Steve Plotnicki and Opinionated About Dining are proud to announce the list of Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2012 as determined by the Opinionated About Dining Survey. Over 3,000 people, including many of the top food bloggers in the country, registered for this year’s survey and contributed more than 70,000 reviews.
The Opinionated About Dining approach to rating restaurants relies on tapping into the experience and opinions from diners who are passionate about where they eat and who describe how strongly they would recommend a restaurant and why. The methodology further gives weight to different kinds of restaurants and survey participants based on factors such as price point and number of restaurants reviewed. The surveys that form the basis of the ratings are open to the general public and can be accessed via Opinionated About Dining.
“If these survey results have shown me anything, it’s that 2012 is and will continue to be an incredible year to dine at some of the most progressive and thoughtful restaurants in recent memory,” says Plotnicki. “Take the number one restaurant of the year, Manresa by David Kinch, a perfect example of a chef and restaurant that are pushing the boundaries and encouraging the culinary industry’s creativity and advancement.”
I write to thank you for the wonderful memories, the delicious moments, and the extra calories this year. All well worth it and ready for more in 2012. 
Cooking and travel shows make me angry. That's right, I said angry. For
a very irrational reason. They make me hungry, which leads me to
snacking which is making me fat. I usually have pretty good
self-control, mainly because I don't stock snacks in my home to begin
with; however, after watching Anthony Bourdain traveling the globe
eating across country after country, Mario Batali delivering another
delicious Italian dish and the Top Chef contestants turning vending
machine food into gourmet treats, I want to enjoy what they're
eating/making right at that moment and I can't.
A: It's been 21 years since we opened Kate Mantilini's, which I
named after my Uncle Rob's mistress. My mother wouldn't let me speak to
her, nobody would allow us to mention her name, but she was a very
strong woman and I wanted to name my restaurant after her. My husband
was under contract with Warner Brothers, and he did 50 films in the
1940s before we went into the restaurant business.
Although my commute is a short one, traffic puts me in a bad mood. I’m impatient and irritated, not qualities that make for a tranquil drive.
(Houghton Mifflin, 2003), and I borrowed the audio book from the equally wonderful public library.