Critics' Choice: The 25 Best Restaurants in America

Alot has changed since our Critics' Choice lists of America's best restaurants were first published in the early Eighties. On those lists, the most recognizable names were André Soltner of Lutèce and Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, and ascending culinary stars Paul Prudhomme of K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen and Wolfgang Puck of Spago. Many of the restaurants were French, some were Italian and only one, K-Paul's, was obviously heretical, though Michael's of Santa Monica pushed the envelope with its California (i.e., new American) cuisine.

Our last Critics' Choice list was published in 1987, in an era of such superstar chefs as Jean-Louis Palladin (Jean-Louis), Jeremiah Tower (Stars) and Anne Rosenzweig (Arcadia). Since then, many of these chefs have written books, starred on their own TV programs and moved on to manage restaurant empires.

We have included some of these chefs in our poll, along with food writers and restaurant critics. (The chefs were not permitted to vote for their own establishments. A complete list of names is on page 155.)

We have noticed some significant trends that have emerged from our secret ballots. The top three spots went to restaurants with French (or French-oriented) chefs--Restaurant Daniel, the French Laundry and Jean Georges--and a number of others are unmistakably French or French-influenced (Fleur de Lys, Le Bernardin, Lespinasse, Le Cirque 2000 and Le Bec-Fin). But one winner offers innovative Japanese cuisine, and another, Chicago's Topolobampo, has been called the "best Mexican restaurant in the world." The majority, though, are proud practitioners of the multifaceted cuisine of America. They include Charlie Trotter's of Chicago, the Inn at Little Washington in Virginia, the Mansion on Turtle Creek and Star Canyon in Dallas, Café Annie in Houston, Commander's Palace in New Orleans, Norman's in Coral Gables and Aureole in New York. Obviously, American cooking has evolved dramatically. Using revitalized native recipes and exotic produce from specialty food suppliers, as well as techniques, spices and ingredients from around the world, chefs working in today's American restaurants are crafting some of the most sophisticated food on the planet. Significantly, many of the best French chefs are working in America--Daniel Boulud, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Palladin, among others.

In our 1987 survey, ten of the top 25 restaurants were in New York City. This year there are nine, only two of which are repeats: Le Bernardin and Le Cirque. California had six winners, while Chicago had three. The rest of the votes went to stellar establishments in such far-flung culinary corners as Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, Coral Gables, Philadelphia and Washington, Virginia. A list of near winners and regional favorites is on page 156.

Finally, all this culinary success does not come cheaply. Prices at several of the restaurants on our Critics' Choice list are stratospheric. Some entrees top $40, tasting menus have surpassed the $100 mark and as to the cost of a great bottle of wine: If you have to ask, you shouldn't be ordering. One wine steward informed us that he had sold eight $6000 bottles of Château Petrus since Labor Day. Congratulations to our winners, the best restaurants in America for 1998.

(1)Restaurant Daniel, 20 East 76th Street, New York City (212-288-0033). Daniel Boulud takes the spot previously occupied by André Soltner of Lutèce as the owner of our Critics' Choice for Best Restaurant in America. Restaurant Daniel's food is French with an American accent and as good as that found in any three-star Michelin restaurant in France. Like all great chefs, Boulud uses fresh seasonal produce to create such exceptional dishes as soupe glacée de concombre (a cool, creamy gazpacho-like soup with bits of smoked salmon, pink radishes, diced cucumber and Sevruga caviar) and cabillaud rôti (roast cod in a cockle-and-parsley broth with summer root vegetables and a cranberry-bean brandade). The 500-bottle wine list leans to expensive French wines but also includes reasonably priced regionals. Daniel's desserts maestro, Francois Payard (Boulud's partner in the hot new Payard Patisserie and Bistro on New York's East Side), creates delicate cold fruit soups, ethereal meringues, a creamy star-anise zabaglione and a to-die-for coconut sorbet in a chocolate shell with pineapple. The cost of dinner for two? Who cares?

(2) The French Laundry, 6640 Washington Street, Yountville, California (707-944-2380). The kudos and awards for this Napa Valley restaurant are practically unprecedented. New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl recently called it "the most exciting place to eat in the U.S.," and the James Beard Foundation named the owner, Thomas Keller, America's best chef for 1997. Keller's artistic, intensely flavored food is served at a leisurely pace (dinner can take three hours) in multiple courses of small, often whimsically named portions. The five-course dinner and the ten-course chef's tasting menu usually begin with a medley of amuse-gueules: perhaps a quail's egg in brioche with caviar, and tastes of varied soups (sweet pea with truffle oil, puree of cranberry beans or lobster bisque). The multicourse meals begin in earnest with dishes such as "oysters and pearls" (select oysters with tapioca and Sevruga caviar) and "tongue in cheek" (a tower of braised beef cheek, veal tongue, baby leeks and mâche with horseradish cream). The wine list includes a large selection of half bottles to allow different combinations with various courses. Try to dine outdoors in the courtyard.

