more good news and good eats for the dc/virginia area

wolfgang puck is set to open a new restaurant at the forthcoming newseum complex on pennsylvania avenue and 6th street, n.w., adjacent to the smithsonian museums. (via abc 7 news.)

the restaurant will be called "source by wolfgang puck" and it seems they are shooting for the opening to coincide with the new newseum's -- "fall 2007." the cuisine will feature the "flavors" of virginia and maryland (i smell fresh seafood!) but it will have the "spago" stamp all over it.

a personal note about the newseum--i revered the ny branch of the freedom forum/newseum. they hosted an exhibit called "replay! great moments from sports illustrated" many years ago that was marvelous. there were a few other events there that i happily "nerded out" at. i was disappointed when they left nyc...

if you're interested in journalism, history, current events, or if you loved good night, and good luck, you will love their cybernewseum . there are also traveling events and events hosted by newseum partners that are worth checking out until the new newseum's grand opening.

el bulli and the french room get top honors (the surveys are out!)

some interesting tidbits for all you world travelers:

bloomberg food critic richard vines reports that el bulli has been named the world's best restaurant in the restaurant magazine poll, ousting last year's surprise winner, fat duck.

sadly, the closest that i've come to el bulli is in print (see the nytimes and time magazine).

in fact, the closest i've come to dining at any of the fine establishments on the list is nougatine. (jean georges is ranked #16.) i'm sure i have pictures of the meal somewhere...the room itself is spectacular. and we dined there when abc happened to be having a big press thing for the upcoming tv season, so there were a few celeb sightings. it was quite a scene.


also, usa today released the results of a survey that it commissioned with the zagat folks to determine the top 100 hotel restaurants in the us.

a texas hotel won top honors. surprising result, at least to me. i would have guessed a san francisco hotel would get the honor (shows you what i know).

the top ten:
1. The French Room, The Adolphus Hotel. Dallas, Texas
2. Fountain Restaurant, Four Seasons Hotel. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3. Dining Room at Little Palm Island Resort. Little Torch Key, Florida
4. Inn at Little Washington. Washington, Virginia
5. Maestro, Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner. McLean,Virginia
6. Hampton's, Harbor Court Hotel. Baltimore, Maryland
7. Aujourd'hui, Four Seasons Hotel. Boston, Massachusetts
8. La Mer, Halekulani Hotel. Honolulu, Hawaii
9. Buckhead Dining Room, Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. Atlanta,Georgia
10. Picasso, Bellagio Hotel. Las Vegas, Nevada.

but perhaps we should be surprised that the highest rated new york hotel restaurant appears much further down the list--not even in the top 25--at #27. and it's not even in new york city. kudos to the polo restaurant in garden city for besting the local competition.

as for the nyc heavy-hitters, alain ducasse and jean georges, are ranked 37th and 38th, respectively. atelier is #54. and cafe boulud at the surrey hotel just makes the cut at #91.

interestingly, and probably not surprisingly, a new york hotel restaurant is the most expensive of the 100 on the list.
here are the top 5 most expensive hotel dining experiences (again, this is according to the usa today-zagat top 100 survey. and the article says the price reflects the "estimated price for dinner with one drink and tip." i don't know if that means dinner for 1 person, 1 drink and tip or dinner for 2, i drink each, and tip. but here you go):
1. $179. Alain Ducasse. NY, NY. Overall rank: 37.
2. $152. The HerbFarm. Woodinville, WA. Overall rank: 32.
3. $129. Inn at Little Washington. Washington, VA. Overall rank: 4.
4. $114. Alex. Las Vegas, NV. Overall rank: 42.
5. $107. Michael Mina. San Francisco, CA. Overall Rank: 80.

finally, for the curious and intrepid, here's the full list of the top 100 hotel restaurants in the us.

enjoy!