What's Missing from This List of the Best U.S. Restaurants?

Only two Las Vegas restaurants make the list of the 100 best restaurants in the United States just released by Opinionated About U.S. Restaurants 2011, a new survey of American restos by Steve Plotnicki, a co-founder of e-gullet.

Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace landed in the 35th spot, and Picasso at the Bellagio finds a home at 76th.

Larry Olmstead from Forbes goes to bat for the lack of Las Vegas restaurants on the list, namely Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand.

“My biggest complaint is the near total absence of Las Vegas. I have and would make the argument that Vegas has a stronger high-end fine dining scene than any US city, yet the first entry on the list is Guy Savoy at 35th, and Sin City does not resurface until Picasso at 76th – and that’s it. These are both excellent choices, and either – or both – could have cracked the Top 10 and they are certainly both better than Luger. Now, you could make the argument that you can’t compare 3-Star Michelin French to steakhouses, but if we adopt a best-in-breed approach that embraces sushi, steak and haute cuisine, how is it that there is no barbecue reflected? Or pizza? Or any other food that can and has been elevated to an incredible level? But getting back to Vegas, I firmly believe that Joel Robuchon is one of the finest restaurants, if not the finest restaurant, on earth, and while I haven’t eaten at all of the top choices on this list, it is better than any I have eaten at, including French Laundry and Jean Georges. As if to reinforce this anti-Vegas bias, Robuchon’s second-tier L’Atelier in New York makes the list, ahead of his flagship – while the New York restaurant is in turn a spin-off of his second-tier Vegas L’Atelier eatery, also omitted. I’ve eaten at both and can’t imagine anyone preferring New York. I’d like to see the gastronomic temple at Number One, but I could live with Top 10. What I can’t live with is it being left off this list completely, along with most of the rest of Vegas, much of the South, all of Texas, the Rocky Mountain States and almost the entire Southwest.”

You can find the entire list here.
· Just Released — The 100 Best U.S. Restaurants? [Forbes]
· All Coverage of Joël Robuchon [~ELV~]
· All Coverage of Restaurant Guy Savoy [~ELV~]
· All Coverage of Picasso [~ELV~]