(3) Jean Georges, One Central Park West, New York City (212-299-3900). Jean Georges had been open less than six months in 1997 when our critics voted it the best new restaurant in America. The elegant decor in the 64-seat formal dining room complements Jean-Georges Vongerichten's aromatic food, which is enticingly flavored with emulsions, infused oils and such exotic native ingredients as Upstate New York forage greens, herbs and roots. Grilled shrimp atop borlatti beans laced with a pepper-infused sherry vinaigrette is terrific. Jean Georges offers a large wine list, primarily French and California bottles. Menus include á la carte, a $45 prix fixe luncheon, a four-course $78 prix fixe dinner and a chef's degustation for $105.

(4) Charlie Trotter's, 816 West Armitage Avenue, Chicago (773-248-6228). Chef and owner Charlie Trotter dedicated his third book, Charlie Trotter's Seafood, to "the true giants of the food world," including James Beard, Paul Bocuse and Julia Child, "from whose shoulders many of us enjoy a spectacular view." The next generation of chefs will be enjoying the view from Trotter's shoulders. However, duplicating the 37-year-old's culinary vision will prove to be difficult. Trotter serves two multicourse degustations, a $95 grand menu and a $70 vegetarian menu (both dinner only) at his two-story, turn-of-the-century townhouse. He prefers to use free-range meat, line-caught fish and organic vegetables, and likes to start his patrons off with half a dozen small offerings before beginning the parade of colorful, beautifully constructed courses. Trotter minimizes the use of butter and cream in his sauces, favoring light reductions, vegetable vinaigrettes and aromatic infusions to flavor his creations. And he matches his food with an extensive list of fairly priced wines.

(5) Patina, 5955 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles (213-467-1108). In a town where everyone wants to be the top banana, German-born chef and owner, Joachim Splichal, has become the top potato. He has parlayed his consummate skills with spuds (potato spaghetti, potato ravioli, etc.), among other ingredients, into a seven-restaurant operation led by Patina. The French-and California-inspired dishes on Patina's inventive, often humorous menu include monkfish lasagna (made with thin layers of potato instead of pasta) and, under the heading Odd Things, beef marrow with "potato bone" and oxtail jus. In addition to the à la carte menu (you can spend as little as $40 for a four-course lunch), Splichal offers a (continued on page 92)Best Restaurants(continued from page 90) $65 tasting menu, a $69 seafood menu and a $59 vegetarian menu. The huge, award-winning wine list focuses on Bordeaux, California chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. The spirits list is larger than most wine lists.

(6) The Inn at Little Washington, Middle and Main Streets, Washington, Virginia (540-675-3800). Ornate, elegant, tasteful and stylish describe the Inn at Little Washington, housed in one of the world's greatest inns. The romantic 12-room hotel is situated in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains (an hour from Washington, D.C.). How good is the food? Dinner guests have been known to fly in by helicopter just to sample the Inn's French American cuisine, and the James Beard Foundation gave it its outstanding service award for 1997. Our critics raved about chef Patrick O'Connell's menu, which includes homemade boudin blanc with Virginia riesling-braised sauerkraut, and grilled black mission figs with cured local ham. Served on 24-kt.-gold-trimmed plates, many of O'Connell's creations are towering works of art that blend perfectly with the lavish decor. The extensive wine list is mostly American and French. The Inn's four-course prix fixe menu costs $88 (higher on Saturdays), and if you are staying overnight, a dinner reservation is guaranteed.

(7) Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, 445 North Clark Street, Chicago (312-661-1434). The more boisterous Frontera Grill and the quieter Topolobampo are sibling restaurants at the same address, overseen by owners Rick (also chef) and Deann Bayless. It's the Baylesses' dedication, skill and pursuit of culinary excellence that make their restaurants among the most highly respected in the country. The food at Topolobampo is Mexican, a delicious, authentic, regional variation. The Baylesses, authors of Authentic Mexican and Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen, are serious culinary historians. Their focus on the classic sauces that are the heart of Mexico's cuisine is reflected in the menus at both restaurants, which change biweekly. The $45 chef's tasting dinner at Topo might include pibipollo de pescado, a rustic Yucatecan tamal filled with flaked achiote-marinated snapper in an epazote-tomato-habanero sauce. At Frontera Grill, you can order tostaditas topped with lime-marinated marlin, or tacos al carbón, with wood-grilled marinated skirt steak, free-range chicken, Amish duck or catfish.

