S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants
"The S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list is announced annually and based on its academy's votes. The academy is comprised of international food critics, restaurateurs, writers and chefs."
I've only been to 3 of the top 100! Momofuku Ssam Bar (#26, with my foodie cousin), Chez Panisse (#69, college graduation dinner in Berkeley) and Jean Georges (#52, $29 lunch when friends visited -- not sure if this lunch captured the true essence of Jean Georges, but was pretty damn good).
Some other top ranked U.S. restaurants include Alinea (#7), Daniel (#8), Per Se (#10), Le Bernadin (#15), The French Laundry (#32), wd-50 (#45) and Eleven Madison Park (#50).
Can't wait to try some of these out =P Lucky for me, all these are in New York except The French Laundry (Yountville, CA) and Alinea (Chicago). Unfortunately though, most of them are bank breakers!