For the third year in a row, Noma in Denmark has taken the title of Best Restaurant in the World according to Restaurant Magazine. After looking through the list of the 99 runners up, I must admit that I’ve never eaten at any of these places. The closest I’ve come is eating at L’Atelier’s sister restaurants in the US, but I would imagine that the difference would be like drinking the last pint of Guinness and watching your buddy drink the last Guinness when you’re absolutely parched.
The crew of Noma accepting the best restaurant in the world award. Picture by Unknown, The World's 50 Best Restaurants sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua
The L’Atelier experience changed my outlook on what food should be. Being stuffed to the point of bursting with 3 courses of foie and the obligatory butter laden, orgasm inducing pomme puree reinforced that there’s a significant difference between what good restaurants do, and what great restaurants do. The intensity and obsession with which the best chefs and brigades choose their ingredients and produce dishes is an incredibly rare occurrence, resulting in something almost other-worldly.
I will say that I am a bit disappointed that no Canadian restaurant made it into the top 100. I had high hopes for places like Joe Beef and Brasserie T, which are pushing the boundaries of great food in this country and are among some of the most innovative and crazy places to eat.
There are a few things from this year’s list that stand out in my mind: