Here’s how Bon Appétit magazine frames their choice of Ari Taymor‘s 39-seat downtown Los Angeles eatery Alma as this year’s best new USA restaurant:

To put it in sports terms, [it's] like a minor league baseball player who goes from batting .200 one year to hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth with two outs to win the World Series the next. Yes, it’s that unexpected.

In nearby local baseball terms, another way to think of Taymor is as Yasiel Puig – squared. Rounding out the top three new American eateries is San Francisco’s very pricey Saison (#2) and Nashville’s Rolf & Daughters (#3).

NYC barely squeaks onto the list thanks to a #10 mention for Fredrik Berselius‘ Brooklyn restaurant Aska. The write-up suggests that the New Nordic movement represented by Aska may eventually well rank as the “most influential culinary philosophy since nouvelle cuisine of the 1960s.” Congrats to all of the recognized establishments.