(8) Nobu, 105 Hudson Street, New York City (212-219-0500). In a lower Manhattan space with birch trees that soar to the ceiling, stenciled cherry blossoms on the floor and thousands of black river pebbles imbedded in a wall, Nobu Matsuhisa (and his chefs when he is not in town) performs for a glamorous audience, including business partner Robert De Niro. The highly original menu includes "new style sashimi," strips of salmon or other fish, garlic and scallions flash-cooked with a drizzle of hot extra virgin olive oil; and tiradito Nobu style, pulled raw red snapper topped with a piquant Peruvian-inspired yellow chili paste. Champagne or an Oregon pinot gris are good choices to accompany Nobu's $60-and-up omakase (chef's choice) menu. Reserve well in advance.

(9) Chez Panisse, 1517 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California (510-548-5525). Opened in 1971 as a neighborhood bistro, Chez Panisse is a classic modern American restaurant. Chef and owner Alice Waters, author of five Chez Panisse cookbooks, has won numerous awards (for her culinary expertise and her humanitarian efforts) and has inspired an entire generation of chefs. Waters buys only from suppliers who use ecologically sound methods to farm or raise food. Open for dinner only, Chez Panisse offers prix fixe menus that change daily, according to market availability. A weekend offering might include buckwheat blini and California white sturgeon caviar; grilled James Ranch lamb with cumin and coriander, roasted eggplant puree and garden salad; and caramelized pears and apples with hickory nut ice cream. Upstairs, the moderately priced café is open for lunch and has an à la carte menu featuring pizzas from wood-burning brick ovens.

(10) Le Bernardin, 155 West 51st Street, New York City (212-489-1515). Now more than a decade old, Le Bernardin is considered one of the world's finest seafood restaurants. Described by one critic as "New York's most grown-up dining experience," Le Bernardin, with its fine marine art, rich teakwood trim and gorgeous floral displays, is indeed a restaurant for adults. The staff treats you like a privileged guest in a private club. There are two multicourse tasting menus ($90 and $120) and a prix fixe menu ($68) featuring such dishes as crispy Chinese spiced red snapper with cèpes, aged port and a Jerez vinegar reduction. Expect to spend $150 to $200 per person, including wine.

(11) Lespinasse, 2 East 55th Street, New York City (212-339-6719). Celebrated chef Gray Kunz creates exotically flavored foods that spring from his extensive experience in Asian and European kitchens. Ingredients such as shimeji mushrooms, sawahani crabs, kokum (a fruit used in Indian cooking), lemongrass, squid ink and pineapple juice add subtle flavors and textures to Kunz' dishes. And while some of the dishes may make you wish for a gastronomic dictionary, the staff at Lespinasse is adept at answering questions about such menu items as pasta fiori with oriental greens, mustard oil and calamanci broth, and crudités of tuna, scallops, caviar and smoked salmon with wasabi-mirin emulsion. The $140 tasting menu can increase to $200 and includes a selection of four wines from the excellent, albeit expensive, list. (Château Le Pin 1982 for $10,000 anyone?)

(12) Spago, 1114 Horn Avenue, West Hollywood, California (310-652-4025). Spago has maintained its Critics' Choice ranking since 1984, only this time around one could easily be confused about which of chef and owner Wolfgang Puck's Spagos was the winner: the original Spago Hollywood, Spago Chicago, Spago Las Vegas or the new, dazzling Beverly Hills Spago? Although some critics voted for Spago Beverly Hills, most of our experts remained loyal to Spago Hollywood. It still has plenty of cachet, but because of the new Spago nearby, it's now more relaxed and reservations are easier to come by. S. Irene Virbila, the Los Angeles Times restaurant critic, suspects the break may be brief, as longtime regulars tire of the hectic pace at Spago Beverly Hills and drift back for Spago Hollywood's peppered Louisiana shrimp, and plum tomato, leek and basil pizzas. Lunch or dinner with a bottle of wine will cost at least $150 for two.

(13) The Mansion on Turtle Creek, 2821 Turtle Creek Boulevard, Dallas (214-559-2100). Picture yourself in a fashionable Dallas neighborhood, dining in an Italian Renaissance-style mansion. Built in the Twenties by cot-ton-and-oil tycoon Sheppard King, this former home now houses one of America's finest restaurants. The opulent dining room, once King's living room, features monumental fireplaces and hand-carved grapevines that wind around columns. Don't be surprised if (continued on page 154)Best Restaurants(continued from page 92) executive chef Dean Fearing stops by your table and asks, with a friendly drawl, "How's your lobster taco?" Or he may inquire about your Texas escargot glazed with ginger-lemon sauce or your antelope-and-barbecued-venison fajitas. As incongruous as these dishes may seem in such sumptuous surroundings, Fearing's food is delicious, Texan and a lot of fun. Be prepared to part with some tycoon-class change when the bill arrives.

