Skift Take
Creating a comprehensive "best of" list is a complicated and Herculean task. Few are better suited to comment (and rank!) the state of American dining than Eater's national critic.
Eater's national restaurant critic, Bill Addison, has the enviable job of traveling across the country to cities large and small in search of the essential dining experience.
He spends three weeks per month on the road, visiting places from buzzy upstarts to the ultimate classics. Each year, he compiles a list of the 38 essential American restaurants, a list that's different from other "best-of" lists in that it's not made up entirely of fine dining or even brand new places. After sitting down to over 500 on-the-job meals in 2017, he's in a unique position to comment on the current state of American dining.
Skift Table spoke to Addison about his role, his current favorite spots, and the state of restaurant criticism in today's unique restaurant climate. He says not much surprises him, but that doesn't mean there aren't hundreds of untold stories and fascinating meals from across the country — beyond the expected food-focused enclaves of New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Skift Table: Your Eater Essential restaurants list is different than any out there. How do you approach compiling a list of essential restaurants in America, from fine dining to more casual, local favorites?
Bill Addison: This is the fourth of these lists that I've put together, so I'm into my fourth year with Eater as their national critic. Everything I do is sort of in ultimate service to this list. And you're right, there are a lot of lists out there. But this one tries to define what American dining is in 38 restaurants.
Every year I return to plenty of places and [because of this] I understand the food cultures of so many cities so much better. I'm trying to piece together a complete mosaic of what it means to dine in America right now. That doesn't just mean the hottest new restaurants either. It certainly means modern influential restaurants, but it also includes places that have a certain timelessness but are still really relevant in their communities, really influencing what other chefs are doing, or jus
