It's comments like these that just landed Fruition, Alex Seidel's tiny temple of gastronomy, in a list of ten restaurants that begins with New York City's Le Bernardin, includes Alinea in Chicago and ends with Screen Door in Portland.
The enviable shout-out -- it's a big one -- was announced earlier today by TripAdvisor.com, the world's largest travel site, in which "reviewers" rate and comment on everything from dining experiences to hotel bunks. And when determining their favorite dining establishments in the United States, Fruition landed sixth on the list as part of the site's 2012 Travelers' Choice® Restaurants awards. "The inaugural awards recognize favorite dining establishments in popular cities worldwide, based on millions of valuable traveler reviews and opinions on TripAdvisor," notes the press release, released earlier today.
"We're thrilled to highlight some of the TripAdvisor community's most beloved eateries to help travelers plan their next trip or night out," said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor. "We found that travelers' favorite restaurants range from well-known, casual chains to upscale fine-dining options -- the common thread for these award-winners being a consistently remarkable dining experience with outstanding service and quality."
It's not clear whether the restaurants that made the roster are ranked, but if they are, then Fruition just superseded Alinea by one spot. And Fruition, which outgoing food critic Laura Shunk reviewed in last week's Westword, is ranked No. 1 overall in Denver, according to TripAdvisor.com. Alinea, by the way, is ranked second overall among Chicago restaurants, while Le Bernardin, Eric Ripert's renowned French palace, comes in at No. 4.
Here are the ten favorites, which may or may not be ranked, that made the cut:
1. Le Bernardin, New York City 2. Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco, California 3. Le Cirque (Bellagio), Las Vegas, Nevada 4. Girl & The Goat, Chicago, Illinois 5. Toulouse Petit, Seattle, Washington 6. Fruition Restaurant, Denver 7. Alinea, Chicago, Illinois 8. Island Creek Oyster Bar, Boston, Massachusetts 9. Uchi, Austin, Texas 10 Screen Door, Portland, Oregon