(14) Gotham Bar and Grill, 12 East 12th Street, New York City (212-620-4020). Even without its replica of the Statue of Liberty, which stands in an alcove of the cavernous dining room, Gotham Bar and Grill is perhaps the quintessential upscale New York restaurant, embodying all that the big town is known for: energy, sophistication, innovation and fun. In this soaring space with its signature parachute-draped light fixtures, Manhattan's vertical lines are mirrored in chef-owner Alfred Portale's towering dishes. His seafood salad, an ephemeral piece of food sculpture made with octopus, lobster, shrimp, avocado and red leaf lettuce, is almost too attractive to eat. But Portale's creations aren't cutesy cuisine. They're some of the best-tasting fancy food in America. Entrees such as halibut, Maine lobster tails, saddle of rabbit and roast pheasant taste like great French country cooking and come with homey accompaniments: fingerling potatoes, braised red cabbage, brussels sprout leaves and roasted shallots. There's a well-chosen 20,000-bottle wine list and service that's expert and friendly. Gotham's $19.98 three-course lunch is probably the best fine-dining bargain in America.

(15) Union Square Café, 21 East 16th Street, New York City (212-243-4020). The ingredients that have made Union Square Café one of America's most successful restaurants are first-rate service, a stylish ambiance, large portions of homey but sophisticated food and an excellent wine list that is a bargain, given today's prices. Union Square Café was named the James Beard Foundation's restaurant of the year in 1997 and the 1997 Zagat Survey chose it as New York's most popular restaurant. Chef and co-owner Michael Romano's hearty American dishes have global influences (Italian country, French classic, Indian). A typical meal might consist of homemade "handkerchief" pasta with marjoram-and-zucchini sauce, Sicilian-style roast pheasant and a warm apple tart with almond crunch and butter brickle ice cream. Lunch or dinner for two with wine seldom tops $125.

(16) Emeril's, 800 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans (504-528-9393). Chef Emeril Lagasse's cooking show, The Essence of Emeril (Food Network), was rated one of the top ten television programs in 1996 by Time magazine. A top gun in restaurant-crazy New Orleans (though he's from Fall River, Massachusetts), Lagasse oversees his restaurant in a big former warehouse, and packs in several hundred diners nightly for such Cajun- and Creole-influenced dishes as cornmeal-coated fried Plaquemine oyster salad with jalapeño-cilantro dressing, and Mississippi farm-raised quail with andouille-and-cheese-laced grits. Although he often says, "We're not building a rocket ship here, we're just cooking," Lagasse takes his work seriously. He raises his own hogs to ensure the quality of his andouille sausage, bacon and hams, makes his own cheese, ice cream and Worcestershire sauce and has more than a dozen farmers producing food for his restaurants, which include Emeril's in the Warehouse District, NOLA's in the French Quarter and Emeril's New Orleans Fish House in Las Vegas.

(17) Valentino, 3115 West Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica (310-829-4313). Piero Selvaggio, a restaurateur with movie-star looks, has presided over his Italian culinary domain for more than 25 years. Selvaggio's determination in searching out the finest ingredients, both domestic and imported from small producers, is the hallmark of this bastion of fine contemporary Italian cuisine. Valentino offers a $59 extravaganza menu, selected daily by chef Angelo Auriana. We recommend the sashimi-like storione affumicato (Italian smoked sturgeon) with blood-orange vinaigrette, fusilli with duck ragout, or osso buco. Sample a bottle of wine from Selvaggio's multimillion-dollar cellar (the encyclopedic list has ten pages of Piemontese wines alone).

(18) Aureole, 34 East 61st Street, New York City (212-319-1660). On a typical Friday night, Aureole serves 300 people "progressive" domestic cuisine rated the best in the U.S. by the Zagat Survey 1997. The restaurant's cream-colored walls with sandstone animal-and-foliage reliefs and its muted floral displays create a relaxed atmosphere that complements chef Charlie Palmer's vividly colorful, artistic, almost architectural dishes. His five-course "celebration menu of great American food" is $85, and there is a $65 three-course menu that requires you to choose among two dozen first- and main-course items. You might begin with the sweet corn, leek and bay shrimp chowder, for example, and follow with anise-seared Cervena venison mignons with sun-dried currants. Leave room for the rich, whimsical desserts--some of which could be scale models for a futuristic movieset.

(19) Fleur de Lys, 777 Sutter Street, San Francisco (415-673-7779). French-born chef and co-owner Hubert Keller is renowned for his artfully presented French classical cuisine with Mediterranean accents and California touches. In what could be the most romantic dining room in America, wall sconces cast a candlelight glow over hundreds of yards of draped red-patterned sepia cloth accented by wall-to-ceiling mirrors and a Venetian glass chandelier. This fantastic atmosphere calls for a bottle of champagne from Fleur de Lys' extensive wine list to accompany Keller's "symphony" of small appetizers, which might include a Hudson Valley foie gras terrine and tiny crab cakes and lobster rolls. Continue with the crispy veal sweetbreads with artichokes and leeks in a truffle vinaigrette, followed by grilled venison tournedos on braised endive with lingonberry sauce, a selection of French cheeses with walnut bread and chocolate orange pie with pink grapefruit-and-vermouth sorbet. There is a $68 four-course tasting menu and a vegetarian menu.

