Grub Street has surveyed 11 prestigious foot-literates (Tony Bourdain, Jonathan Gold, Gael Greene, Kate Krader, Ed Levine, Michael Nagrant, Adam Platt, Alan Richman, Lee Schrager, Regina Schrambling, and Bret Thorn) to ask them about the current state of the restaurant world as it stands today. Our own Jonathan Gold chimes in with his opinions on important matters such as overhyped trends, restaurant fine dining, favorite cheap meals, and…

2. What is the most important restaurant city in the country right now?


Jonathan Gold: I’m duty-bound to say Los Angeles, aren’t I? But even if I weren’t, there is no city in the world with nearly as much diversity in its restaurants, as much access to splendid ingredients, or as much devotion to the competing concepts of tradition and change. It is not for nothing that such a huge percentage of national trends begin here.