LA's Urasawa Tops Keller, Manresa in Best Dining List

In what might be described as an upset, Urasawa in Beverly Hills has been named the best restaurant in all of the land in a new dining survey by Opinionated About Dining food blogger Steve Plotnicki. Thought to someday contend with the likes of Zagat and Michelin, Plotnicki's guide was conducted over 10 months, was compiled by "opinionated destination diners" and contains semi-indecipherable scores a la the Zagat guide. Urasawa tops the list, but is followed closely by the French Laundry at #2 and Manresa at #3 (tied). The rest of the top 50 includes some Bay Area restaurants: Chez Panisse, Coi, Masa's, Boulevard and Cyrus. But the big news is that His Highness Thomas Keller, for the first time in memory, is sitting in second place for some reason. That, and Los Angeles somehow outscored the Bay. We're calling shenanigans on those last two items (and perhaps renewing the interstate intrastate rivalry).

Restaurants are organized into three categories: Worth Planning a Trip Around” (105 points or higher), “Worth Going Out of Your Way For” (100-104 points) and “Important Local Choices” (95-99 points).

Urasawa, Beverly Hills, California 113
The French Laundry, Yountville, California 111
Jean Georges, New York, New York 109
Manresa, Los Gatos, California 109
Per Se, New York, New York 107
Alinea, Chicago, Illinois 106
McCrady’s, Charleston, South Carolina 106
Minibar, Washington, DC 105
Splendido, Toronto, Ontario 105
Le Bernardin, New York, New York 104
Providence, Los Angeles, California 104
Sushi Yasuda, New York, New York 104
Bouley, New York, New York 103
Hatfield’s, Los Angeles, California 103
Kuruma Zushi, New York, New York 103
Masa, New York, New York 103
Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, New York 102
Eleven Madison Park, New York, New York 102
Marinus, Carmel, California 102
Craft, New York, New York 101
Spago, Beverly Hills, California 101
Sugiyama, New York, New York 101
Chez Panisse, Berkeley, California 100
Il Grano, West Los Angeles, California 100
Uni, Boston, Massachusetts 100
Alex, Las Vegas, Nevada 99
Avenues, Chicago, Illinois 99
Blue Hill, New York, New York 99
Coi, San Francisco, California 99
Daniel, New York, New York 99
The Dining Room at the Langham, Pasadena, California 99
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, New York, New York 99
Michel Richard Citronelle, Washington, DC 99
Picasso, Las Vegas, Nevada 99
Sushi Seki, New York, New York 99
WD-50, New York, New York 99
Alan Wong’s, Honolulu, Hawaii 98
Fore Street, Portland, Maine 98
Lampreia, Seattle,Washington 98
Matsuhisa, Beverly Hills, California 98
Mistral, Seattle,Washington 98
Sona, Los Angeles, California 98
Susur, Toronto, Ontario 98
Joe’s Stone Crab, Miami Beach, Florida 97
Komi, Washington, DC 97
Masa’s, San Francisco, California 97
Morimoto, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 97
Troquet, Boston, Massachusetts 97
Boulevard, San Francisco, California 96
Cyrus, Healdsburg, California 96
· The 100 Best Restaurants in North America & Europe [OAD]