We wanted to highlight a snapshot in time, not the entire history of dining in this country. For that same reason, we included beloved restaurants from that period with an outsize influence, even if they have since closed.
To help us cull the list, we turned to a council of more than 20 experts… to nominate the restaurants across the country that we felt had the biggest impact in the past two decades. … limiting ourselves only to restaurants that opened in 2005 or later… this excluded noteworthy Mexican food trucks in LA, the Bay Area’s farm-to-table pioneers, fast-casual standouts turned global juggernauts, and scores of classic restaurants…
Alinea | Alta Adams | Animal | Atelier Crenn | Atomix | Baroo | Carbone | Chubby Fish | Compère Lapin | Crawfish & Noodles | Dakar NOLA | The Four Horsemen | Franklin Barbecue | Gjelina | The Grey | Husk | Kann | Kasama | Kogi BBQ | Mission Chinese Food | Mi Tocaya Antojería | Momofuku Ssäm Bar | Nong’s Khao Man Gai | Owamni | Pizzeria Mozza | Rasika | Red Rooster | Reem’s California | Sister Pie | South Philly Barbacoa | Superiority Burger | Sushi Nakazawa | Taco María | Toro | Town | Veracruz All Natural | Via Carota | Zahav
