He disqualified Chez Panisse in Berkeley. During their garlic "festival," Troisgros grumbled, "they put garlic in the chocolate mousse!"

René Verdon used to be the chef at the Kennedy White House. Then he turned cookbook author. Now he runs René Verdon's Le Trianon restaurant in San Francisco. His top five, in no particular order: Lutèce, New York City; La Caravelle, New York City; Le Français, Wheeling, Illinois; Maisonette, Cincinati; L'Ermitage, Los Angeles.

Choice Critics

the final course--a guide to playboy's four-star panel

These are our experts--the gourmets who patiently pondered their five favorite restaurants in America to produce a ranking of the country's great restaurants. They include many of the world's most respected culinary authorities. Many wear several hats: George Lang, for example, writes about food, writes cookbooks, designs restaurants, owns two and talks food on CBS News Sunday Morning. For convenience, we've listed these multitalented people in four groups, according to their most noted skills.

Restaurant Critics, Cookbook Authors, Food Writers and Editors

Colman Andrews--Food; and wine writer, New West magazine; co-author, Best Restaurants--Los Angeles & Southern California.

The Anonymous Gourmet--Pseudonym for the restaurant critic of The Detroit Free Press.

Nancy Ball--Restaurant critic, The Kansas City Star and Times.

Caroline Bates--Contributing editor and restaurant reviewer, Gourmet magazine.

Ariane Batterberry--Executive editor, The International Review of Food & Wine.

Michael C. Batterberry--Editor in chief, The International Review of Food & Wine.

James Beard--King of American cookbook authors; chef; cooking instructor; food and restaurant columnist.

Beverly Bennett--Food editor, Chicago Sun-Times.

Stephen Birnbaum--Travel Editor, Playboy; editor, Get 'Em and Go Travel Guides; travel editor, WCBS-Radio.

Anthony Dias Blue--Restaurant critic, WCBS-Radio: California contributing editor, The International Review of Food & Wine.

Seymour Britchky--Author, The Restaurants of New York; editor/publisher, Seymour Britchky's Restaurant Letter.

Pat Brown--Editor, Cuisine magazine.

Craig Claiborne--Food editor, The New York Times; one of America's leading cookbook authors (The New New York Times Cookbook).

Bruce David Colen--Restaurant critic, Los Angeles magazine.

Bill Collins--Restaurant critic, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ann Criswell--Food editor, Houston Chronicle.

John Dorsey--Restaurant reviewer, Baltimore Sunday Sun.

Lois Dwan--Restaurant critic, Los Angeles Times.

Horst-Dieter Ebert--Restaurant critic, Germany's Stern magazine.

Robert Finigan--Publisher, Robert Finigan's Private Guide to Restaurants and Robert Finigan's Private Guide to Wines.

Eugene Fodor--Creator of Fodor's Travel Guides, including more than 60 titles.

Malcolm S. Forbes--Publisher and restaurant critic, Forbes magazine.

Janet French--Home-economics editor and restaurant reviewer, Cleveland's Plain Dealer.

Arnold J. Fury--Manager, travel programs, Mobil Oil Corporation; director, Mobil Travel Guide.

William Gallo--Food columnist, Rocky Mountain News.

Henri Gault--Celebrated French food critic; cofounder of France's popular Le Nouveau Guide.

Milton Glaser--Co-author, The Underground Gourmet and The Underground Gourmet Cookbook; artist and graphic designer; former restaurant columnist. New York magazine.

Emanuel Greenberg--Food and drink writer, Playboy.

Gael Greene--Food writer and best-selling author; contributing editor and restaurant critic. New York magazine.

Thomas J. Haas--Publication director, Nation's Restaurant News.

Ray Herndon--Restaurant critic, The Dallas Times Herald.

Bob Hosmon--Food critic, The Miami Herald.

Jay Jacobs--Restaurant reviewer, Gourmet magazine; author, Winning the Restaurant Game and A History of Gastronomy,

Judith B. Jones--Senior cookbook editor, Alfred A. Knopf.

Barbara Kafka--Editor, The Cook's Catalog; restaurant and food consultant.

Allen Kelson--Editor in chief and restaurant columnist, Chicago magazine.

