GQ's 25 Best New Restaurants in America, 2014

[David Ross]

GQ just released Alan Richman's 2014 edition of the 25 Best New Restaurants in America.  What do you think of the list?  Have you dined at any of these restaurants?  Are "Best New Restaurant" Lists still relevant in today's dining culture? 

http://www.gq.com/life/eat-and-drink/201403/best-new-restaurants-alan-richman#slide=1

 

[Alex]

Alan Richman's cred aside, I think that pretty much any "best of" list is published primarily to attract buzz (like this forum), and ultimately readership and advertising dollars.

 

I've eaten at only one of the 25--Nico Osteria, in Chicago (#10 in the always-annoying slideshow). This post pretty much sums up my experience there (good but not great; moderately overpriced). A few months ago, my cousin and I wanted to try the highly touted ramen at Daikaya (#15) for a mid-week lunch--located downstairs vs. the Sunday brunch upstairs--but the place was a madhouse. We wound up having a great lunch next door at Graffiato. Ivan Ramen (#24) is on my short list for when I visit NYC in a couple of months.

[rotuts]

OK then

 

I liked looking the list over as I enjoy taking a peak at upper end restaurants

 

the slideshow was pretty bad tough

[gfweb]

OK then

 

I liked looking the list over as I enjoy taking a peak at upper end restaurants

 

the slideshow was pretty bad tough

25 clicks for GQ site. Hate that. Just give me the list!

[Twyst]

I have eaten at Qui (#1)  quite a few times with mixed results.  Sometimes fantastic, sometimes merely pretty good. I don't think it as good as the work he was doing as Chef de Cuisine at Uchiko.

 

 

La BBQ is also on the list somewhere in the teens.   Totally overhyped in my opinion, its not even close to the best BBQ in the region or even the city.

Edited March 8, 2014 by Twyst (log)

[Chelseabun]

Are "Best New Restaurant" Lists still relevant in today's dining culture? 

 

 

 

I would say it depends upon who has compiled the list.  For me, i prefer recommendations from people i know who have visited the restaurant (locally, which i have a possibility of visiting).  Otherwise it becomes like a Letterman top ten list.

[David Ross]

I dined at Westward in Seattle and if you read Alan's review of the place, he doesn't really endorse it as the "Best" new restaurant in Seattle.  He gives it basically a B+ which is exactly what I'd give it. As Alan writes, "In truth, it’s a little more diversity than the modest kitchen is able to handle," a fitting description of a lot of the trendy, funky places in both Seattle and Portland.  They try a little hard to fuse organic, artisanal, local, Moroccan, Asian, French, Italian and that silly thing called "New American" cuisine. You know, small plates of this and that. 

 

When you live in the Northwest, it's hard to muck up a pristine oyster harvested an hour ago--but it's easy to muck up dishes with too many influences. 

[weinoo]

I have eaten at Qui (#1)  quite a few times with mixed results.  Sometimes fantastic, sometimes merely pretty good. I don't think it as good as the work he was doing as Chef de Cuisine at Uchiko.

 

 

La BBQ is also on the list somewhere in the teens.   Totally overhyped in my opinion, its not even close to the best BBQ in the region or even the city.

Isn't this the general problem with most of these Richman reviews (and with most "reviews" in general)?  My guess is he dines at these places a grand total of once - certainly not a representative sample.  To say a place is great based on that sampling, or to pan a place based on same, does not serve his readership well or properly.

Edited March 19, 2014 by weinoo (log)