GAYOT's Blog

by Sophie Gayot

When Alinea owner Nick Kokonas came to my table for dessert, after I had already sampled seventeen dishes from chef Grant Achatz, I had to share with him my thoughts: “Your restaurant should not be called a restaurant.” Yes, there is food, but it’s nowhere close to what one could ever experience at other dining venues. Achatz’s creativity is without limits, and tolerates no restriction, so expect the unexpected. What should it be called? Hmm… considering the homage and respect he pays to food, I can not say “food entertainment,” maybe an “ode to culinary invention.”

Continue reading “Alinea: Dinner Extraordinaire!” »

by Sophie Gayot

Watch this exclusive video with chef Jean Joho to find out why we just named him the 2012 Best Restaurateur in the U.S. It may be somewhat long, but you can bet that the chef who has earned the prestigious title of best restaurateur has a lot to say.

On Wednesday, we published our GAYOT.com Annual Restaurant Issue, which includes:
the 2012 list of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., along with
Top 10 New Restaurants in the U.S. – great places that opened recently
5 Rising Chefs – American chefs 30 and under who are making their mark
Top 10 Steakhouses in the U.S. – which chefs serve the best steak?
Top 10 Romantic Restaurants in the U.S. – appearing in the Restaurant Issue for the very first time
Top 10 Insider Picks in the U.S. – reveals where to dine for a taste of local flavor, good food and good times.

by Sophie Gayot

Thomas Keller is the only chef to have two restaurants on GAYOT.com’s list of Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S.: The French Laundry in Napa Valley in the city of Yountville, CA; and Per Se in New York City. Congratulations! Watch my exclusive video with one of America’s top chefs, filmed at the temple of gastronomy that is The French Laundry, and find out how he does it.

Yesterday, we just published the 2012 list of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., along with
Top 10 New Restaurants in the U.S. – great places that opened recently
5 Rising Chefs – American chefs 30 and under who are making their mark
Top 10 Steakhouses in the U.S. – which chefs serve the best steak?
Top 10 Romantic Restaurants in the U.S. – appearing in the Restaurant Issue for the very first time
Top 10 Insider Picks in the U.S. – reveals where to dine for a taste of local flavor, good food and good times
and the U.S. Best Restaurateur of the Year.

We have just published our Annual Restaurant Issue, which includes the highly-anticipated Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. list. The 2012 edition also names chef Jean Joho as U.S. Best Restaurateur of the Year.

Of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. selected, six of them did not appear on last year’s list, and one of those, Menton, is gracing the list for the very first time. Five that made Top 40 lists in earlier years are making a comeback: Frasca Food & Wine, The Herbfarm, Coi, The Inn at Little Washington and TRU. That means that six from last year’s list did not make the cut: Charlie Trotter’s, Thomas Henkelmann, Arrows Restaurant, The Restaurant at Meadowood, The Dining Room (in San Francisco), and L’Escalier.

Continue reading “GAYOT’s 2012 Restaurant Issue” »

by Sophie Gayot

GAYOT.com brings you the latest restaurant news and reviews every day. But once a year, we compile the best of the best from coast to coast. Sign up now to receive the 2012 edition of our Annual Restaurant Issue, featuring the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., the Top 10 Steakhouses, Top 10 Romantic Restaurants and much more.

The highly-anticipated issue, which will also be available for the very first time as an iPhone app and touch-optimized iPad version, drops on March 28.

Continue reading “Subscribe to GAYOT.com’s 2012 Annual Restaurant Issue!” »

by André Gayot

“The ways the bankers have kind of toppled the way money is distributed and taken most of it into their hands is as good as Stalin or Hitler and the evil guys,” star restaurateur Mario Batali declared at a recent panel sponsored by Time Magazine. No surprise Mr. Batali got a lot of flak, especially, of course, from bankers and the like. The restaurateur realized belatedly that quite a number of his clients in his twenty fancy establishments might very well belong to or be associated with the banking industry because, according to his own terms, bankers “… have taken most of the money into their hands,” and thus can easily afford the hefty bills. Some talked vigorously of boycotting Batali’s restaurants. Deterring such a well-heeled clientele is not good business practice in these uncertain times.

Sorry, oops, my mistake, went Mario, who said through a spokesperson, “It was never my intention to equate our banking industry with Hitler and Stalin, two of the most evil, brutal dictators in modern history.” So we get the message: these two guys are really bad, but bankers are OK. OK, but not angels?

Continue reading “The Cook, the Demons, the Angels & the Bankers” »

by Sophie Gayot

In 1990, Joël Robuchon was named Cuisinier du Siècle, Chef of the Century. The title, which did not come easily, was based on his impressive, extraordinary talent, so-well-controlled creativity, religious respect of produce and the purity of his flavors. Luckily for us, his gifts are still going strong in this century.

Since moving from Poitou (a Western region of France) to Paris in 1978, Robuchon has distilled his undisputable cooking skills throughout the world with ultra-fine dining establishments like Restaurant Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas (a GAYOT.com Top 40 Restaurant since its 2005 opening), and the L’Atelier concept. I have to admit that when I saw the first Atelier under construction in Paris in the winter of 2002, I was skeptical about having Robuchon’s delicacies sitting behind a bar on a bar stool, without having the possibility of sharing these culinary pleasures with more than one or two persons (it’s not easy to have a larger party along a bar). Oh, boy, was I wrong! There are now nine Ateliers around the world, with the latest addition in Singapore.

Continue reading “Joël Robuchon, A Stellar Chef” »

by André, Alain & Sophie Gayot

by: Sophie Gayot

I was “Avec Eric” in Los Angeles yesterday. For those who don’t know, ‘avec’ is French for ‘with,’ and Eric is chef Eric Ripert. He had left his stoves at Le Bernardin restaurant in New York, a GAYOT.com Top 40 US Restaurants continuously since 2004, so the West Coast could discover his new cookbook Avec Eric, based on his TV show Avec Eric.

Besides 100 easy-to-make-at-home recipes, the cookbook is filled with stories taking place in different parts of the US and countries around the globe. To read the full review of the book, go to the GAYOT.com cookbook section. Watch my exclusive video interview with chef Ripert to learn more about him. And, yes, ladies, he is as charming as he is good-looking.

Put on your apron and start cooking Avec Eric!

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