Another day, another list. Yesterday the good folks at San Pellegrino released their annual World's 50 Best Restaurants, a sort of Rough Guide for gastronomes with fat wallets and abundant frequent flyer miles. Sponsored by the sparkling water company, the list was decided by a panel of 800-plus judges comprised of food writers, critics and chefs from around the world. The judges were big fans of Spain, whose six restaurants on the list included Ferran Adria's El Bulli (coming in at No. 1 for the fourth year in a row). France also got some love with eight restaurants, and the U.S. did pretty well for itself with seven eateries including new-to-the-list Momofuku Ssam Bar at 31 and Alinea, whose Grant Achatz rose 26 places from 2007 to a No. 10 ranking this year.
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San Pellegrino Announces World's 50 Best Restaurants
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Another day, another list. Yesterday the good folks at San Pellegrino released their annual World's 50 Best Restaurants, a sort of Rough Guide for gastronomes with fat wallets and abundant frequent flyer miles. Sponsored by the sparkling water company, the list was decided by a panel of 800-plus judges comprised of food writers, critics and chefs from around the world. The judges were big fans of Spain, whose six restaurants on the list included Ferran Adria's El Bulli (coming in at No. 1 for the fourth year in a row). France also got some love with eight restaurants, and the U.S. did pretty well for itself with seven eateries including new-to-the-list Momofuku Ssam Bar at 31 and Alinea, whose Grant Achatz rose 26 places from 2007 to a No. 10 ranking this year.
The big loser was undoubtedly Gordon Ramsay, whose London flagship completely disappeared after ranking at No. 13 last year, and whose ex-friend Marcus Wareing won the Breakthrough Restaurant Award for Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley -- not without taking a swipe at Ramsay himself.
Oh, the drama! Oh, the lists!
Filed under: On the Blogs, Chefs & Restaurants, Celebrities, Restaurants
Slashfood Readers Pick the Best Sandwiches in America

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my top 10 favorite sandwiches in America, and asked you to share your picks. We got more than 50 responses, from shrimp po'boys in New Orleans to cheesesteaks in Philadelphia to Vietnamese bahn mi in Portland to something called the "Sloppy Irishman" in Ohio. I compiled the picks into this list, grouped very loosely by type (Italian next to Italian, seafood with seafood etc). So thanks for all the awesome suggestions! I don't know about you, but I feel a cross-country sandwich road trip coming on...
1. Cheesesteak from Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh, PA
2. Cheesesteak from Pat's King of Steaks in Philadelphia, PA
3. Steak Chacarero, spicy, at Chacarero in Boston, MA
4. Pambazo at Autentica in Portland, OR
5. Cemita at Cemitas Pueblo in Chicago, IL
6. Midnight Cuban at Paseo in Seattle, WA (two votes)
7. Cuban from Dave's Fresh Pasta in Somerville, MA
8. Milano from The Italian Store in Arlington, VA
9. The Otto at Fraboni's in Madison, WI (two votes)
10. Porchetta sandwich from Porchetta in New York, NY
11. Italian Beef, wet, at Al's Beef in Chicago, IL
12. Godmother from Bay Cities Italian Deli and Bakery in Santa Monica, CA
13. Veal and Pepper at California Sandwiches in Toronto, ON
14. The Special at Gandel's Liquors in Washington, DC
15. Muffaletta at Napoleon House in New Orleans, LA
16. Oyster or Shrimp (or Oyster and Shrimp) Po-Boy at Domilese's Po-Boys in New Orleans, LA
17. Shrimp Po-Boy at The Galley, Metairie, LA
18. Ipswich Clam Burger at Bigelow's in Rockville Centre, NY
19. Lobster Roll at The Red Barn in Ghent, NY (two votes, not counting mine)
20. Grilled Grouper at Harbor Docks in Destin, FL
21. Tuna Niçoise at the Bread Peddler in Olympia, WA
22. Jambon Beurre from Farmstead Lunch in Providence, RI
23. Monte Cristo from Milton's in Del Mar, CA
24. Monte Cristo from the HMS Bounty in Los Angeles, CA
25. Pork Bun from Momofuku Ssam Bar in New York, NY
26. Baoguette Bahn Mi at Baoguette in New York, NY
27. Saigon Bacon Banh Mi at Best Baguette in Portland, OR
28. BLT on Rye at Zingerman's Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, MI
29. BLB at Meat Cheese Bread in Portland, OR
30. The Fat Darrell, various locations around Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ
31. Sloppy Irishman at The Irish Pub in Massillon, OH
32. Parmageddon at Melt Bar and Grilled in Lakewood, OH
33. Beef on Weck at All Star Sandwich Bar, Cambridge, MA
34. Maid Rite at various locations in Wisconsin and Iowa
35. Roast Pork at DiNic's in Philadelphia, PA
36. Pork Shoulder at Smoky Jon's in Madison, WI
37. Pork and Fries at Earl's Sandwiches in Arlington, VA
38. Pork and Beef BBQ at LC's BBQ in Kansas City, MO
39. Burnt Ends at Blue Ribbon BBQ in Newton, MA
40. Garlic and Thyme Roasted Pork at Watershed in Decatur, GA
41. Fried Chicken Sandwich at Bakesale Betty in Oakland, CA
42. Coney Dog with cheese and onions at Skyline Chili in Cincinnati, OH
43. Patty Melt at Mic Duck's, Chicago, IL
44. Crown Burger at Crown Burgers in Salt Lake City, UT
45. Reuben Sliders at Kenny and Zuke's in Portland, OR
46. Pastrami on Rye at Katz's Delicatessen in New York, NY (four votes)
47. Jewish Hoagie at Koch's Deli in Philadelphia, PA
48. Corned Beef Special at Hymie's Deli in Philadelphia, PA