(20) Le Cirque 2000, 455 Madison Avenue, New York City (212-794-9292). Le Cirque reigned for two decades as New York City's top glamour-and-power restaurant until it was transformed last year into Le Cirque 2000, a restaurant for a new century rebuilt at enormous expense by the Sultan of Brunei as the showpiece for his Palace Hotel. Le Cirque 2000 is a three-ring extravagana comprising two main dining rooms and a bar. The Adam Tihany-designed interior--with its bright red-and-yellow, lime green and cobalt blue furnishings and neon-accented tubing--takes some getting used to. But Le Cirque is still the hottest ticket in town and continues to draw plenty of celebrities. Its classical French food with nouvelle touches earned four stars from The New York Times. Expect to spend $400 to $500 for dinner for two. Enjoy the show.

(21) Norman's, 21 Almeria Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida (305-446-6767). Chef-owner Norman Van Aken is credited with coining the term fusion cooking. Fusion to Van Aken means a blend of Asian, old- and new-world ideas, techniques and ingredients. Layered field-stone-faced wood-burning ovens give Norman's a rustic feel, and with its terracotta walls, marble floors and Moorish arches, the dining room is decidedly south-Florida Spanish. Even the wine list is divided into old-world and new-world selections. There's a seven-course $60 degustation, but the first time at Norman's, you may want to try his signature conch chowder with saffron, toasted coconut, star anise and oranges, and his rum-and-pepper-painted grouper on a mango-habanero mojo.

(22) Café Annie, 1728 Post Oak Boulevard, Houston (713-840-1111). Robert Del Grande, the handsome chefpartner of Café Annie, couples his knowledge of the chemistry of food (he has a doctorate in biochemistry) with his own fine palate. The result is original combinations such as mussel soup with cilantro and serrano chilies, garnished with ancho chili jam; and south Texas antelope with dried cherries and cascabel chili sauce, served with Belgian endive braised with bacon and wild mushrooms. Café Annie costs about $100 per person for dinner with wine, but at midday there is a $25 two-course-with-dessert "city lunch."

(23) Star Canyon, 3102 Oaklawn Avenue, Dallas (214-520-7827). At the top of the menu it says: "Welcome to Star Canyon, where the snakes are meaner, the service is friendlier and the grub is grander." The grub is the "new Texas" cuisine of Stephan Pyles, who (along with Dean Fearing and Robert Del Grande) is one of the pioneers of the genre. Although the snake handles on the front doors aren't mean by our standards, Pyles makes a mean fried-green-tomato salad with Dallas mozzarella, rosemary-balsamic vinaigrette and black pepper-masa crackers. He's also noted for his signature tamale tart with roasted-garlic custard, braised rabbit and wild mushrooms; and his red chilibrined pork chop with bourbon-mustard sauce, three-bean salad and housemade barbecued potato chips. The decor is straight out of a Texas cattle baron's fantasy: an oak-paneled ceiling branded with the names of Texas towns, and tooled saddle-leather furnishings. The wine list features a page of "domestics" (from Texas) and several pages of "imports" (from everywhere else). Dinner for two with wine will cost about $150.

(24) Commander's Palace, 1403 Washington Avenue, New Orleans (504-899-8231). The Brennan family's venerable culinary pleasure palace, ensconced in a historic turquoise-and-white Victorian mansion in the Garden District, is a fixture on our Critics' Choice list. Commander's Palace, whose previous chefs were Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse and Frank Brigtsen, received the James Beard Foundation's award for the outstanding restaurant in America in 1996. "Some like it hot. Some like it haute!" reads the heading on the menu, to distinguish chef Jamie Shannon's haute Creole cooking (a sophisticated cuisine that is derived from Spanish, French and African influences) from Cajun food, which Shannon describes as a "one-pot" style of cooking. Commander's Palace has a "complete dinners" menu that offers a choice of appetizers, salad and such entrees as grilled gulf fish with a Louisiana legumes ragout, and Louisiana crawfish maque choux (corn, okra, onions, bell peppers and crawfish tails in an Acadian crawfish sauce with popcorn rice), plus dessert (pecan pie à la mode, perhaps?). There is also an à la carte menu, a huge wine list and the famous jazz brunch on weekends.