Carla Kelson--Contributing editor and restaurant columnist, Chicago magazine.

George Lang--Cookbook author and food writer; cuisine commentator for CBS News Sunday Morning; owner, Café des Artistes and Hungaria Restaurant in New York; restaurant designer and consultant.

Claude Lebey--Pseudonym for the restaurant critic of France's L'Express; editor of various French cookbooks; producer of a cooking show for French TV.

Alexis Lichine--One of America's best-known wine authors and experts: author of the classic Alexis Lichine's New Encyclopedia of Wines & Spirits; successful wine merchant.

Nancylee Lyles--Restaurant reviewer, The Houston Post.

Bob Michelet--Restaurant critic, The Oregonian.

Christian Millau--With Henri Gault, one of France's most popular food critics and cofounder of Le Nouveau Guide.

Donna Morgan--Food editor, The Salt Lake Tribune; president, Newspaper Food Editors and Writers Association, International.

Ken Neuhauser--Restaurant critic, The Louisville Times.

Dorothee Polson--Food editor and restaurant critic. The Arizona Republic; cookbook author.

Paige Rense--Editor in chief, Bon Appétit magazine.

William Rice--Executive food editor, The Washington Post; co-editor, Where to Eat in America.

Phyllis C. Richman--Restaurant critic, The Washington Post; author, The Best Restaurants (and Others) in Washington.

Terry Robards--Wine critic, The New York Times; author, The New York Times Book of Wine.

Egon Ronay--Food and travel critic; editor and author of Egon Ronay's Lucas Guide; most recently noted for his sharp criticism of airline food and service.

Andy Rooney--Pundit and producer of CBS-TVs 60 Minutes; host of Mr. Rooney Goes to Dinner, a documentary on the American restaurant.

John Rosson--Restaurant critic, Washington Star-News.

Donna Segal--Food editor, The Indianapolis Star.

Raymond Sokolov--Restaurant critic, Cue New York magazine; former restaurant critic. The New York Times.

Anthony Spinazzola--Restaurant and wine critic, The Boston Globe.

Harvey Steiman--Food and wine editor, San Francisco Examiner; author, Great Recipes from San Francisco.

Stendahl--Pseudonym for the restaurant critic of the New York Daily News; cookbook and restaurant-guide author.

Jean Thwaite--Food editor, The Atlanta Constitution.

Calvin Trillin--Roving reporter, noted for his culinary observations in The New Yorker magazine; author, American Fried and Alice, Let's Eat.

Patricia Unterman--Restaurant critic, San Francisco Chronicle; co-owner, Hayes Street Grill.

James Ward--Restaurant critic, Chicago Sun-Times; author, Restaurants Chicago-Style.

Steven M. Weiss--Executive food editor, Institutions magazine.

Burton Wolf--Co-editor, Where to Eat in America; cooking-equipment expert and author.

Fran Zell--Restaurant critic, Chicago Tribune.

Chefs

Jean Banchet--Chef and owner, Le François, Wheeling, Illinois.

Paul Bocuse--France's most famous chef; chef and owner, Restaurant Paul Bocuse in Lyon; dining consultant; cookbook author.

John Clancy--Executive chef for Time-Life Book's Foods of the World series; cookbook author; cooking instructor.

Roger Fessaguet--Executive chef. New York's La Caravelle restaurant; co-owner. Le Poulailler restaurant in New York; president, Vatel Club, one of the largest associations of French chefs.

Edmond Foulard--Chef and owner, Foulard's, Houston.

Pierre Franey--Chef and collaborator for many of Craig Claiborne's recipes; cooking columnist. The New York Times; author, The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet; former chef. New York's Le Pavillion restaurant.

Jean-Pierre Goyenvalle--Chef and owner, Le Lion d'Or restaurant, Washington, D.C.

Robert Greault--Chef and owner, Le Bagatelle, Washington, D.C.

Warren Le Ruth--Chef and owner, Le Ruth's restaurant, Gretna, Louisiana; cookbook author.

Salomon Montezinos--Chef and owner, DéjáVu restaurant, Philadelphia.

Gianni Paoletti--Chef and owner, Peppone restaurant, Los Angeles.

