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Remember last week when we were gushing over all the awesome happening over at Alma? Well, please let us continue, because the teensy Downtown L.A. establishment helmed by Ari Taymor has just been named the number one restaurant in the country by Bon Appetit magazine.
Taymor's approach to farm-to-table California cuisine has gotten him attention from the likes of Zagat's 30 Under 30, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and more. But this is certainly the icing on the cake.
BA has only been ranking the best restaurants by number since 2011, and this is the first time an L.A. restaurant received such an honor. In 2011, Sean Brock's Husk in Charleston won, while West Los Angeles’ Animal was number seven. Last year, State Bird Provisions in San Francisco took first prize while Downtown’s Baco Mercat was number nine.
This year, Allumette, Bar Amá, Chi Spacca and Hinoki & the Bird were also nominated in the top 50. Alma is the only L.A. establishment that made critic Andrew Knowlton's top 10.
Says Knowlton, "The best new restaurant of 2013 proves that youth, creativity, and fearlessness are the new recipe for success."
Word.