(25) Le Bec-Fin, 1523 Walnut Street, Philadelphia (215-567-1000). Le Bec-Fin, which celebrated its 25th season in 1995, and its chef and owner, Georges Perrier, have won numerous awards. Perrier is a perfectionist who insists that a member of his staff be in the market daily before dawn to select only the freshest produce. He has also had the silk-covered walls in his Louis XVI dining room padded to mute noise. And his exceptional wine list has brought Le Bec-Fin national stature. Although the restaurant is elegant and the menu is un-apologetically French (only two dishes have English translations), Le Bec-Fin is anything but stuffy. The unpredictable Perrier has been known to charge into the dining room wielding a saber to lop the cork off a bottle of bubbly. The chef has lightened the sauces used in his appetizers and entrees over the years, but he doesn't hedge on his desserts. Indulge your sweet tooth with what's displayed on Le Bec-Fin's renowned sweets trolley.

That's it for our critics' choices for the best restaurants of 1998. Some are big, some are intimate, some charge mind-boggling prices and some are surprisingly reasonable. But all offer dining experiences you won't soon forget.

1. Restaurant Daniel New York City

2. French Laundry Yountville, California

3. Jean Georges New York City

4. Charlie Trotter's Chicago

5. Patina Los Angeles

6. Inn At Little Washington Washington, Virginia

7. Frontera Grill/Topolobampo Chicago

8. Nobu New York City

9. Chez Panisse Berkeley, California

10. Le Bernardin New York City

11. Lespinasse New York City

12. Spaco West Hollywood

13. Mansion on Turtle Creek Dallas

14. Gotham Bar and Grill New York City

15. Union Square Café New York City

16. Emeril's New Orleans

17. Valentino Santa Monica, California

18. Aureole New York City

19. Fleur De Lys San Francisco

20. Le Cirque 2000 New York City

21. Norman's Coral Gables, Florida

22. Café Annie Houston

23. Star Canyon Dallas

24. Commander's Palace New Orleans

25. Le Bec-Fin Philadelphia

How good is the food? Dinner guests have been known to fly in by helicopter.

Choice Critics

Adrienne Asher-Gepford, Schramsberg Vineyards, Calistoga, CA

Mario Batali, owner and chef, Po Restaurant, New York City

David Benton, vice president and general manager, Rittenhouse Hotel, Philadelphia

Dan Berger, wine columnist, Los Angeles Times

Karen Berk, editor for the Zagat Survey, Los Angeles

Anthony Dias Blue, wine and spirits editor, Bon Appétit, San Francisco

Daniel Boulud, chef and owner, Restaurant Daniel, New York City

Tina Breslow, chief partner, Breslow Partners; Philadelphia Advisory Board, James Beard Foundation

Teresa Byrne-Dodge, publisher and editor, My Table: A Critic's Guide to Dining in Houston

Janet Lai Cam, restaurant consultant, Pittsburgh

Providence Cicero, food editor, Seattle Magazine

Jane Citron, food editor of Pittsburgh Magazine

Joan Clarke, food editor of The Honolulu Advertiser

Andrea Clurfeld, restaurant critic and food editor, Asbury Park Press, NJ

Suzanne Corbett, food editor, St. Louis Bugle

Jeff Cox, restaurant and wine writer, Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Joe Crea, food editor, The Toledo Blade, Zagat Survey, Ohio

Doug Crichton, editor in chief, Cooking Light, Birmingham, AL

Sanford D'Amato, chef and owner, Sanford Restaurant, Milwaukee

Robert Del Grande, chef and owner, Café Annie, Houston

John Doerper, publisher and editor, Pacific Epicure, Bellingham, WA

Roberto Donna, chef and owner, Galileo Restaurant, Washington, D.C.

Paul Draper, winemaker, Ridge Vineyards, Cupertino, CA

George Faison, president, D'Artagnan Inc., Newark, NJ

Susan Feniger, chef and owner, Border Grill, Santa Monica

Barbara Pool Fenzl, owner, Les Gourmettes Cooking School, Phoenix

Bobby Flay, chef and owner, Mesa Grill, Bolo/Mesa City, New York City

Lynn Fredericks, food and wine writer, Santé; Fine Cooking Magazine, Wine News, New York City

Alain Gayot, publisher and editor in chief, Gayot/Gault Millau guides, Los Angeles

George Germon, chef and owner, Al Forno, Providence, RI

Rozanne Gold, author and executive culinary director, Joseph Baum/Michael Whiteman Co., New York City

Randall Grahm, president, Bonny Doon Vineyards, Santa Cruz, CA

Dotty Griffith, restaurant critic, Dallas Morning News

Fred Griffith, interviewer and host, Morning Exchange WEWS-TV, Cleveland

Linda Chesney Griffith, food and wine writer, Cleveland Heights

Vincent Guerithault, chef and owner, Vincent's on Camelback, Phoenix

Ann Haigh, restaurant editor, Pittsburgh Magazine

Karen Haram, food and wine editor, San Antonio Express-News

Joanne Hayes, food editor, Country Living, New York City

John Heckathorn, restaurant critic, Honolulu Magazine; KHNR-Radio

Bob Hosman, wine and restaurant critic, Sun-Sentinel and South Florida Magazine, Miami