Georges Perrier--Chef and owner, Le Bec-Fin restaurant. Philadelphia.

Dieter Puska--Chef and owner. The Glass Chimney restaurant, Carmel, Indiana.

André Soltner--Chef and owner. New York's Lutèce restaurant.

Jean Troisgros--One of France's great chefs; with his brother, owner and chef of Restaurant Troisgros in Roanne.

René Verdon--White House chef during the Kennedy Administration; chef and owner, Renè Verdon's Le Trianon in San Francisco; cookbook author.

Alice Waters--Chef and co-owner, Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.

Restaurateurs and Restaurant Executives

Toni Aigner--President, Inhilco, a Hilton International subsidiary that operates all restaurants in New York's massive World Trade Center.

Albert Aschaffenburg--President and general manager, New Orleans' Pontchartrain Hotel, home of the Caribbean Room.

Gilbert Barthe--Owner, Mirabeau Restaurant, Seattle.

Joseph Baum--Restaurant consultant, designer, creator; former president. Restaurant Associates; his projects include New York's Four Seasons, Windows on the World, Brasserie, Zum Züm and many more.

Vic Bergeron--Owner, Trader Vic's restaurants.

Camille Bermann--Owner, Maxim's restaurant, Houston.

Jerry Berns--Vice-president and co-owner, New York's "21" Club.

James Brennan--Co-owner, Brennan's restaurant, New Orleans.

Jerry Brody--Owner, the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant and Gallagher's Steak House, both in New York.

Robert Buich--Owner, Tadich Grill, San Francisco.

Cecilia Chiang--Owner, The Mandarin restaurant, in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Justin Galatoire Frey--Assistant manager, member of the owning family, Galatoire's restaurant. New Orleans.

Roy Guste--Proprietor, Restaurant Antoine, New Orleans.

Paul Kovi--Co-owner. The Four Seasons restaurant, New York.

Jean Lapuyade--Owner, La Bourgogne restaurant, San Francisco.

Alan Lewis--Director, Windows on the World, New York.

Leon Lianides--Owner, The Coach House, New York.

Tom Margittai--Co-owner, The Four Seasons restaurant, New York.

James Nassikas--President and general partner, San Francisco's Stanford Court Hotel, home of Fournou's Ovens.

Robert Petersen--General manager, Scandia restaurant, Los Angeles; photographer; publisher.

Karl Ratzsch III--General manager, Karl Ratzsch's restaurant, Milwaukee.

Robert Rosellini--Owner, The Other Place restaurant, Seattle.

Louise Sounders--Owner and president, Charlie's Café Exceptionale. Minneapolis.

Patrick Terrail--Owner, Ma Maison, Los Angeles.

Jovan Trboyevic--Owner, Le Perroquet restaurant and Les Nomades, a private dining club, both in Chicago.

Tony Vallone--Owner, Tony's restaurant, Houston.

Peter von Starck--Owner, La Panetiere restaurant, Philadelphia.

Duke Zeibert--Owner, Duke Zeibert's restaurant, Washington, D.C.

Distinguished Amateurs and Various Professionals

Sam Aaron--Co-owner, Manhattan's famous Sherry-Lehmann wine shop; author; wine and food expert.

Robert S. Bell--Vice-president, Teledyne, Inc.; member Conférie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and Chevaliers du Tastevin food and wine societies.

Edward H. Benenson--Investment banker; food writer; high-ranking member of Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and Chevaliers du Tastevin food and wine societies.

Vance A. Christian--Villa Banfi professor, School of Hotel Administration. Cornell University: respected food-and-beverage consultant.

Gene Ference--Vice-president for education, Culinary Institute of America; restaurant consultant.

William M. Gaines--Publisher, Mad magazine; member Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and other food and wine organizations.

Bill Leonard--President, CBS News; formerly a restaurant reviewer for WCBS-Radio.

Benjamin Stapleton--Attorney; ranking member of Chevaliers du Tastevin and other food and wine societies.

Julius Wile--Wine merchant; retired president, Julius Wile & Sons: board of trustees, Culinary Institute of America; lecturer, Cornell School of Hotel Administration; member various food and wine societies.

Roger L. Yaseen--Investment banker; American president, Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs gastronomic society.