http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com The Opinionated About Dining Website en-us Mon, 1 Mar 2010 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10983 As the list of restaurants that earned a rating in our 2010 survey s in excess of 1,000, the online results are limited to restaurants that earned a rating of at least Highly Recommended. To get the complete list you are going to have to click on one of the downloads, or you can use the Quick Search at the top of the page to search for a restaurant on an individual basis. Also, because there are so many listings, I have split the Highly Recommended category by region. Download the List By State and Rating [[2010.opinionatedaboutdining.com]]Here\\ Download the List By State in Alphabetical Order [[2010.opinionatedaboutdining.com]]Here\\ Download the Top 30 Most Important, Casual & Inexpensive Lists [[2010.opinionatedaboutdining.com]]Here\\ Worth Planning a Trip Around 100 – French Laundry, The, Yountville 99.7– Per Se, New York 99.0– Masa, New York 98.5– Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills 98.5– Mini-Bar, Washington, DC 98.5– Manresa, Los Gatos 98.4– Urasawa, Beverly Hills 98.3– Jean Georges, New York 98.1– Eigensinn Farm, Singhampton Worthy of Special Attention 97.8– Alinea, Chicago 97.5– Corton, Tribecca 97.5– McCrady's , Charleston 97.2– Le Bernardin, New York 97.1– Sushi Yasuda, New York 97.0– Guy Savoy, Las Vegas 96.7– Schwa, Chicago 96.4– Kuruma Zushi, New York 96.3– Eleven Madison Park, New York 96.3– Momofuku Ko, New York 96.1– Komi , Washington, DC 95.9– Providence, Los Angeles 95.9– Cyrus, Healdsburg 95.8– Marinus, Carmel 95.7– Coi, San Francisco 95.7– Hugo's, Portland 95.7– Town House , Chilhowie 95.4– Bouley, Tribecca 95.4– Aubergine , Carmel-by-the-Sea 95.3– L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, New York 95.2– O Ya, Boston 95.0– Elements, Princeton <--Photo Line Here--<< Highly Recommended New England 94.3– Uni, Boston 93.9– Primo, Rockland 93.7– Fore Street, Portland 93.5– Miyake, Portland 93.4– No. 9 Park , Boston 93.3– Hen of the Wood, Waterbury 93.1– Bresca, Portland 92.4– Neptune Oyster, Boston 92.3– Craigie on Main, Cambridge 92.2– Clio, Boston 92.1– Al Forno Restaurant, Providence 92.1– Evangeline, Portland 92.0– Ten Tables, Cambridge New York Metropolitan 94.8– Peter Luger, Williamsburg 94.6– Blue Hill, Greenwich Village 94.4– Daniel, Upper East Side 94.4– Craft , Gramercy 94.3– Sugiyama, Midtown West 94.1– North Fork Table & Inn, Southold 93.8– Pluckemin Inn, The, Bedminster 93.8– wd-50, Lower East Side 93.8– Soto, Greenwich Village 93.6– Momofuku Ssäm Bar, East Village 93.5– Sushi Seki , Upper East Side 93.5– Hatsuhana, Midtown East 93.5– Nobu, Tribecca 93.2– Café Boulud, Upper East Side 93.2– Momofuku Noodle Bar , East Village 92.9– Sushi of Gari, Upper East Side 92.9– Anthos, Midtown West 92.7– Marea, Columbus Circle 92.7– Veritas, Gramercy 92.7– Al Di La, Park Slope 92.6– Degustation, East Village 92.5– Nobu, Next Door , Tribecca 92.4– Aquavit, Midtown East 92.2– Gramercy Tavern, Gramercy 92.1– Wallse, West Village 92.1– Locanda Verde, Tribecca 92.0– Picholine, Upper West Side 92.0– Cru, Greenwich Village <--Photo Line Here--<< Mid-Atlantic States 93.6– Fountain Restaurant, Philadelphia 93.5– Citronelle, Washington, DC 93.2– Eve, Alexandria 93.0– Vetri, Philadelphia 92.4– Inn at Little Washington, Washington 92.1– Obelisk, Washington, DC South & Southeast 94.8– Quinones Room at Bacchanalia, Atlanta 94.0– Bern's Steak House, Tampa 93.8– Michy's, Miami 93.5– Stella!, New Orleans 93.3– Upperline, New Orleans 93.0– Bacchanalia, Atlanta 93.0– Galatoire's, New Orleans 92.5– Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham 92.5– Magnolia Grill, Durham 92.4– Nobu Miami Beach, Miami Beach 92.1– Restaurant Eugene, Atlanta Midwest 94.4– Spiaggia, Chicago 93.8– Carlos', Highland Park 93.7– Moto, Chicago 93.4– Charlie Trotter's , Chicago 93.2– L20, Chicago 93.0– Sanford, Milwaukee 92.8– La Belle Vie, Minneapolis 92.5– Sidney Street Cafe, St. Louis 92.4– Everest, Chicago 92.3– Green Zebra, Chicago 92.0– Blackbird, Chicago Southwest & Rockies 93.3– Alex, Las Vegas 92.8– Lotus of Siam, Las Vegas 92.5– Okada, Las Vegas 92.2– Atelier de Robuchon, Las Vegas 92.0– Picasso, Las Vegas <--Photo Line Here--<< California & the West 94.5– Hump, The, Santa Monica 94.4– Ubuntu, Napa 93.9– Chez Panisse, Berkeley 93.6– Spago, Beverly