The 100 Greatest American Restaurants of the 21st Century

"As we find ourselves a quarter of the way through the century, we at Robb Report wanted to step back and assess America's dining scene since 2000. So often, we are focused on the new, but we saw value in looking at how we got to the here and now by exploring the greatest restaurants in America over the past 25 years. We wanted to talk about the places that have endured, influenced, and amazed. But we decided not to do it on our own."

"Each voter was asked to think about their own definition of greatness by considering the quality of the dining experience, influence, staying power, and other factors they deemed important in making a place truly great. They were allowed to consider what they thought was the restaurant's peak and not necessarily how it exists today, because some of the greatest restaurants of the century are now closed."

"The vast majority of restaurants to make the list are full-service operations, many leaning toward the fine-dining end of the spectrum. However, there are a small handful of spots so revolutionary in the food world that voters simply could not ignore their contribution to the history of restaurants in the 21st century. And for entries in the top echelon of our list, some of our voters-from David Chang to Kyle Connaughton to Ellia Park-shared why certain restaurants earned their vote."

A 250-person jury of chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, purveyors, and diners identified the 100 greatest American restaurants of the 21st century. Voters each named up to 10 restaurants based on their own definitions of greatness, weighing dining quality, influence, longevity, and other meaningful factors. Jurors could consider a restaurant's peak era rather than its present state, and could include venues that opened before 2000 if their main contributions occurred in this century. The roster leans heavily toward full-service and fine-dining establishments, while a few revolutionary, unconventional spots earned recognition for reshaping American dining.

Read at Robb Report