http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/10/esquire_drops_its_best_restaur.html

Esquire Drops Its ‘Best Restaurant’ Issue

Still a great cover.Photo: Esquire

Just as John Mariani promised last week, today Esquire releases its annual best restaurant coverage. The primary focus is their list of the country's best new restaurants, and this year the top spot goes to San Francisco's Michael Mina. You can read the rest of the list below, or you can click over to Esquire's site to read some of the other notable stories: Ryan D'Agostino kinda trashes M. Wells ("it was refreshing at first, then it got a little cute, and then it grew tiresome"); the editors prank call a bunch of restaurants to see if they'll accommodate zany requests; Tom Chiarella falls in love with Next in Chicago; the mag lists its favorite cookbooks, plugging its own in the process; and John Mariani calls John Sedlar the chef of the year in a piece that begins, "Dear young chef ... Unless you're busy competing on a TV show to become a celebrity chef, the smart move would be to apprentice yourself to a master like John Sedlar." Which is strange, considering Sedlar was a contestant on the latest season of Top Chef Masters, before dropping out mid-season.

Restaurant of the Year: Michael Mina, San Francisco
Ai Fiori, New York
Boulud Sud, New York
Chicago Cut Steakhouse, Chicago
Congress, Austin
Cotogna, San Francisco
Dominique's on Magazine, New Orleans
1500°, Miami Beach
Fiola, Washington, D.C.
Legal Harborside, Boston
Lincoln Ristorante, New York
Millesime, New York
Playa, Los Angeles
The Pullman, Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Ray's & Stark Bar, Los Angeles
Salinas, New York
Sotto, Los Angeles
Tico, Boston
Towne Stove & Spirits, Boston

Esquire's Best New Restaurants in America 2011 [Eat Like a Man/Esquire]
Earlier: John Mariani Lets the Air Out of the Michelin Guide