A list can be a way to make sense of chaos. In the case of New York, the challenge is overabundance. We have so many outstanding restaurants, it’s easy to forget how outstanding they are. We take them for granted. Let this list be your reminder.
To put it together, I scoured the city end to end. I took subways to the last stop, then walked, sometimes another 20 or 40 blocks. The journey to the restaurant could take longer than the meal. Always in a hurry, I remembered that, like many women in New York, I am very good at running in three-inch heels.
Of course, a list is never just a list. It is an argument: This is what is good, what matters. Cue the debate.
But this isn’t merely a ranking of the highest-rated restaurants in the city, arranged by number of stars. You can admire a four-star but adore a two-star, despite and maybe even because of its imperfections. The cramped (intimate!) dining room (or lack thereof), the bravura of a kitchen as narrow as a canoe, the wild ambition that doesn’t always hit its mark but still thrillingly teases the edge of the possible.
For the rankings, I considered imagination, ambience, service, technique, passion, commitment and sheer deliciousness — but also, and most important, New York-iness. What does a restaurant tell us about our city, and ourselves?
So, this is a list, but it’s also a quest, an invitation to discover a New York City you might not yet fully know.
About The Author
