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).

Read more

Palo Alto-based food writer Trevor Felch cooked up a saucy litte summary for SF Weekly of an “Editors Panel” held at the 2013 SF Chefs Festival. Participating were NYT Atlanta bureau chief Kim Severson (a former food beat journo), Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema, San Francisco Chronicle food editor Miriam Morgan and Sunset magazine food editor Margo True.

Sietsema had an interesting observation about the difficulty a full-time print journalist faces when competing with bloggers. That particular takeaway was shared by Felch under the sub-headline “Maintaining Professional Distance Has Its Detriments:”

Sietsema mentioned how he personally can’t get scoops from chefs like bloggers can, because professional food writers and editors have to keep an important objective distance from the restaurants. In Sietsema’s words, “A lot of news gets broken over bourbon at midnight.” He can’t exactly do that with José Andres.

Read more

Can Internet behemoth Yelp be dinged? Google certainly hopes so.

After purchasing restaurant review service Zagat in 2011, the company has unveiled a redesigned website and mobile Apps. The biggest difference is there is no longer a paid login required. Zagat is now za-free. From CNN.com tech writer Heather Kelly‘s report:

The new Zagat has four categories of content. There are listings for individual places that bear the familiar one-paragraph summary and ratings for food, decor, service and an average cost. There is also original content put together by local editors in the form of lists, blog posts (called “Buzz”) and videos.

Read more

Here, there and everywhere, the restaurant business is increasingly anchored to Yelp. We wrote about an establishment that has mastered the art of Yelp in the U.S.’s second largest city. Now, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune‘s city guide vita.mn comes another reminder of just how expansively the Union Square operation must be viewed.

From the article by Bill Ward, picked up from a weekend print edition:

Every month, the managers of Parasole Restaurant Group’s 10 restaurants meet with their bosses. At the outset, they get a report card — not for sales or profits, but an algorithm-based assessment of how their operations are faring on social media. It includes a letter grade.

“I can guarantee you,” said Kip Clayton, Parasole’s vice president of marketing, “you don’t want to have an F.”

Read more

Food and Wine magazine celebrated their 25th annual Best New Chefs in a lavish affair at Pranna last night. In addition to dishes served by past winners including Scott Conant, Michael Symon, Dan Kluger, and April Bloomfield, New York’s own Danny Bowien (Mission Chinese Food) and Alex Stupak (Empellon Cocina) were among this year’s recipients.

We caught up with Kristen Kish, winner of this season’s Top Chef, (above, with Top Chef Season 8 contestant Angelo Sosa) find out how the win has changed her and get the real scoop on nemesis Josie Smith-Malave.

“I get to go to a lot of cool parties,” Kish said of life post-win. “I’m just much busier.” So does she have any regrets about her famous fall on her sword? “No,” she said. “That’s just how I conduct myself. I was much happier leaving being who I was, even if there hadn’t been a Last Chance Kitchen.”

And if she could say one thing to Josie now? “No hard feelings,” said Kish. But her companion, who asked to remain anonymous, was not as PC. “I’d ask ‘Why were you even invited back?’”

Also on our minds: Does restauranteur Danny Meyer have as many lost weekends as we do from getting sucked into those addictive ‘Law and Order’ marathons, starring Stephanie March, wife of chef Bobby Flay? “Of course!” he said. “I can’t get enough of it! It’s always on somewhere.”

Before the night ended, we just had to ask Scott Conant, chef and judge on “Chopped,” who he would chop from the evening. “Myself!” he told us. “I’ve been too busy socializing to even be at my station!”

So at an event full of the best chefs, who caught the most attention? Surprise guests Kyle Richards and her husband Mauricio Umansky, (right) fresh off season 3 of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

- JESSICA EULE

Red Rooster owner/chef Marcus Samuelson, Food & Wine’s Gail Simmons, and Top Chef Masters judge (and former Mediabistro food writing instructor) Francis Lam

If you have some professional cooking experience, or a lot of food writing experience, Plate is looking for your take on grub. This trade magazine boasts a readership of professional chefs and highly educated foodies, but its glossy photos make it look like newsstand fare rather than your typical trade pub.

“We make sure to talk to industry leaders and up-and-coming chefs around the country, and make their exchange of information the focus of the magazine,” said editor Chandra Ram. “You won’t find holiday cooking or dining information here; you will find timely, fun and exciting food discussion by people who are passionate about food.”

For more information on what to pitch, read How To Pitch: Plate.

This article is an exclusive feature for Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, you can register for as little as $55 a year and get access to these articles, discounts on seminars and workshops, and more.

Foodies unite! Madison Square Garden is debuting a world class menu called the “signature collection” this fall at The World’s Most Famous Arena.

Some of the New York’s top chefs have reworked the menu for Knicks and Rangers games this season.

The MSG Signature Collection will debut in November and December, following the reopening of the Garden in late October. The Garden is undergoing the first phase of a three-year transformation project. 

Food offerings throughout the Arena will be upgraded as the transformation continues, with items from restaurants Carnegie Deli and Hill Country Barbecue. There will also be additional food items including healthy food, gluten free, kosher offerings featuring Carlos & Gabby’s, desserts from Magnolia Bakery, sushi and the Garden Market, which will provide a wide variety of arena favorites, including pizza and hot dogs.

“Along with significantly enhanced menu options and upgrades for all of our food offerings, we’re proud that some of the best chefs and restaurateurs in the world will offer exclusive items as part of our Signature Collection, which will only be available to fans attending our events,” said Hank Ratner, president and chief executive officer, The Madison Square Garden Company.

Read more