usatoday: USA's 101 best restaurants: Daily Mea...
The French Laundry is one of usatoday: USA's 101 best restaurants: Daily Mea....

1. The French Laundry

8.8
6640 Washington St (at Creek St), Yountville, CA
French Restaurant · 119 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: How did a failed Manhattan chef who was L.A.-bound emerge in the Napa Valley to create a restaurant that rivals the three-star establishments of rural France? Taking over what had been a simple res...

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2. Le Bernardin

9.1
155 W 51st St (btwn 6th & 7th Ave), New York, NY
French Restaurant · Theater District · 309 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: Think Le Bernardin and you think accolades: Michelin, The New York Times, James Beard Foundation (plus a recent entry into the AAA Five Diamond club). A super sleek renovation in 2011 gave it more ...

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3. Momofuku Ssäm Bar

207 2nd Ave (at E 13th St), New York, NY
Asian Restaurant · East Village · 523 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: Meals at this ever-evolving East Village hot spot wowed former New York Times critic Frank Bruni into a praise-filled, three-star review in 2008. And no wonder. David Chang's food offers bold, Asia...

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4. Eleven Madison Park

9.0
11 Madison Ave (at E 24th St), New York, NY
New American Restaurant · Flatiron · 291 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: Like many of the finest things in life, this restaurant seems to get better with age. Although it opened to much fanfare in 1998, it wasn't until Swiss head chef Daniel Humm's hire in 2006 that the...

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5. Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca

8.7
110 Waverly Pl (btwn MacDougal Alley & 6th Ave), New York, NY
Italian Restaurant · Greenwich Village · 273 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: As Mario Batali continues his reign atop the American culinary landscape, his flagship restaurant remains a New York essential. What can you say about this place that hasn't already been said? The ...

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6. Girl & The Goat

9.0
809 W Randolph St (at Halsted St), Chicago, IL
New American Restaurant · West Town · 552 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: It's impossible to step inside Stephanie Izard's West Loop restaurant, popular with chefs and locals alike, and not feel the joy. The sense of community and comfort are widely apparent, from the so...

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7. Cochon Butcher

9.4
930 Tchoupitoulas St (at Andrew Higgins St), New Orleans, LA
Sandwich Spot · Lower Garden District · 585 tips and reviews
Cochon Butcher is one of usatoday: USA's 101 best restaurants: Daily Mea....

8. Cochon Butcher

9.4
930 Tchoupitoulas St (at Andrew Higgins St), New Orleans, LA
Sandwich Spot · Lower Garden District · 585 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: A serious cult favorite since it opened in 2006, Cochon is the domain of pork-loving chef Donald Link, proprietor of the popular Herbsaint and winner of a James Beard Award for his cookbook Real Ca...

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9. Shake Shack

8.8
691 8th Ave (at W 44th St), New York, NY
Burger Joint · Theater District · 855 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: If you haven't had Shake Shack but think you love burgers, you don't as much as you think you do. It's one of America's best fast-food burgers. Yes, better than In-N-Out, and yes, it has its own se...

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10. Jean-Georges

8.4
1 Central Park W (btwn W 60th & W 61st St), New York, NY
French Restaurant · Lincoln Square · 286 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the few chefs in New York City with the distinction of four stars from The New York Times. At his eponymous restaurant in the Trump International Hotel and Tower...

Daniel is one of usatoday: USA's 101 best restaurants: Daily Mea....

11. Daniel

9.0
60 E 65th St (btwn Park & Madison Ave), New York, NY
French Restaurant · Upper East Side · 192 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: Daniel Boulud's very grown-up, flagship restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side maintains standards of service and cuisine that hark back to an earlier era (French haute cuisine is an endangered ...

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12. Alinea

9.1
1723 N Halsted St (btwn W North Ave & W Willow St), Chicago, IL
Molecular Gastronomy Restaurant · Lincoln Park · 142 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: There's little question that Grant Achatz, whose training includes stints with Charlie Trotter, Thomas Keller, and Ferran Adri‚a, deserves the title of America's most creative chef (indeed The Dail...

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13. Chez Panisse

8.8
1517 Shattuck Ave (btwn Cedar & Vine St), Berkeley, CA
New American Restaurant · Gourmet Ghetto · 134 tips and reviews

Tom L.Tom Lee: Celebrating more than 40 years in business and still going strong, Chez Panisse was instrumental in changing the American food scene. Before this restaurant, practically nobody in America served ex...