Opinionated About Dining reveals 2015 FRESH list

OPINIONATED ABOUT DINING REVEALS 2015 FRESH LIST

List includes 100 restaurants from 11 regions exemplifying the FRESH ethos by OAD reviewers

NEW YORK (July 28, 2015) – Opinionated About Dining (OAD), the leading source of global restaurant rankings for devout diners, releases its 2nd annual FRESH list celebrating the best restaurants featuring F – Farm-to-Table cuisine; R – Regional American Cuisine; E – Ethnic Cuisine; S – Sustainable Ingredients; served with American-style H – Hospitality.

This year, Sean Brock’s Husk in Charleston, SC; Gabe Rucker’s Le Pigeon in Portland, OR; Chris Sheperd’s Underbelly in Houston, TX; Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc in Yountville, CA; and Brendan Sodikoff’s Au Cheval in Chicago, IL maintain their reign on top restaurant by region. Newcomers to the top regional restaurants include Taco Maria in Costa Mesa, CA; Rose’s Luxury in Washington, D.C.; Momofuku Ssäm Bar in New York, NY; Bondir in Cambridge, MA; FarmHaus in St. Louis, MO; and Pêche Seafood Grill in New Orleans, LA.

In total, the FRESH list features 100 American restaurants covering 11 regions in the country, each with a restaurant that best exemplifies the FRESH ethos. The top restaurants by region, include:

1. Husk – Southeast Regional winner

2. Taco Maria – Southern California Regional winner

3. Le Pigeon – Pacific Northwest Regional winner

4. Rose’s Luxury – Mid-Atlantic Regional winner

5. Underbelly – Southwest Regional winner

6. Momofuku Ssäm Bar – New York Regional winner

7. Bondir – New England Regional winner

8. Ad Hoc – Northern California Regional winner

9. Pêche Seafood Grill – South Regional winner

10. Au Cheval – Great Lakes Regional winner

11. Farm Haus – Midwest Regional winner

The full list can be found below and by clicking, here.

