Grub Street’s Restaurant Power Rankings: The Most Interesting Places of the Year
by ALAN SYTSMA, December 11, 2015 @asytsma
Though it is still mid-December, this will be the final Power Rankings of 2015, and, as required by media law, that means it’s time to ditch the usual format — a list of restaurants ranked according to who has the most buzz that week — and instead take a wide-angle look back at the year that was. It feels fitting, in a way, since it’s what most restaurant critics do this time of year anyway. These aren’t the best restaurants of the year; they aren’t even all new. Instead, the places listed below are the ones that made the biggest waves in 2015. (This is no small point, but they are also all restaurants where you will surely enjoy your meal, too.)
1. All of Union Square Hospitality Group’s Restaurants
Nobody had a better 2015 than Danny Meyer. He kicked off the year with Shake Shack’s blockbuster IPO, opened Porchlight, reopened Untitled with Michael Anthony, found a new home for the Union Square Cafe, then had the industry’s biggest story of the year when he announced he’d move to a no-tipping policy at all of his restaurants.