Interested in eating at the best -- or at least top-rated -- places in town, depending on which town you plan to visit?The annual "30 Most Important Restaurants in the United States," compiled by the online guide Opinionated About Dining, lists Thomas Keller's French Laundry in the Napa Valley, CA, and Per Se in New York as the tops this year.
The annual survey was conducted between September 1, 2009, and January 8 of this year. It is based on more than 29,000 rankings from about 1,900 respondents.
The list is composed of restaurants that earn a rating of at least 95 points in the Opinionated About Dining guide.
This was the second straight top finish for the French Laundry with a perfect score of 100. Per Se scored 99.73 to rank second.
The full survey, which examines 1,000 restaurants throughout the United States, will be released March 1. Here, however, is the Top 30 list:
1. The French Laundry, Yountville, CA, 100
2. Per Se, New York, 99.73
3. Masa, New York, 99.00
4. Manresa, Los Gatos, Calif., 98.53
5. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY, 98.50
6. Mini-Bar, Washington, DC, 98.48
7. Urasawa, Beverly Hills, CA, 98.43
8. Jean Georges, New York, 98.30
9. Alinea, Chicago, 97.78
10. Corton, New York, 97.53
11. McCrady's, Charleston, SC, 97.50
12. Le Bernardin, New York, 97.17
13. Sushi Yasuda, New York, 97.08
14. Guy Savoy, Las Vegas, 97.00
15. Schwa, Chicago, 96.71
16. Kuruma Sushi, New York, 96.43
17. Eleven Madison Park, New York, 96.27
18. Momofuku Ko, New York, 96.26
19. Komi, Washington, DC, 96.11
20. (tie) Cyrus, Healdsburg, CA, 95.93
20 (tie) Providence, Los Angeles, 95.93
22. Marinus, Carmel, CA, 95.81
23. Town House, Chilhowie, VA, 95.73
24. Coi, San Francisco, 95.72
25. Hugo's, Portland, ME., 95.66
26. Bouley, New York, 95.45
27. Aubergine, Carmel-By-the-Sea, CA, 95.39
28. L' Atelier de Joel Robuchon, New York, 95.28
29. O Ya, Boston, 95.16
30. Elements, Princeton, NJ, 95.04.
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