Barbara Kafka, author and food writer, New York City

Johanne Killeen, owner, Al Forno, Providence, RI

Fredric Koeppel, restaurant critic, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis

Dolores Kostelni, restaurant critic, The Roanoke Times

Elizabeth Kuehner-Smith, associate publisher, Wine News, Coral Gables, FL

Gray Kunz, executive chef, Lespinasse, St. Regis Hotel, New York City

Bob Lape, restaurant critic, Crain's New York Business and WCBS-Radio

Robin Leach, television personality

John Lehndorff, food editor and columnist, Daily Camera and Knight-Ridder Tribune, Boulder, CO

Nancy Leson, restaurant critic, The Seattle Times; editor, Zagat Survey, Seattle

Michael Lomonaco, executive chef, Windows on the World, New York City; host of Michael's Place on the Food Network

Patricia Mack, food editor, The Record, Hackensack, NJ

Elliott Mackle, dining critic, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

George Mahaffey, chef, Restaurant at the Little Nell, Aspen

Waldy Malouf, executive chef, Rainbow, New York City

John Mariani, food and wine critic, The Wine Spectator, Esquire, Prodigy, New York City

John Martellaro, restaurant critic, The Kansas City Star

Julie Mautner, managing editor, Food Arts, New York City

Michael McCarty, owner, Michael's Santa Monica and Michael's New York

Peter Meltzer, writer, Wine Spectator

Danny Meyer, co-owner, Union Square Café/Gramercy Tavern, New York City

Mark Miller, chef and owner, Coyote Café, Santa Fe, NM and Red Sage Restaurant, Washington, D.C.

Pat Mozersky, food columnist, San Antonio Express-News

Dr. Su Hua Newton, owner, Newton Vineyards, St. Helena, CA

Will Norton Jr., dean, University of Nebraska; James Beard awards judge

Janice Okun, food editor and restaurant critic, The Buffalo News

Carolyn O'Neil, senior correspondent, On the Menu on CNN, Atlanta

Ronn Owens, talk-show host, KGO-Radio, San Francisco

Charles Palmer, chef and owner, Aureole, New York City

Tom Passavant, editor in chief, Diversion Magazine, New York City

Jacques Pépin, chef, author, television personality

Alfred Portale, executive chef, Gotham Bar and Grill, New York City

Stephan Pyles, chef and owner, Star Canyon and Aquaknox, Dallas

Jane Rayburn, restaurant critic, The Detroit News

Alan Richman, restaurant critic, Gentlemen's Quarterly, New York City

Phyllis Richman, restaurant critic, The Washington Post

Earlene Ridge, restaurant critic, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson

David Rosengarten, restaurant critic, Gourmet; host of In Food Today on the Food Network, New York City

Irene Sax, food writer, Disney Online

Mat Schaffer, restaurant critic, Microsoft Sidewalk, Boston

Jimmy Schmidt, chef and owner, Rattlesnake Club, Detroit

Helen Schwab, restaurant critic, The Charlotte Observer, NC

John Shafer, president, Shafer Vineyards, Napa, CA

Patricia Sharpe, restaurant reviewer and food editor, Texas Monthly, Austin

Lydia Shire, chef and owner, Biba/Pignoli, Boston

Muriel Stevens, food editor and restaurant critic, Las Vegas Sun

Tom Stockley, wine and beverage columnist, The Seattle Times

Allen Susser, chef and owner, Chef Allen's, North Miami Beach

Lettie Teague, wine editor, Food & Wine, New York City

Adam Tihany, restaurant designer, Adam Tihany International, New York City

Michael Todd, publisher, GrapeZine Magazine, Sag Harbor, NY

Norman Van Aken, chef and owner, Norman's, Coral Gables, FL

Phil Vettel, restaurant critic for the Chicago Tribune

S. Irene Virbila, restaurant critic, Los Angeles Times

Alice Waters, chef and owner, Chez Panisse, Berkeley, CA

Jasper White, chef, consultant and author, Jasper White Inc., Lincoln, MA

Michael Whiteman, partner, Joseph Baum/Michael Whiteman Co., New York City

Regional Favorites

The restaurants on this list missed making our top 25 by a few points. Some are funky favorites for critics and chefs. Others are hot new spots that everyone is talking about.

