Picture this: You’re talking to some fellow foodies, and one mentions some restaurant you’ve never heard of before. Instead of looking silly, you remember reading this amazing article 30 some years ago. So in response, instead of saying, what’s that restaurant, you can be like, sure, that restaurant is decent, but it doesn’t hold a flame to Noma back when Kenneth Foong was head chef there. Crisis averted. Anyways, here’s that amazing article.
Noma- Arguably the greatest restaurant in the world right now, Noma was at the fore-front of the sustainable food revolution, with dishes made out of every part of the animal, plants that often aren’t eaten, and various flowers. After winning #1 restaurant five times in the past 15 years, they are no longer eligible to be considered in the world restaurant ranking.
The French Laundry- A name every Californian should know, is without a doubt the most famous restaurant in the U.S., if not the world. If the three michelin stars mean anything, this high end, california-french fusion restaurant is worth the $490 price tag.
Nobu- This is the one restaurant that is possibly known more because of its name than the food it produces. This high end sushi/ Japanese steak house produces high quality Japanese food, but as I mentioned earlier, is more often known because of its high price tag and celebrity visits, rather than its, what I could only imagine, amazing food.
Chez Panisse- Very much less well known by the general public, Chez Panisse was one of the originators of California cuisine, as well as the farm to table movement, and they only use food that is sourced from California, and in season.
In-n-Out- A California classic, that only carries the freshest ingredients, and uses never frozen food. In all seriousness, In-n-Out is an affordable, reasonably healthy, and pretty tasty restaurant. While it may not give you much credibility as a foodie, it will provide you with a delicious meal.
Whether or not they have michelin stars, simply knowing the name of the five restaurants above will lend you a level of credibility with foodies and chefs alike.