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:

Husk – Southeast Regional winner
Taco Maria – Southern California Regional winner
Le Pigeon – Pacific Northwest Regional winner
Rose’s Luxury – Mid-Atlantic Regional winner
Underbelly – Southwest Regional winner
Momofuku Ssäm Bar – New York Regional winner
Bondir – New England Regional winner
Ad Hoc – Northern California Regional winner
Pêche Seafood Grill – South Regional winner
Au Cheval – Great Lakes Regional winner
Farm Haus – Midwest Regional winner

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

Husk Charleston, SC/Nashville TN
Taco Maria Costa Mesa, CA
Le Pigeon Portland, OR
Ox Portland, OR
Eating House Miami, FL
Rose’s Luxury Washington DC
FIG Charleston, SC
Underbelly Houston, TX
Bestia Los Angeles, CA
Momofuku Ssäm Bar New York, NY
Momofuku Noodle Bar New York, NY
Pok Pok Portland, OR
Bondir Boston, MA
Woodberry Kitchen Baltimore, MD
Son of a Gun West Hollywood, CA
Ad hoc Yountville, CA
Pêche Seafood Grill New Orleans, LA
Frances San Francisco, CA
Foreign & Domestic Austin, TX
Serpico Philadelphia, PA
Cochon New Orleans, LA
Animal Los Angeles, CA
Admiral Asheville, NC
Lilette New Orleans, LA
Au Cheval Chicago, IL
Chez Panisse Café Berkeley, CA
Cúrate Asheville, NC
Dirt Candy New York, NY
Purple Pig, The Chicago, IL
Central Provisions Portland, ME
Bar Tartine San Francisco, CA
Eventide Oyster Co. Portland, ME
Connie & Ted’s West Hollywood, CA
Addesso/Dopo Oakland, CA
Flour + Water San Francisco, CA
City House Nashville, TN
Gjelina Venice, CA
Publican, The Chicago, IL
Zahav Philadelphia, PA
Ordinary, The Charleston, SC
Battersby Brooklyn, NY
Camino Oakland, CA
Tar & Roses Santa Monica, CA
Lula Café Chicago, IL
Miller Union Atlanta, GA
Nopa San Francisco, CA
Alta San Francisco, CA
Cakes & Ale Atlanta, GA
Farm & Fisherman Philadelphia, PA
Beast Portland, OR
Neptune Oyster Boston, MA
A.O.C. West Hollywood, CA
Mary’s Fish Camp New York, NY
Farmhaus St. Louis, MO
Goose the Market Indianapolis, IN
Kin Shop New York, NY
Night + Market Los Angeles, CA
Longman & Eagle Chicago, IL
Sitka & Spruce Seattle, WA
A 16 San Francisco, CA
Lantern Chapel Hill, NC
Rustic Canyon Santa Monica, CA
Fung Tu New York, NY
Alma Minneapolis, MN
Michael’s Genuine Cuisine Miami, FL
Heartland St. Paul, MN
Fat Rice Chicago, IL
Northern Spy Co. Brooklyn, NY
Thirty Acres Jersey City, NJ
Rolf & Daughters Nashville, TN
Justus Drugstore Smithville, MO
Cannibal Beer & Butcher New York, NY
Park Kitchen Portland, OR
Holeman & Finch Atlanta, GA
Boucherie New Orleans, LA
Diner Brooklyn, NY
LeFarm/The Whelk Westport, CT
Empire State South Atlanta, GA
Buttermilk Channel Brooklyn, NY
T.W. Food Cambridge, MA
Five & Ten Athens, GA
Baco Mercat Los Angeles, CA
Mills Tavern Providence, RI
Mission Cantina New York, NY
Big Jones Chicago, IL
Greenhouse Tavern Cleveland, OH
Hungry Cat, The Los Angeles, CA
RedFarm New York, NY
Two Boroughs Larder Charleston, SC
Uncle Boon’s New York, NY
Bergamot Boston, MA
Optimist, The Atlanta, GA
Blue Collar Miami, FL
Higgins Restaurant & Bar Portland, OR
Federal, The Miami, FL
Bronwyn Somerville, MA
Caiola’s Portland, ME
Zingerman’s Roadhouse Ann Arbor, MI
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.