Hills 93.6– Herbfarm, The, Woodinville 93.3– Matsuhisa, West Hollywood 93.3– Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles 93.2– Il Grano, West Los Angeles 93.0– Quince, San Francisco 92.9– Cut, Beverly Hills 92.9– Patina, Los Angeles 92.9– Water Grill , Los Angeles 92.8– Masa's, San Francisco 92.8– Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant, Forestville 92.7– Erna's Elderberry House, Oakhurst 92.6– Mori Sushi, West Los Angeles 92.6– Mama's Fish House, Paia 92.5– Bouchon, Santa Barbara 92.5– Katsu-ya, Studio City 92.3– Sona, Los Angeles 92.2– Asanebo, Studio City 92.1– Grace, West Hollywood 92.1– Market Restaurant & Bar, La Jolla 92.0– Gary Danko, San Francisco 92.0– Ritz-Carlton Dining Room, San Francisco Canada 94.9– Club Chasse et Pêche, Montreal 93.2– Sushi Kaji, Toronto 92.7– Tojo's, Vancouver 92.5– Toqué, Montreal 92.4– Nota Bene, Toronto 92.1– Sooke Harbour House , Sooke <--Photo Line Here--<< Top 30 Casual Restaurants in the U.S. 01. Peter Luger, Brooklyn, 94.48 02. Bern’s Steak House, Tampa, 94.04 03. Momofuku Ssäm Bar, New York, 93.58 04. Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles, 93.35 05. Momofuku Noodle Bar, New York, 93.21 06. Lotus of Siam, Las Vegas, 92.83 07. Al Di La, Brooklyn, 92.65 08. Neptune Oyster, Boston, 92.36 09. Locanda Verde, New York, 92.10 10. Oleana,, Cambridge, 91.91 11. B & G Oysters, Boston, 91.86 12. East Coast Grill, Cambridge, 91.79 13. Canteen, San Francisco, 91.76 14. Cochon, New Orleans, 91.68 15. Paciarino, Portland, 91.58 16. Toro, Boston, 91.57 17. Frontera Grill, Chicago, 91.50 18. Avec, Chicago, 91.44 19. Swan Oyster Depot, San Francisco, 91.42 20. A16, San Francisco, 91.39 20. Amada, Philadelphia, 91.39 20. Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier, Kittery Point, 91.39 23. Tilth, Seattle, 91.37 24. ‘ino, New York, 91.36 25. Kokkari Estiatorio, San Francisco, 91.27 26. Mirepoix, Windsor, 91.22 27. La Petite Grocery, New Orleans, 91.21 28. Mia Dona, New York, 91.09 29. Range, San Francisco, 91.09 30. Chez Panisse Café, Berkeley, CA, 91.08 <--Photo Line Here--<< Top 30 Inexpensive Restaurant in the U.S. 01. Kreuz Market, Lockhart, 10.00 02. Hot Doug’s, Chicago, 9.73 03. Katz’s Delicatessen, New York, 8.78 04. Di Fara’s Pizza, Brooklyn, 8.76 05. Tartine Bakery, San Francisco, 8.71 06. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, St. Louis, 8.62 07. Smitty’s Market, Lockhart, 8.60 08. Central Grocery, New Orleans, 8.55 09. 8 Oz. Burger Bar, Los Angeles, 8.46 10. Pizzeria Delfina, San Francisco, 8.44 10. Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles, Hollywood, CA, 8.44 12. Mama’s on Washington, San Francisco, 8.36 13. Pizzetta 211, San Francisco, 8.30 14. Blue Ribbon BBQ, Newton, MA, 8.24 14. Smoque, Chicago, 8.24 16. City Bakery , New York, 8.23 17. Arthur Bryant’s , Kansas City, 8.22 17. Duck Fat, Portland, ME, 8.22 17. Shake Shack, New York, 8.22 20. Ess-a-Bagel , New York, NY, 8.21 21. Porchetta, New York, NY, 8.12 22. Salumi, Seattle, WA, 8.01 22. Tony Luke's Old Philly Style Sandwiches, Philadelphia, 8.01 24. Bánh Mì Saigon Bakery, New York, 7.90 25. Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano, Brooklyn, 7.87 26. Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans, LA, 7.82 27. Momofuku Milk Bar, New York, 7.80 28. La Taqueria, San Francisco, 7.74 29. Bread Line, Washington, DC, 7.71 30. Salt Lick, Austin, TX, 7.70 [[www.insightexpress.com/ix/oa]]Click to participate in our 2011 survey\\ http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10983 Mon, 8 Feb 2010 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10981 This years survey results were complied based on 1.900 participants contributing more than 29,000 reviews of restaurants in the United States, Canada and Europe. The complete list of U.S. & Canadian restaurants will be available on the web site on March 1. The 2010 European results will be announced on March 8th. A PDF version of these results can be downloaded [[www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/files/2010survey.pdf]]here.\\ The Thirty Most Important Restaurants in the United States (95-100 points) 01. The French Laundry, Yountville: 100 02. Per Se, New York: 99.73 03. Masa, New York: 99.00 04. Manresa, Los Gatos: 98.53 05. Blue Hill... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10981 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10982 While I’m away in Paris and Copenhagen stuffing my face, the Opinionated About team (I bet you didn’t know I had a team did you?) are diligently putting the 2010 U.S. Survey results together. On February 8 we will be publishing a list of the 30 Most Important Restaurants in the U.S. along with a list of the Top 15 restaurants in eight different regions of the country. The complete list of U.S. & Canadian restaurants will be published on March 1. But back to my trip for a moment, besides having countless meals at a slew of top restaurants, my friend Laurent Vanparys of the website [[http://gastrosontour.wordpress.com/]]Gastros-on-Tour\\ has organized a restaurant crawl of Copenhagen that is based on the NYC restaurant crawl that I organized for Jay Rayner a number of years back. I believe we are hitting six restaurants next Thursday evening. It should be a blast. http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10982 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10980 Thanks for your interest in Opinionated About Dining. We are hoping to publish a guide to dining in the United States based on a survey of knowledgeable and experienced diners. As an incentive to get you to participate in our 2011 survey, we have made special arrangements with Chefshop.com to provide you with up to $200 worth of free gourmet ingredients and specialty foods when you rate restaurants for our survey in accordance with the terms and conditions below. Here is how it works: 1. Click on the link below and register for the survey. Enter the word “olive” (without the quotes) as the pre-approval code. 2. In the box titled How Did You Hear About Opinionated About, please enter Chefshop.com. We are not in possession of the Chefshop.com email list, and the only way we will able to know if you qualify for this special offer is if you notify us. 3. Once you have access to the survey, rate as many restaurants as you can. The restaurants can be located in the U.S., Canada or Europe. Try and click on any link that might look like it covers a region that you have visited. And make sure you click on the regions labeled “New Entries” on both the North American and European maps as many of the restaurants in the survey are listed in those regions. 4. Rate the following number of restaurants in order to qualify for the special gift:: -----a) Rate any 75 restaurants and get a Chefshop,com store credit for $75.00 of gourmet ingredients or specialty food items -----b) For each additional 25 restaurants that you rate, your store credit will be increased by $25.00 -----c) The Maximum store credit that can be earned under this promotion is $200.00 5. You must be at least eighteen (18) years old to participate in this promotion. 6. No prior purchase from Chefshop.com is necessary 7. Only ratings entered on or after the date you received the email offer from Chefshop.com announcing this promotion count towards your total. If you were not on the original list of people who received the email from Chefshop.com, you are not eligible for this promotion. 8. Your ratings must be entered no later than 11:59 PM PCT on March 21, 2009 in order to qualify for the free store credit. In addition to rating a restaurant, you can enter a short review or comment about each restaurant you rate. Although commenting on the restaurants is optional, we would appreciate it if you contributed short comments in order to explain your rating. [[www.insightexpress.com/ix/oa/Start.aspx?force=true]]Click Here to Rate Restaurants For the 2011 OA Dining Survey and Earn Free Gourmet Ingredients and Specialty Foods from Chefshop.com\\ http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10980 Mon, 4 Jan 2010 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10978 Even though health issues kept me from eating as much as I could in 2009, I managed to get in some good meals. So like last year, here is an alphabetical list of my favorite dishes of the year. Note: Sometimes ”favorite” is the equivalent of being “the best”, while sometimes it’s just something that I got immense enjoyment from despite its simplicity or lack of gravitas on the culinary food chain. I hope you enjoy reading about these dishes as much as I enjoyed eating them. 1. Boudin - Cochon Butcher, New Orleans, Louisiana - I’m no expert on boudin, but... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10978 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10976 I found last year’s best meals article to be so informative that I decided to publish a 2009 version. So, once again, I asked various chefs, bloggers, etc. people who are either in the food industry or passionate about food the following questions: 1. Name the best meal that you had in 2009 2. Name the chef or restaurant who showed the most potential in 2009 Last year’s responses yielded the names of a number of restaurants that hadn’t been on my radar before. A case in point is Els Casals, a restaurant up in the mountains around an hour... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10976 Tue, 1 Dec 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10977 After a few days of eating what seemed like an endless parade of gambas, chiperones, espardenyes and the odd kilo of chulenton, I was in the mood for a bit of molecular magic. In fact I found myself imagining that I had walked into a restaurant and asked the waiter, “what flavor air are you serving today?” But I wouldn’t have to dream about it that much longer was only in my dreams. Soon my desire for the cuisine moderne would be sated by an evening at El Bulli. I hadn’t been to El Bulli in a number of years... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10977 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10975 Due to my good fortune in getting a reservation at El Bulli, combined with the availability of a non-stop flight in exchange for miles, I recently spent the better part of a week in Barcelona. Arriving on a Tuesday morning after an overnight flight from Newark Airport, I checked into my hotel and immediately headed over to La Boqueria so I could immerse myself in the local culinary culture. It was 11:30 in the morning when I arrived and the energy level in the market was amazing. I wonder if anyone knows exactly how many transactions happen there each... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10975 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10974 I know you’re saying to yourself: “Plotnicki used a provocative title in order to get attention.” While I admit that the thought crossed my mind, given the story I am about to tell, I think that it’s an accurate description of the subject at hand. In fact I’ll say it again: David Myers, the chef/owner of the restaurant Sona, is a schmuck. In fact after you hear the story I am about to tell about him, what other way could one describe him? Over the past few years, Mrs. P and I have spent the weekend of her birthday... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10974 Thu, 5 Nov 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10973 I never really understood the allure of dining in New Orleans. Not that I have eaten badly there – it’s just that the city’s reputation as a culinary center always seemed disproportionate to what one finds on their plate. In fact, one of the things that I found when I began trying to attract people to rate restaurants for the OA Dining Survey was how difficult it was to find people to rate the restaurants in the city . But if you take a cold hard look at the city’s restaurant scene you can understand why. Despite a population of 300,000, as... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10973 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10972 I have no idea whether Scott Anderson and Joe Sparatta invented this concept or if it is a variation of an idea that another chef developed, but their riceless risotto dish is an eye-opener. In fact it was so good that I asked them to explain how they made the dish and here is what they told me. First they cut chicken of the woods mushrooms into the shape and form of risotto rice. Then, using a pressure cooker, they make a broth using risotto rice, and they add that to the chopped mushrooms to give it some body and starchiness. Then they add all of the other elements you would find in a mushroom risotto which includes a bit of tomato, parmesan cheese, a quail egg and some white truffle. The end result was a dish that had all of the flavor of a risotto without any of the heaviness. And because mushrooms made up 95% of what was in the dish, the mushroom flavor was more intense than your typical risotto dish. Bravo and dishes like this one are the reason I eat out. In fact I wouldn’t mind having some for lunch today but the 60 mile drive from New York City to Princeton is too much of a schlep. Maybe