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NEW YORK, June 26 (StarChefs) - Food & Wine Magazine has
unveiled its closely watched annual best restaurant picks of North
America, saying the hundreds of food and wine insiders interviewed
for the survey chose The French Laundry, Thomas Keller's restaurant
in the heart of California's wine country, as their very top choice.
The year 2000 list, which appears in the magazine's July issue,
includes picks from 16 cities and features well-known restaurants
like Jean Georges in New York and Charlie Trotter's in Chicago that
reflect the extraordinary genius of their chefs.
The list also includes hot restaurants in smaller restaurant cities,
such as Norman's near Miami, Café Annie in Houston and Kinkead's
in Washington D.C.
The magazine said Charlie Trotter, whose restaurant, Charlie Trotter's,
won best restaurant in America honors from the James Beard Foundation
last month, is "obsessed with being the best, and he's succeeded."
In Gotham, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's latter-day French restaurant
with four stars from the New York Times shared the top honor with
Nobu, chef Nobu Matsuhisa's creation which combines Peruvian and
Japanese influences. Food & Wine said wonderful food is a given
at both places, but what sets them both apart are "touches of theatre."
It cited precisely timed service at Jean Georges and a carefully
orchestrated succession of flavors on the chef's menu at Nobu.
The magazine also recognized chef Wolfgang Puck, saying that while
his original Spago's in Beverly Hills has become a standard for
casual elegance, he won best restaurant in Los Angeles this year
by convincingly raising the bar with meticulous service and impeccable
California cuisine at Spago Beverly Hills.
Regarding other winners like Norman's in Coral Gables, Fla., that
specializes in combining Latin, Caribbean, Asian and American cuisine,
Food & Wine called its executive chef, Norman Van Aken, "one of
the fathers of fusion and one of the few who get it right."
The magazine said Kinkead's in Washington, D.C. is on this year's
list because of chef Bob Kinkead's special attention to diners.
It said the feedback he solicits from diners helps him change his
menu daily and preserves a small-town feel at the restaurant.
The magazine said industry insiders chose Café Annie in Houston
because of the wonderful things chefs Ben Berryhill and Robert Del
Grande do with Southwestern food, all of which keep the place feeling
a lot newer than 20 years old.
In its survey, Food & Wine also includes sundry other categories,
like best new restaurant or best buzz. The 16 cities in its survey
also include San Francisco, Las Vegas, Montreal, Honolulu, Boston,
New Orleans, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle and Phoenix/Scottsdale.
-- Oliver Ludwig
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