Each week, our “10 Dishes That Made My Career” series serves as a sort informal look at the most influential chefs in the culinary world. As our subjects reflect on the dishes that shaped their understanding of technique and flavor, certain names tend to come up time and again—Joël Robuchon, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Eric Ripert, and Ferran Adrià, to name a few.
But while these individual chefs have certainly impacted the food coming out of professional kitchen, the question of which restaurants wield the most influence brings up a whole slew of other factors. Does influence come from having the widest reach and the ability to reshape American eating habits on a vast scale? Or is influence in restaurants something more philosophical—an approach to food, hospitality, and pleasure that inspires others to be better on a daily basis?
On September 7 and 8, Stephen Torres will gather together some of the country’s finest chefs, bartenders, and restauranteurs for the second annual “Roots of American Food” conference. In addition to participating in lectures and panels, they’ll team up for two nights of collaborative dinners, creating dishes that reflect their approach to American cooking.
We figured there would be no better group to tackle the question: What is the most influential restaurant in the U.S. right now?
Here’s what they had to say.
“Currently, I’d have to go with Eleven Madison Park. From fine cuisine, to excellence in service and approach, the house that Danny built is forever ingrained in my mind as one that other restaurants aspire to be—[it's influential for its] depth of employee knowledge, use of premier quality ingredients, and a style of service that is professional and attentive, but familiar. These are the attributes of a great restaurant. These are characteristics that sustain longevity and inspire others.” — Matthew Jennings, Townsman, Boston
“The two most important restaurants in the U.S. are just around the corner from each other in NYC, the greatest restaurant city in the world: Prune and wd~50. Both are, at the core, mom-and-pop restaurants. Both are run by very, very smart chefs—way smarter than me, way smarter than you. Duh, they are very different places, but I love the food and aesthetics of both deeply. And Gabrielle and Wylie’s fingerprints are all over restaurants across the country, even the world.” — Brooks Headley, Del Posto, New York, NY
“To be honest, it’s probably McDonald’s. I know that’s not the cool thing to say, or what you’re looking for, but if it’s influence you want, it’s hard to deny fast food’s impact on obesity (and its posse, diabetes and heart disease), as well as a whole host of sourcing, environmental, agricultural, and economic factors that are driven by the quick-service industry. The world’s best restaurant is a little fish in this ocean of influence.” — Mark Canlis, Canlis, Seattle
“Here are several stabs at it, in no particular order:
- The Restaurant at Meadowood, particularly the 12 Days of Christmas Chef collaborative dinners as they’ve spawned a number of dinners around the country, and the team has made great efforts to document the dinners for a wider audience online.
- Manresa, for their uncompromised, Arpege-like relationship with their farm, Love Apple.
- Next, for the complete themed menu [concept], the media that surrounds it, and the brilliant ticketing system (never actually ate here).
- Momofuku, still relevant and making impressive strides in the ramen world and with the new hozon [products].
- State Bird Provisions, bringing together service, food, and hospitality to everyone’s level (kind of biased here, but still…).
- Zuni Cafe—culturally speaking for SF, this is IT!”
— Stuart Brioza, State Bird Provisions, San Francisco
“The most influential restaurant is Alinea. Why? It is an iconic restaurant—discipline, brilliant fundamentals, thoughtfulness, and creation of exquisite taste. It’s a restaurant that has inspired many cooks and will continue to inspire for years to come. A place that makes you think, it’s not just food, but art.”
— Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn, San Francisco