Jonathan Gold Releases His Updated 101 Best Restaurants List

Another year, another round of Jonathan Gold must-try restaurants we need to add on our bucket lists. The famed L.A. Times food critic, who just so happened to win a Pulitzer Prize for his writing, has released his updated, annual 101 Best Restaurants list.

For the third year in a row, Gold has gifted Providence with the first-place spot, writing, "Providence in its quiet way embodies everything a restaurant should aspire to be." This time around, Spago dropped from its silver medal to bronze, with Costa Mesa's Taco María making a major leap from 72nd place to second place this year. He also gives them a rave review, saying that Taco María "may be the most important Mexican restaurant in California." Well, we're sold! Trois Mec moved it's way up to fourth on the list, with Rustic Canyon closing out the top five.

In the rest of the top 10, we see some familiar faces—like Shunji, Lucques, and the Mozzaplex—that are usually Gold's favorites. It's followed by first-timer on the list, Q, which features omakase sushi from Tokyo's Hiroyuki Naruke, whose manner of making sushi is pretty much as poetic as Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

Some other newcomers to the list include Petit Trois, B.S. Taqueria and the SGV's Szechuan Impression. Grand Central Market as a whole also made the list for the first time. The downtown food market seems to be getting a lot of recognition throughout the nation as it was the only L.A. "restaurant" to make Bon Appetit's top 10 in their Top 50 Best New Restaurants list last year.

Gold's top 20 list can be seen here, but if you want to see full 101, you'll need a subscription, or buy a copy of the Times in print on Saturday.