Ranking the 25 best restaurants in New York and LA

Bangers & Jams' bicoastal guide: Volume 1

Dining desires change all the time. A couple weeks ago, a friend and I got lunch at Sunset Tower because I wanted quality fries, mediocre chicken paillard and a good vibe. Later that night, a few of us double-dipped Queen St. and Here’s Looking At You, a mix of simple pleasures and ambitious cooking that makes for a great Los Angeles evening.

Oftentimes, I make these kinds of where-should-we-go decisions based off instinct. Something feels right in the moment, so that’s the choice. But a few spots are just undeniable. Sorting out the the very top tier of New York and LA dining is the point of this top 25 rankings project: All things being equal, where should you go tonight, and where should you return to over and over again?

So, here’s Volume 1 of my bicoastal restaurant rankings. I got into the criteria a bit last week. A refresher:

• I’m including restaurants in New York and LA that appeal to my sensibility. A lot of that means good food. It also means good service and a good time.

• I’m limiting this to places where you can sit down and order dinner at a table. No QR codes, no counters, trucks or stalls. I love some of those spots. Mariscos Jalisco remains the best bite of food in LA. But this is a specific exercise. Where do you wanna go on a date? Where do you celebrate a new job? Where do you take your parents?

• This constraint favors New York, the banger and stronger restaurant city. LA, the jam, might have better food in more diverse mediums, but I was unfazed ending up with eight LA selections and 17 New York ones.

• I made a long list of favorite spots and then scored each one based on four weighted category (40 points for vibe, 35 points for food, 15 points for repeatability, and 10 points for delivering on a clear vision). These final rankings are the composite scores for each restaurant.

Alright, let’s get into it. Here are my personal favorites of the moment, from No. 25 to a No. 1 that surprised me. I’ll post the full category scores later in the week.