It looks like Mr. Bauer heeded our call of last year to promote Marlowe, Saison, and Fifth Floor to the Top 100, as he reveals today the 26 new restaurants that have edged out 26 older favorites to land on the list for 2011. The full list will appear in Sunday’s Chronicle, and this pre-publishing of the new additions is a first. Still no love for Oakland’s sole Michelin starred restaurant, Commis, even though last year saw chef James Syhabout vaulted into the national spotlight in Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs issue. Bauer’s enduring love for pizza accounts for the additions of Oenotri, Ristobar, and Zero Zero, and with his recent three-star love for Marina Mexican place Mamacita we should have seen that one coming, too.
As he complains each year, Bauer is pained at having to jettison any of his old favorites, and he resisted once again making it a Top 125. He also thought about taking all the four-star restaurants out of the list and putting them in a separate box. “However, in the end that didn’t seem right.” So, alas, we find out in a few days who got the arbitrary axe in order to keep the list a nice even number.
Below, the newly promoted 26.
(A * indicates that the restaurant had appeared on previous lists but had dropped off by 2010.)
1. À Côté, Oakland *
2. Absinthe *
3. Angèle, Napa
4. Bar Agricole
5. Benu
6. Bistro Aix *
7. Bourbon Steak
8. Commonwealth
9. Cotogna
10. Farallon *
11. Fifth Floor *
12. Gitane
13. Ippuku, Berkeley
14. Mamacita
15. Marlowe
16. Mission Chinese Food
17. Morimoto, Napa
18. Oenotri, Napa
19. Plum, Oakland
20. Prospect
21. Ristobar
22. Saison
23. Station 1, Woodside
24. Ubuntu, Napa *
25. Waterbar
26. Zero Zero
The 26 new places in the Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants [Scoop]
