Steve Plotnicki and Opinionated About Dining are proud to announce the list of Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2012 as determined by the Opinionated About Dining Survey. Over 3,000 people, including many of the top food bloggers in the country, registered for this year’s survey and contributed more than 70,000 reviews.
The Opinionated About Dining approach to rating restaurants relies on tapping into the experience and opinions from diners who are passionate about where they eat and who describe how strongly they would recommend a restaurant and why. The methodology further gives weight to different kinds of restaurants and survey participants based on factors such as price point and number of restaurants reviewed. The surveys that form the basis of the ratings are open to the general public and can be accessed via Opinionated About Dining.
“If these survey results have shown me anything, it’s that 2012 is and will continue to be an incredible year to dine at some of the most progressive and thoughtful restaurants in recent memory,” says Plotnicki. “Take the number one restaurant of the year, Manresa by David Kinch, a perfect example of a chef and restaurant that are pushing the boundaries and encouraging the culinary industry’s creativity and advancement.”
Steve Plotnicki, is the author of Opinionated About dining blog, and the author of Opinionated About U.S. Restaurants 2011, He is also the organizer of a number of theme-based dinners that he hosted with Chef Tom Colicchio at Craft, New York and Michael Cimarusti at Providence, Los Angeles. He is planning on releasing a list of top U.S. restaurants by region and by cuisine on March 27, and a list of The Best Restaurants: Europe later this spring.
The 2012 survey showcases some interesting shifts in the dining arena. For the first time since 2008, when the survey began, a restaurant other than the French Laundry has been named the number one restaurant in the U.S.; more restaurants in the Top 100 are serving progressive cuisine than serving French cuisine; San Francisco has begun to rival Chicago as the country’s number two fine dining destination; restaurants serving Asian cuisine (Japanese & Korean) made up more than 20% of the restaurants on the list; five restaurants (non-Asian) now employ a counter format seating where the chefs serve their customers directly; and seven chefs accomplished the amazing feat of earning multiple spots on the Top 100 list: Grant Achatz, Jose Andres, Dan Barber, Sean Brock, David Chang, Thomas Keller and Wolfgang Puck.
1. Manresa, Los Gatos, CA 102.06
2. The French Laundry, Yountville, CA 101.94
3. Alinea, Chicago, IL 101.34
4. Per Se, New York, NY 101.19
5. Town House, Chilhowie, VA 100.91
6. Masa, New York, NY 100.76
7. Urasawa, Beverly Hills, CA 100.73
8. Mini-Bar, Washington, D.C. 100.49
9. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY 100.08
10. McCrady's, Charleston, SC 99.37
11. Jean Georges, New York, NY 99.06
12. Sushi Yasuda, New York, NY 98.95
13. Komi, Washington, D.C. 98.69
14. Saam at the Bazaar, West Hollywood, CA 98.46
15. Kuruma Zushi, New York, NY 98.33
15. Eleven Madison Park, New York, NY 98.33
17. Le Bernardin, New York, NY 98.28
18. Coi, San Francisco, CA 98.10
19. Corton, New York, NY 97.97
20. Schwa, Chicago, IL 97.74
21. Restaurant at Meadowood St. Helena, CA 97.54
22. Momofuku Ko New York, NY 97.11
23. Providence, Los Angeles, CA 96.71
24. Saison, San Francisco, CA 96.64
25. Cyrus, Healdsburg, CA 96.55
26. Spago, Beverly Hills, CA 96.51
27. Marinus, Carmel Valley, CA 96.46
28. Soto, New York, NY 96.44
29. Peter Luger, Williamsburg, NY 96.43
30. Bouley, New York, NY 96.31
31. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, New York, NY 96.21
32 . Commis, Oakland, CA 96.19
33. The Herbfarm, Woodinville, WA 96.14
34. Guy Savoy, Las Vegas, NV 96.02
35. Elements, Princeton, NJ 96.00
36. Sushi Taro, Washington, D.C. 95.92
37. Charlie Trotter's, Chicago, IL 95.91
38. Daniel, New York, NY 95.75
39. Quince, San Francisco, CA 95.74
40. Ubuntu, Napa, CA 95.71
41. Sugiyama, New York, NY 95.70
41. Sushi Seki, New York, NY 95.70
41. Uni, Boston, MA 95.70
44. Moto, Chicago, IL 95.61
45. Spiaggia, Chicago, IL 95.40
46. North Fork Table & Inn, Southold, NY 95.33
47. Chez Panisse, Berkeley, CA 95.14
48. O Ya, Boston, MA 95.01
49. Roberta's (Tasting Menu), Bushwick, NY 94.93
50. Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham. AL 94.86
51. Marea, New York, NY 94.84
52. Brooklyn Fare, Brooklyn, NY 94.79
53. Atelier Crenn, San Francisco, CA 94.75
54. Miyake, Portland, ME 94.65
55. Kyo Ya, New York, NY 94.62
55. Craft, New York, NY 94.62
57. American Restaurant, Kansas City, KS 94.60
58. Patina, Los Angeles, CA 94.56
59. Momofuku Ss
60. Hugo's, Portland, ME 94.52
61. Morimoto, Philadelphia, PA 94.47
61. Michy's, Miami, FL 94.47
63. Citronelle, Washington, D.C. 94.39
64. Charleston, Baltimore, MD 94.31
65. Restaurant Eugene, Atlanta, GA 94.26
66. Aubergine, Carmel, CA 94.24
67. Niche, St. Louis, MO 94.23
68. wd-50, New York, NY 94.19
69. Sushi Ran, Sausalito, CA 94.18
70. Matsuhisa, West Hollywood, CA 94.15
71. Blue Hill, New York, NY 94.14
72. Volt, Frederick, MD 94.10
73. L20, Chicago, IL 94.09
74. Sawa Sushi, Sunnyvale, CA 94.05
75. Gary Danko, San Francisco, CA 94.03
76. Picasso, Las Vegas, NV 93.94
76. Benu, San Francisco, CA 93.94
78. Masa's, San Francisco, CA 93.82
79. Momofuku Noodle Bar, New York, NY 93.81
80. Vetri, Philadelphia, PA 93.80
81. Totoraku, West Los Angeles, CA 93.75
82. Canlis, Seattle, WA 93.68
82. Blackbird, Chicago, IL 93.68
82. The Bazaar, West Hollywood, CA 93.68
85. Stella!, New Orleans, LA 93.58
86. Il Grano, West Los Angeles, CA 93.57
87. Quinones Room at Bacchanalia, Atlanta, GA 93.56
88. No. 9 Park, Boston, MA 93.54
89. Inn at Little Washington, Washington, VA 93.45
90. Husk, Charleston, SC 93.27
90. Baume, Palo Alto, CA 93.27
90. Everest, Chicago, IL 93.27
93. Gramercy Tavern, New York, NY 93.26
94. Next, Chicago, IL 93.24
94. Red Medicine, West Hollywood, CA 93.24
96. Sanford, Milwaukee, WI 93.23
96. George's California Modern, La Jolla, CA 93.23
98. Cut, Beverly Hills, CA 93.19
98. Nishimura, West Hollywood, CA 93.19
100. Castagna, Portland, OR 93.18
To participate in the restaurant rating survey or for more information, visit <www.opinionatedaboutdining.com.