The Best in the World

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Chef Rene Redzepi from Noma

Every weekday I drive home from work, listening to NPR.  Yup, I'm a pubic radio nerd and I have been for at least a decade (wow, I'm old!).  Anyway, the other day NPR aired an interview with René Redzepi, the chef and creative mind behind Noma, a restaurant in Denmark that has recently been rated the best in the world.

Can you imagine being told you're the best in the world at something?  How do you even judge that?

I digress.  Noma is a tiny restaurant (I think NPR mentioned it seats just 12) and the main focus is on local food.  You can't get the trendiest offerings in the culinary world at Noma, but you can get food that is made from ingredients local to Scandinavia.  They smoke and salt their own meats, pickle their own fruits and veggies, and--from what I heard--a true artisinal restaurant. 

I'm sure dinner at Noma would be unforgettable--if you could even get in!  All the press from being labeled the best restaurant in the world will probably make it a bit tough to get a reservation these days.  I'm not planning a trip to Denmark anytime soon, but I did take a look at their menu nonetheless.  I haven't the foggiest idea what some of these ingredients are, though I must admit that chowing down on "The Oyster and the Sea" sounds appealing.

I also checked out the website that lists the top 50 restaurants in the world.  The good old US is represented three times in the top 10, so that's encouraging.  For fun, here are the eight US restuarants declared to be in the top 50 of the world...anyone ever been to any of these?  I don't live in NYC and I am not made of money, so I can't say that I have.  Still, I can click on their websites, read their sample menus and imagine what I would order.  Vicarious eating through the internet!

• Alinea, Chicago, IL (chef Grant Achatz)
• Daniel, NYC (Daniel Boulud)
• Per Se, NYC (Thomas Keller's restaurant)
• Le Bernardin, NYC (Eric Ripert)
• The French Laundry, NYC (Thomas Keller, again!)
• wd-50, NYC (Wylie Dufresne)
• Eleven Madison Park, NYC (Daniel Humm)