Fabulous Food Across the USA

New York: 

César (New York City): A-

Category: Fine Dining | 2 Michelin Stars | The New York Times: #10 Best Restaurant in America (Outstanding and absolutely deserving of the accolades. I just don't think it's Top 10 in North America.)

The New York Times named César one of the ten best restaurants in North America. I understand why. I just don't agree with the ranking.

This is unquestionably a great restaurant. The service was polished, the room was elegant without feeling stuffy, and the menu was ambitious while remaining approachable. Nothing felt weird for the sake of being weird, which is surprisingly rare at this level. The tuna was phenomenal, the little crab cigars were downright addictive, and the pastry chef deserves real credit for ending the meal with desserts that were light, refined, and memorable instead of trying to bludgeon me into a sugar coma.

That said, compared with Addison in San Diego, this wasn't even the same league. I have a few recurring complaints with ultra-fine dining, and César checked every box. Give me an actual cocktail menu instead of "we can make anything." I know wine is your thing, but I like to start a meal with a great cocktail. Offer me an occasional "or" during the tasting menu. I don't need complete control, but I'd love to choose between fish and meat once or twice. And while we're at it, dial back the seafood. By the end of the meal I was ready to meet a chicken.

The only thing that genuinely irritated me was watching later arrivals get seated and served before us while the stated dress code appeared to be completely optional. If you're going to have standards, have standards. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, and I'd happily recommend César to anyone looking for an exceptional meal in New York. I simply don't think it's a Top 10 restaurant in North America.

Verdict: A terrific fine-dining experience with several unforgettable courses, but I'd rank it comfortably in the Top 50 rather than the Top 10.

Gaonnuri Korean BBQ (New York City): A-

Category: Fine Dining (For Korean BBQ) | Michelin Recommended (not starred)

Korean fine dining with some of the best views in New York City. Yes, the skyline absolutely makes the food taste better. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. Located on the 39th floor, Gaonnuri delivers the rare combination of genuinely good food and a view that isn't being used to distract you from mediocre cooking. The meats are the stars, particularly the Wagyu. Skipping it would be a mistake. The omakase is tempting, but going all-in means missing some of the restaurant's strongest offerings. Choose wisely.

The food is confident, polished, and consistently well executed. Every dish feels intentional. Every course arrives looking like someone cared. My only real disappointment was the cocktail program, which felt surprisingly flat for a restaurant operating at this level.

New York has no shortage of places willing to separate ambitious diners from their money. Gaonnuri at least has the decency to earn it. 

Verdict: Come for the meat. Stay for the view. A legitimate special-occasion restaurant that doesn't require a second mortgage.

Anixi (New York City): A (Vegan) | B+ (Carnivore Lens)
Category: Fine Dining (Vegan)

Vegan fine dining that actually earns the category. Too many vegetarian and vegan restaurants seem determined to convince diners what they are missing. Anixi takes the opposite approach. The kitchen focuses on making delicious food and lets the philosophy take care of itself.  I love meat. I did not miss it. The "lamb" tagine was outstanding. The "steak" delivered on flavor, even if the texture still occasionally reminded me that no cow was harmed in its production. The flatbreads are non-negotiable. Order them immediately and avoid the regret of watching someone else eat the last bite.

The best strategy is to order broadly and treat the meal like a tasting menu. Service is polished, the room is elegant without being stuffy, and the entire experience feels closer to Michelin or Bib Gourmand territory than most restaurants operating in this space.  The highest compliment I can give a vegan restaurant is that I stopped evaluating it as a vegan restaurant and started evaluating it as a restaurant. Anixi passes that test.

Verdict: Delightful, thoughtful, and genuinely impressive. I'd happily return, even with a steakhouse two blocks away. Well...depending on the steakhouse.

Gramercy Tavern (New York City): A
Category: Fine Dining meets Neighborhood Gem | 1 Michelin Star | The New York Times: #43 Best Restaurant in America (This might be America's tavern. Somehow it feels like both a special occasion and your favorite neighborhood restaurant at the exact same time.)

What if your favorite neighborhood restaurant accidentally became one of America's great fine dining institutions? That's Gramercy Tavern. Everything about this place feels warm, welcoming, and effortless, but don't mistake that for ordinary. We ordered as much of the menu as our dignity would allow and still wanted more. Don't miss the boneless ribs, the cauliflower, the carpaccio (I'd order two next time), the bread, or the biscuits. By the end of brunch I had to unbutton my pants, and I regret absolutely nothing.

The service was just as memorable. Charles, one of the interns on the support team, genuinely loved working there, and it showed. We chatted throughout the meal, and as we were leaving, he surprised us with an incredible blueberry pastry for the road. After a day of cancelled flights and trains, it may have been the happiest bite of the trip.

Verdict: This should be America's tavern. Your waistline will hate you, your dopamine will not. My next visit will be dinner in the dining room, but until then, this is my favorite brunch spot in New York.

California

Addison (San Diego): A+
Category: Fine Dining | 3 Michelin Stars | The New York Times: 50 Best Restaurants in America (31) (My only A+ so far. Worth every bit of the hype.)

Three Michelin stars. Top 50 in North America. After one meal, I can comfortably tell you they earned every bit of it. Addison is one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. The menu claimed ten courses, but by the time all the extra bites, surprises, gifts from the kitchen, and desserts arrived, it felt closer to fifteen. Normally that much food becomes exhausting. Somehow this never did. 

The chicken liver churro was pure genius and one of the most memorable bites I've had anywhere. The pastry chef is operating at an unfair advantage. Every time I thought the meal had peaked, another dessert showed up and proved me wrong.

The service deserves its own standing ovation. Watching the dining room operate felt like watching a perfectly choreographed play where nobody misses a cue and nobody breaks character. It was polished without being stuffy, which is much harder than fancy restaurants make it look.

My complaints are first world, rich girl issues. The bread was excellent, but the butter needed salt. The menu leaned a little too hard into seafood, and by the end I felt like I'd personally solved the overpopulation problem in the Pacific Ocean. I also continue to believe that tasting menus should occasionally offer an "or." Sometimes I enjoy being surprised. Sometimes I enjoy having opinions. 

Let's talk about the bill because everyone asks. Dinner for two was about $2,500. Before you call my financial advisor, we added the Wagyu upgrade, wine pairings, and a champagne that cost ninety dollars a glass because apparently good judgment took the evening off. The food itself felt expensive. The alcohol felt criminal. I've eaten at Ducasse in Monaco. I've eaten at many of the best restaurants in America. Jônt is the only restaurant in the DC area that belongs in the same conversation.

Verdict: One of the five best meals of my life. Expensive, ridiculous, unforgettable, and absolutely worth it.

Virginia:

Harrimans at Salamander Resort (Middleburg, Virginia): A- Food | F Trust
Category: Fine Dining (The food deserved better than the experience. The trust did not.)

The frustrating thing about Harrimans is that the kitchen is genuinely talented. The Wagyu is consistently excellent. The consommé was exceptional. One of the salads was among the best I've had in quite some time. The food is polished, thoughtful, and mostly worthy of the beautiful resort surrounding it. My biggest culinary complaint is that they desperately need more appetizers and sides, and five ounces of Wagyu at these prices feels a little like being charged luxury-car pricing for a golf cart. 

Then came the bill.We ordered three glasses of Riesling. We were charged for three bottles.

Not one bottle accidentally added. Not a small math error. Not a transposed digit. Three full bottles. Roughly $130 casually appearing on the check as though nobody would notice.

That is the moment the entire experience changed. When a restaurant operating at this price point makes a mistake that large, trust evaporates. Suddenly you're not thinking about the consommé. You're not thinking about the Wagyu. You're wondering what else you missed. Luxury dining requires trust. Once that's broken, everything feels a little dirty. Could it have been an honest mistake? I don’t think so. Should a restaurant at this level have controls in place to catch a mistake that obvious before presenting the bill? Yes. And that's the problem.

 Verdict: Excellent food overshadowed by a completely avoidable integrity failure. Salamander is lovely. Harrimans made me check the math. Next time I'll walk to Tremolo. The food may be (very) slightly worse, but at least I'll trust the bill.

St. Elmo Steak House (Indianapolis, IN): B+ / A- on the Indiana Curve
Category: Fine Dining | Not Ranked

Indianapolis is not exactly drowning in bougie dining. There are plenty of great burgers, tenderloins, corn dogs, and big national steakhouses, but that is not why we're here. In a city surprisingly short on independent fine dining, St. Elmo is a lovely little find.It's adorable, atmospheric, notoriously difficult to book, and the waitstaff was genuinely wonderful. In a serious foodie city, I'd give it a solid B. But context matters. Against the fine-dining competition in Indianapolis, I'm willing to grade on a curve and move it to a B+/A-. And I'm being generous, which pains me.

The famous shrimp cocktail is indeed fresh, as all shrimp should be. The legendary cocktail sauce tastes like someone accidentally dumped the entire horseradish jar into the bowl and decided to call it a local tradition. Conveniently, I love horseradish, so I was delighted. It is still objectively too much. Your sinuses will leave cleaner than they arrived. The other standout was the Wagyu sliders. I could eat seven. Excellent beef, but more importantly, someone understands the critical and frequently abused beef-to-bun ratio. The rest of the menu, cocktails, and desserts are exactly what you'd expect from a classic steakhouse. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing terribly interesting about it either.

Go because you're in Indianapolis and want a charming, independent fine-dining evening with lovely service. Go for the sliders. Go to have your sinuses professionally excavated by shrimp cocktail. Just don't walk out thinking you've discovered the Midwest's next Michelin star.

Verdict: B+ / A- on the Indiana curve. A very good Indianapolis night, not a culinary pilgrimage.

Kalaya (Philadelphia, PA): B 50 Best Lens | A- Neighborhood Gem
Category: USA Restaurants | North America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025 #11

How Kalaya became the #11 restaurant in North America is beyond me. Great restaurant? Absolutely. If I lived nearby, it would be in regular rotation. Destination dining at a Michelin level? No.

The place is LOUD. The security guard opened the door for us, then walked through it first. Sigh. Service was lovely, but not Michelin precise. At one point, everyone's plates were cleared while one person was still eating. Not a felony. Also not #11-in-North-America service. 

The food is elevated Southern Thai, and having eaten in Southern Thailand, that's exactly what it tastes like. The first few rounds were wicked spicy without enough warning for the non-spicy people at our table, who started downing iced tea just to regain feeling. The dumplings were among the best things we ate, the pork was fantastically seasoned, and they somehow worked magic with mushrooms and cucumber. Shrimp tasted beautifully like shrimp, glass noodles delivered, and the beef was excellent, although its gravy-like sauce overwhelmed meat that didn't need rescuing. Bonus points for a tasting menu with actual choices. Go team. The cocktails were creative and very good. The shots were exceptional. Get one. Or all three. And the price was fabulous.

 Perhaps Kalaya suffered because I'd eaten at Masseria the night before, where the Michelin-level distinction was impossible to miss. Food, service, execution, details. There is another gear, and Kalaya wasn't operating in it. That doesn't make Kalaya anything less than a terrific restaurant. It makes #11 in North America a ridiculous ranking. Philadelphia has too good a food scene for that, and unfamiliarity with a cuisine shouldn't magically elevate it into Michelin territory.

Also, nice restaurants: lose the damn hand dryers. Paper towels. Cloth towels. Civilization.