2008.10.30
Omitted from Zagat...sigh
This morning, I found the 2009 Zagat guide to the best restaurants in America in my mailbox. With a thread of hope, I flipped to the table of contents to find.... not a single restaurant within 100 miles of Roanoke.
Why? Well, a person could ponder several possible reasons. Maybe we really don't have any restaurants here that are worthy of the Zagat guide. Maybe nobody around here thinks to participate in Zagat surveys. Maybe those Zagat people are snooty and they limit their attention to big cities and tourist locations.
I visited the Zagat Web site with no idea which one of those possibilities was true. When I went to the site, I saw this message about Roanoke: "We're sorry, we do not currently cover restaurants in this area. We plan to expand our coverage in the future, so please check back. In the meantime, please use ZAGAT.com and ZAGAT.mobi when you're looking for places to eat, drink, play, and stay in other locations."
I have no doubt that Zagat is a great resource for anyone planning a trip to a big city. Personally, I've used Chow.com in the past, but I'll check out Zagat next time I'm heading someplace more metropolitan. Any resource like that can save you a sub-par experience in an unfamiliar city.
If you do want to check out the closest Zagat-rated restaurant, you'll have to drive to either Charlotte, N.C. or Washington, D.C. Here's what they recommended in those locations:
Charlotte: Barrington's (American), McNich House (continental), McIntosh's (seafood/steak), Noble's (Southern), Capital Grille (steak), Carpe Diem (American), Fig Tree (continental), Toscana (Italian), Luce (Italian) and Upstream (seafood).
In D.C.: Makato (Japanese), Inn at Little Washington (American), Komi (American/Mediterranean), L'Auberge Provencale (French), CityZen (American), Marcel's (Belgian/French), Citronelle (French), Eve (American), Obelisk (Italian), L'Auberge/Francoise (French), Ray's The Steaks (steak), Prime Rib (steak), Le Paradou (French), Palena (American), Kinkead's (seafood), Rasika (Indian), Sushi Taro (Japanese), Tosca (Italian), 2941 Restaurant (American) and Thai Square (Thai).
Has anyone tried any of those restaurants? If so, what did you think? Do they deserve to be in the guide?
I've never been to any of those places, but when I had a subscription to Travel + Leisure Magazine, the Inn at Little Washington always was in the top 5 rated places to stay in the United States. I've always wanted to go there, but something makes me think I can't afford it, or am not important enough to be able to get a reservation!
Comment by scott — October 30, 2008 @ 2:16 pm
It is a little bit over 100 miles from Roanoke, but I recently tried the Town House in Chilhowie and it is on par with many of the restaurants you listed. The chefs are from Alinea in Chicago (which Zagat rated #1 in food) and Charlie Trotter's. The "bbq" was amazing! I could not believe I was actually in SWVA.
their websites:
http://townhouseblog.blogspot.com (you can see a pic of the "bbq")
http://www.townhouseva.com
Comment by tjsteak — November 10, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
I'll second Town House--it's amazing!
Comment by Tori — November 11, 2008 @ 9:04 am