Alabama

Highlands Bar & Grill, South Birmingham, 205-939-1400

Arizona

Janos, Tucson, 520-884-9426

Mary Elaine's at the Phoenician, Scottsdale, 602-423-2530

Vincent's on Camelback, Phoenix, 602-224-0225

California

Aqua, San Francisco, 415-956-9662

Boulevard, San Francisco, 415-543-6084

Campanile, Los Angeles, 213-938-1447

Catahoula Restaurant and Saloon, Calistoga, 707-942-2275

Chinois on Main, Santa Monica, 310-392-9025

Farallon, San Francisco, 415-956-6969

Globe, San Francisco, 415-391-4132

Jardiniere, San Francisco, 415-861-5555

Masa's, San Francisco, 415-989-7154

Matsuhisa, Beverly Hills, 310-659-9639

Pacific's Edge at the Highlands Inn, Carmel, 408-624-3801

Pinot Blanc, St. Helena, 707-963-6191

Postrio, San Francisco, 415-776-7825

Restaurant Jozu, Los Angeles, 213-655-5600

Rose Pistola, San Francisco, 415-399-0499

Slanted Door, San Francisco, 415-861-8032

Spago, Beverly Hills, 310-385-0880

Stars, San Francisco, 415-861-7827

Terra, St. Helena, 707-963-8931

Tra Vigne, St. Helena, 707-963-4444

Vida, Los Angeles, 213-660-4446

Colorado

Renaissance, Aspen, 970-925-2402

Restaurant at the Little Nell, Aspen, 970-920-6330

Connecticut

Restaurant Jean-Louis, Greenwich, 203-622-8450

West Street Grill, Litchfield, 860-567-3885

District of Columbia

Galileo, 202-293-7191

Kinkead's, 202-296-7700

Vidalia, 202-659-1990

Florida

Chef Allen's, North Miami Beach, 305-935-2900

Joe's Stone Crab, Miami Beach, 305-673-0365

Mark's Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale, 954-463-1000

Pacific Time, Miami Beach, 305-534-5979

Georgia

Bacchanalia, Atlanta, 404-365-0410

Brasserie Le Coze, Atlanta, 404-266-1440

The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta, 404-237-2700

Hawaii

Alan Wong's, Honolulu, 808-949-2526

Hoku's at Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Oahu, 808-739-8777

A Pacific Cafe, Oahu, 808-593-0035

Roy's, Honolulu, 808-396-7697

Sam Choy's, Honolulu, 808-334-1213

Illinois

Arun's, Chicago, 773-539-1909

Everest, Chicago, 312-663-8920

Le Français, Wheeling, 847-541-7470

Red Light, Chicago, 312-733-8880

Spiaggia, Chicago, 312-280-2750

Trio, Evanston, 847-733-8746

Louisiana

Bayona, New Orleans, 504-525-4455

Mothers, New Orleans, 504-523-9656

Nola, New Orleans, 504-522-6652

Massachusetts

Biba, Boston, 617-426-7878

Hammersley's Bistro, Boston, 617-423-2700

Legal Sea Foods, Boston, 617-426-4444

Olives, Charlestown, 617-242-9715

Michigan

Chianti Tuscan Grill, Ann Arbor, 313-332-0800

Five Lakes Grill, Milford, 248-684-7455

Tapawingo, Ellsworth, 616-588-7971

Tribute, Farmington Hills, 248-848-9393

Missouri

Tony's, St. Louis, 314-231-7007

Nevada

Napa, Las Vegas, 702-247-7961

New Jersey

Restaurant Serenade, Chatham, 973-701-0303

The Ryland Inn, Whitehouse, 908-534-4011

New Mexico

Coyote Café, Santa Fe, 505-983-1615

New York City

An American Place, 212-684-2122

Balthazar, 212-965-1414

Blue Ribbon, 212-274-0404

Chanterelle, 212-966-6960

Felidia, 212-758-1479

The Four Seasons, 212-754-9494

Gertrude's, 212-888-9127

Gramercy Tavern, 212-477-1025

Les Célébrités, 212-484-5113

Lutèce, 212-752-2225

Molyvos, 212-582-7500

Montrachet, 212-219-2777

Oceana, 212-759-5941

Patria, 212-777-6211

Payard, 212-717-5252

Picholine, 212-724-8585

Po, 212-645-2189

San Domenico, 212-265-5959

Sea Grill at Rockefeller Center, 212-332-7610

Union Pacific, 212-995-8500

North Carolina

Magnolia Grill, Durham, 919-286-3609

Oregon

Couvron, Portland, 503-225-1844

Wildwood, Portland, 503-248-9663

Pennsylvania

Steelhead Grill, Pittsburgh, 412-394-3474

Susanna Foo, Philadelphia, 215-545-2666

Rhode Island

Al Forno, Providence, 401-273-9760

New Rivers, Providence, 401-751-0350

South Carolina

Peninsula Grill, Charleston, 803-723-0700

Texas

The Riviera, Dallas, 214-351-0094

Ruggles Grill, Houston, 713-524-3839

Tony's, Houston, 713-622-6778

Washington

Campagne, Seattle, 206-728-2800

Flying Fish, Seattle, 206-728-8595

Fullers-Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Seattle, 206-447-5544

The Herb Farm, Fall City, 206-784-2222

Lampreia, Seattle, 206-443-3301

Rover's, Seattle, 206-325-7442

Wisconsin

Sanford, Milwaukee, 414-276-9608