1. Husk                                      Charleston, SC/Nashville TN

2. Taco Maria                            Costa Mesa, CA

3. Le Pigeon                               Portland, OR

4. Ox                                         Portland, OR

5. Eating House                           Miami, FL

6. Rose’s Luxury                         Washington DC

7. FIG                                        Charleston, SC

8. Underbelly                             Houston, TX

9. Bestia                                    Los Angeles, CA

10. Momofuku Ssäm Bar               New York, NY

11. Momofuku Noodle Bar             New York, NY

12. Pok Pok                                 Portland, OR

13. Bondir                                   Boston, MA

14. Woodberry Kitchen                Baltimore, MD

15. Son of a Gun                           West Hollywood, CA

16. Ad hoc                                   Yountville, CA

17. Pêche Seafood Grill                New Orleans, LA

18. Frances                                  San Francisco, CA

19. Foreign & Domestic                Austin, TX

20. Serpico                                  Philadelphia, PA

21. Cochon                                   New Orleans, LA

22. Animal                                   Los Angeles, CA

23. Admiral                                 Asheville, NC

24. Lilette                                    New Orleans, LA

25. Au Cheval                               Chicago, IL

26. Chez Panisse Café                   Berkeley, CA

27. Cúrate                                   Asheville, NC

28. Dirt Candy                             New York, NY

29. Purple Pig, The                      Chicago, IL

30. Central Provisions                  Portland, ME

31. Bar Tartine                            San Francisco, CA

32. Eventide Oyster Co.               Portland, ME

33. Connie & Ted’s                       West Hollywood, CA

34. Addesso/Dopo                        Oakland, CA

35. Flour + Water                         San Francisco, CA

36. City House                              Nashville, TN

37. Gjelina                                   Venice, CA

38. Publican, The                         Chicago, IL

39. Zahav                                    Philadelphia, PA

40. Ordinary, The                        Charleston, SC

41. Battersby                              Brooklyn, NY

42. Camino                                  Oakland, CA

43. Tar & Roses                           Santa Monica, CA

44. Lula Café                                Chicago, IL

45. Miller Union                            Atlanta, GA

46. Nopa                                      San Francisco, CA

47. Alta                                       San Francisco, CA

48. Cakes & Ale                            Atlanta, GA

49. Farm & Fisherman                  Philadelphia, PA

50. Beast                                     Portland, OR

51. Neptune Oyster                      Boston, MA

52. A.O.C.                                   West Hollywood, CA

53. Mary’s Fish Camp                   New York, NY

54. Farmhaus                               St. Louis, MO

55. Goose the Market                   Indianapolis, IN

56. Kin Shop                                New York, NY

57. Night + Market                       Los Angeles, CA

58. Longman & Eagle                     Chicago, IL

59. Sitka & Spruce                       Seattle, WA

60. A 16                                       San Francisco, CA

61. Lantern                                  Chapel Hill, NC

62. Rustic Canyon                         Santa Monica, CA

63. Fung Tu                                  New York, NY

64. Alma                                      Minneapolis, MN

65. Michael’s Genuine Cuisine        Miami, FL

66. Heartland                               St. Paul, MN

67. Fat Rice                                 Chicago, IL

68. Northern Spy Co.                   Brooklyn, NY

69. Thirty Acres                          Jersey City, NJ

70. Rolf & Daughters                    Nashville, TN

71. Justus Drugstore                    Smithville, MO

72. Cannibal Beer & Butcher         New York, NY

73. Park Kitchen                          Portland, OR

74. Holeman & Finch                     Atlanta, GA

75. Boucherie                              New Orleans, LA

76. Diner                                     Brooklyn, NY

77. LeFarm/The Whelk                 Westport, CT

78. Empire State South                 Atlanta, GA

79. Buttermilk Channel                 Brooklyn, NY

80. T.W. Food                             Cambridge, MA

81. Five & Ten                             Athens, GA

82. Baco Mercat                          Los Angeles, CA

83. Mills Tavern                           Providence, RI

84. Mission Cantina                      New York, NY

85. Big Jones                               Chicago, IL

86. Greenhouse Tavern                 Cleveland, OH

87. Hungry Cat, The                     Los Angeles, CA

88. RedFarm                                New York, NY

89. Two Boroughs Larder             Charleston, SC

90. Uncle Boon’s                           New York, NY

91. Bergamot                               Boston, MA

92. Optimist, The                        Atlanta, GA

93. Blue Collar                              Miami, FL

94. Higgins Restaurant & Bar        Portland, OR

95. Federal, The                          Miami, FL

96. Bronwyn                                Somerville, MA

97. Caiola’s                                  Portland, ME

98. Zingerman’s Roadhouse           Ann Arbor, MI

99. Oliveto                                   Oakland, CA

 100. Reynard                                 Brooklyn, NY

“People always ask me for recommendations for casual restaurants that focus on regional cooking that they can visit during their summer vacations” said OAD’s founder, Steve Plotnicki. “The Fresh List gives them all of the information they need in one place. It allows diners to plan their trips and dining destinations in various regions across the country without having to consult multiple local newspapers and media sources.”

About Opinionated About Dining

OAD is the premier restaurant rating system compiled by an expert membership of highly literate connoisseurs of the culinary arts who travel the world to experience the art of food. By relying on statistical accuracy, transparency, discerning palates and weighted votes of members, the Opinionated About Dining survey provides a more distinctive approach to rating restaurants.

The OAD algorithm generates a ranking system that classifies restaurants based on the reviews of the membership community. Each member influences the results based on the number of restaurants he/she has visited and the current ranking of those restaurants. At the end of each rating year, restaurants are ranked using a combination of data including: the type of reviews they attract (from positive to negative); the level of reviewer who visited (the percentage of experienced and inexperienced reviewers), and whether the number of reviewers who visited that year is trending upward, downward, or holding steady. By using this method, OAD eliminates a dilution of results experienced in other voting systems that are based on surveys, while at the same time offering everyone an opportunity to participate. The resulting list reflects the combined expertise of a community that is dedicated to the dining experience, versus the collective view of the average diner, or the subjective rating by a restaurant critic.

About Steve Plotnicki

Plotnicki’s passion for food has long been an intrinsic part of his life, if not always his career. A native New Yorker, he was a successful guitarist and songwriter before co-founding Profile Records in 1981. In 2003, he launched a discussion forum, which morphed into his “Opinionated About Dining” blog, a project that established him as one of the most prolific early food bloggers. Initially conceived as a way to share information about his dining experiences with other enthusiasts, “Opinionated About Dining” continued to evolve and attract readers. In 2007, Plotnicki developed a formal survey for readers and fellow diners and published a 56-page booklet in 2008 featuring the 100 best restaurants in North America and Europe. Since then, Plotnicki has further refined the survey process authored and published Opinionated About U.S. Restaurants in 2011, and continually publishes the rankings of the top restaurants around the world.