49. The Natte at Hungarian Deli in New York, NY
50. Market Fried Egg sandwich at Gateway Market in Des Moines, IA
51. Grilled Vegetable at Village Baker in Bend, OR
52. Five Easy Pieces at Littlejohn's in Charlottesville, VA
53. Chicken Salad Sandwich at Tomato Jam Cafe in Asheville, NC
54. Fern's Problem Solver at Hi Rise in Cambridge, MA
Filed under: Ingredients
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Best Breakfasts in America
Esquire has come out with its "59 Best Breakfast Places in America" list, featuring everything from humble Southern cafes serving grits and country ham to Japanese salted salmon and pickles at mod San Francisco cafes. There are "no brunch places allowed" (breakfast, eaten by hunters and old men in John Deere hats is presumably very virile per Esquire logic, but brunch, enjoyed by couples and urban creative types is somehow unmanly). I can personally vouch for several of the selections: the beignets and cafe au lait at Café du Monde in New Orleans (just don't eat the powdered sugar-coated beignets on the windy riverfront while wearing a black dress), the blintzes at Katz's Deli in New York, the waffles at Ye Olde Waffle Shop in Chapel Hill, the grits at Hominy Grill in Charleston (though I don't think the biscuits are all that), the pancakes at Aretha Frankensteins in Chattanooga, the biscuits (and everything else) at Bryant's Bar-B-Q and Breakfast in Memphis, waffles and hash browns at Waffle Houses anywhere in the South.
I'd like to add the bacon maple bar at VooDoo Doughnuts in Portland, the smoked trout hash at Cafe Pasqual's in Santa Fe, the breakfast burritos at Tesuque Village Market in Tesuque, NM, the biscuits with sorghum butter at Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville, the fried chicken biscuits at Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill, just to name a few.
What are your favorite breakfast joints? Hey, go ahead and include your favorite brunch places too.
Filed under:
You Vote - The Best Sandwiches in America

I'm in my home town of Chapel Hill, NC at the moment, and I just had lunch at a place called Sandwhich, which does rockin' gourmet sandwiches with interesting, mostly local ingredients. As I'm eating their meltingly tender pulled lamb with Moroccan prune chutney on foccacia I'm thinking, "this has to be one of the top 10 best sandwiches I've had in my life." And that's saying a lot, as I try to eat as many sandwiches as possible. After all, what's more gorgeously elemental than some yummy savory thing between two pieces of really good bread?
So I decided to write my Top 10 Sandwiches list (which is admittedly rather South-centric), in the hopes that you would share your own favorites. Then, in a few days, I can post a master list of Slashfood's Best Sandwiches of America.
Emily's Top 10 Sandwiches:
- Lamb tagine with prune chutney on foccacia at Sandwhich in Chapel Hill, NC.
- Green chile cheeseburger at Bobcat Bite in Santa Fe, NM.
- Muffaletta at Central Grocery in New Orleans, LA.
- Pulled pork at Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Q in Memphis, TN (c'mon BBQ fans, I know you've got your own fave)
- Smoked meat sandwich at Schwartz's in Montreal (OK, so this isn't in the We'll just say "North America
- Brie, green apple, avocado and sprout sandwich at Venice Gourmet in Sausalito, CA.
- Everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato at H&H Bagels in New York, NY.
- Fried oyster sandwich at Calabash Seafood Hut in Calabash, NC/SC.
- Fried chicken biscuit at Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill, NC (honorable mention: Bojangles Spicy Cajun Chicken Biscuit).
- Lobster roll at The Red Barn in Ghent, NY (disclosure: this is my uncle's restaurant. And it's awesome).
Filed under: Lists, Ingredients
25 Things - A Foodie List
I know some people roll their eyes at Facebook's current "25 Things About Me" meme, but I, for one, really enjoy reading them, even if I don't know the author. Sure, some of the facts are boring or creepily over-share-y or annoyingly self-aggrandizing. But others are really surprising or touching or insightful. They're like mini-memoirs, and I've always adored memoirs. As a food-fan, I'm especially fond of food memoirs - Ruth Reichl's Tender at the Bone, Judith Jones' The Tenth Muse, Nigel Slater's Toast, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, anything by M.F.K. Fisher. Food is so much a part of our lives that sharing our food-related feelings and thoughts and memories says so much about who we are. So I thought I'd combine the two and try out "25 Things: A Foodie List." Here's mine - memories, factoids, favorites. I'd love to see yours!
- As a kid, I truly believed the thing about the Bubble Yum and the spider eggs. If you came of age in the '80s, you know what I'm talking about. But I chewed it anyway!
- Growing up Jewish in North Carolina, one of my favorite meals was hummus and stuffed grape leaves at a Lebanese cafe on Christmas morning. It was the only place that was open.
- When my uncle from New York would visit, he'd always bring down stuff like kosher dills and chopped chicken liver and corned beef - all things my Yankee parents missed and couldn't get at the time in North Carolina. He'd bring cannolis for me, which I loved so much I hardly cared that they were completely soggy.
Filed under: On the Blogs, Lists
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