New York occupies five of twelve spots on a new Food & Wine list of “Best U.S. Restaurant Openings”: Torrisi, Lincoln, Balaboosta, Meatball Shop, and The Best Chocolate Cake in the World. L.A. and Boston each have one rep on the list from name brand chefs: Wolfgang Puck’s WP24, and Lidia Shire and Jasper White’s Towne Stove & Spirits, respectively. And Jan Newberry (Food & Wine contributor and San Francisco magazine editor) must be sick of seeing Frances on everyone’s Best New Restaurant list, because she goes rogue and selects American Grilled Cheese Kitchen and their “well-constructed sandwiches” to represent S.F.
In other news, Zagat released the results of their annual dining survey today as part of their America’s Top Restaurants guide, “reporting the opinions and habits of over 153,000 avid diners” nationwide. There’s a bunch of snoozeflashes therein, like, and we’re paraphrasing, “people are spending less!” and “people care more about how much things cost!” But they also report that 63% of diners surveyed say it’s rude to text, tweet, or chat on a cellphone at the table (perhaps this will encourage more restaurants to ban cellphones altogether and to curse out customers who use them, like César Ramirez does); and 68% now say it’s important that menu items are locally sourced, organic, or sustainably raised.
Best U.S. Restaurant Openings [Food & Wine]
ZAGAT’S 2011 America’s Top Restaurants Guide Reveals… [Zagat]
Earlier: First Look at Wolfgang Puck’s WP24 [Grub Street LA]
Wander Inside the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen [Grub Street SF]
What to Eat for Dinner at Torrisi Italian Specialties [Grub Street NY]
First Look at Towne, Bringing International Fare to Hynes [Grub Street Bos]