I can get them to overnight a care package. http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10972 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10970 If you aren’t already aware of it, between writing the witty and informative reviews and articles for this blog, I have spent the last three years compiling data for an Opinionated About Dining Guide to the Restaurants of the U.S. It’s turned out to be quite an arduous task, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the finished product runs between 700-100 pages. The guide is based on a survey of diners, but what makes this particular guide different than ones that use a similar format is that we weight our reviewers based on their dining experience. To date, over 1700 people have contributed nearly 27,000 reviews. But where I really need help is with reviews of restaurants in the following cities: Atlanta, Georgia Baltimore, Maryland Birmingham, Alabama Charleston, South Carolina Cleveland, Ohio Denver, Colorado Detroit, Michigan Kansas City, Missouri Miami, Florida Milwaukee, Wisconsin Minneapolis, Minnesota New Orleans, Louisiana Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona Portland, Maine Portland, Oregon Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Seattle, Washington St. Louis, Missouri Getting started is easy. Just click on the link below and enter “olive” (without the quotes) as the pre-approval code. Once you have access to the survey, you can rate restaurants in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Eastern Europe and even Israel. And because of our special weighting system, the more restaurants you rate the greater the impact your ratings will have on the final result. Numerous participants have rated in excess of 100 restaurants, and quite a few have rated over 200 while a handful of people have been able to rate more than 400 restaurants. I hope you decide to participate. I know you will enjoy taking part in what I feel is a great project. Anything you can do to help will be appreciated. [[www.insightexpress.com/ix/oa/Start.aspx?force=true]]Click Here to Rate Restaurants For the OA Dining Guide\\ http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10970 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10968 I was at home last Monday night when an email arrived from a friend of mine. The subject line said, “Check this out.” I opened it up and enclosed was a copy of a Tweet from the blogger Pim Techamuanvivit which said; “Someone should give f*ucking David Chang a f*ucking thesaurus so he could be more offensive in more f*ckingly offensive terms” I wasn’t all that surprised: I had experienced my own unpleasant incident with Pim, one in which she took what I thought were extraordinary steps to hurt OA, so I was already of the opinion... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10968 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10966 Here are a few delicious dishes that I came upon during my recent travels. The photo of Tom Power’s Snapper Bisque at Corduroy doesn’t do the dish justice. It starts out with a bowl holding a few slices of raw snapper, which cook from the heat of the broth when it’s on top. Quite good, with a deep flavor that was different than the usual crab or lobster bisque. Actually, the flavor profile is almost like a soupe de poisons of the type you would find in the South of France. Even the texture is reminiscent. I wonder what he uses to thicken the soup? I struggled with whether to choose Charleston’s Cindy Wolf’s shrimp, andouille sausage and grits dish or the filet of beef with Hopping John and a cornmeal fried tomato for this article and the latter won, primarily because of the grittiness the cornmeal added to the dish. Normally I would choose the creaminess of the sauce in the shrimp dish but there was something unique about the way the fried cornmeal played against the rice and beef. Back to soup, Tony Maw’s Long Island Cheese Pumpkin soup (it has nothing to do with cheese, it’s the name of the vegetable) with Saba sauce at Craigie on Main was magnificent, served with a tempura of maitake mushrooms on the side. Thick, sweet and savory, it was the perfect dish for a cool, fall evening in Cambridge, Mass. And finally a trip to Woodman’s for some fried clam bellies, fried shrimp and fried scallops (or skahllops as they call them at the restaurant.) The clams didn’t have the deepest flavor – it might be a bit early in the season – but they were still delicious. Especially since they are gluten free (they use corn flour) which makes finding fried clams that I can eat at a real treat.