This month’s Saveur magazine lists off their “Twelve Restaurants that Matter,” one of which is our very own Topolobampo. The writeup (by Saveur editor and Chicago native David McAninch) takes us through a typical day at the restaurant, from 7am produce deliveries until the last party of business-attired 30-somethings sludge home through through a late-night blizzard. Through it all, chef/owner Rick Bayless is an omnipresence in the kitchen, tasting everything with the spoon for which there’s a special pocket sewn in his jacket pocket.
As for the rest of the list, it’s kind of a hodgepodge of notables from across the country, with no real common thread connecting them except for Saveur’s assertion that everyone on the list has “profoundly influenced the way we think about food. Just as important, though, they delight us, dazzle us, and comfort us in ways that make us feel both at home and utterly transported.” By and large, they’re solid restaurants at a high price point that are go-tos in their home cities for a fancy dinner. Full list after the jump.
Las Vegas’s Joel Robuchon
Boston’s Sportello
New Orleans’s Commander’s Palace
Chicago’s Topolobampo
Seattle’s Canlis
New York City’s Gramercy Tavern
Los Gatos, California’s Manresa
Atlanta’s Watershed
Brooklyn’s Marlow & Sons
L.A.’s Musso and Frank’s Grill
Pecantico Hills, N.Y.’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns
San Francisco’s The Slanted Door
[Photo courtesy Topolobampo]