<--Photo Line Here--<< http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10966 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10965 Now that both Zagat and Michelin have released their 2010 results, I thought it would be interesting to see how the OAD ratings compare. Granted, the OAD ratings are from 2009, but considering that the results were released in April, they are only about 6 months behind the others so the difference in timing is not as significant as it might appear. From a ratings perspective, it appears that the OA survey participants are somewhat more discriminating when it comes to rating restaurants than the other two guides. Especially when the restaurants are not in the very top tier. I... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10965 Mon, 5 Oct 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10964 by Stephen Harris When I first heard about The Flemish Primitives I was instantly intrigued. They sounded like a Belgian punk band who might have been managed by Andrew Loog Oldham but are in fact a group of chefs from the north coast of Europe covering Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Apart from being a sucker for a movement, given the close proximity to Kent, where my restaurant is located, I was fascinated to see what they were doing with ingredients similar to the ones I use over the Channel in Kent. I had visited Sergio Herman’s Oud Sluis a... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10964 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10963 Even thought I had to deal with some health issues over this past summer, I still managed to get in some decent eating. Since I took the summer off from blogging and there is such a backlog of places to review, I thought the best thing to do was to create a compendium of the various meals and add short reviews about each restaurant. So here they are in alphabetical order with a few photos thrown in for good measure. Enjoy. Al Forno (Providence, Rhode Island) – Oddly enough this was my first meal at this Providence legend and it exceeded... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10963 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10961 It was John Shields, the chef at the Town House in Chilhowie, Virginia who told me I needed to go eat at Goodstone. The story goes like this. You see John, and Karen Urie, the pastry chef at the Town House were planning on getting married, and Karen’s wedding gown was being made in Washington DC. So each Sunday, for weeks on end, they would make the five hour drive to DC for a fitting. On many of those weekends they stopped for dinner at this unusual inn in the midst of Virginia horse country where they became intimately acquainted... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10961 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10959 You know you must be getting somewhere when food writers who work for mainstream media publications have a run at you. In this instance, I noticed that my blog was getting Twitter hits from someone named Alison Cook. When I Googled her, it turned out that she’s [[blogs.chron.com/cookstour/]]a restaurant critic\ for the Houston Chronicle. Well all I can say Alison is thanks for the shout out. Maybe one or two of the people who linked through to my blog will turn into permanent readers of this site, and it would be even better if they were to become... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10959 Sun, 6 Sep 2009 10:58:03 EDT http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10958 I don’t know Michael Nagrant from Adam. But my two interactions with him have not been pleasant. My first interaction had to do with his review of the first [[oad.typepad.com/oa/oa_dining_guides/]]OA Dining Guide\\in which he called me a shill because I don’t eat out anonymously. Okay, the guy is entitled to his opinion, but despite the pejorative description, I took the time to write to him and carefully explain why bloggers are different from traditional journalists, that included a detailed explanation of my goal for the site – report on the best meal of which a... http://www.opinionatedaboutdining.com/OADreview.php?ID=10958