We pulled out our master lists of restaurants that had opened in the metro area in 2013 to make sure we weren't leaving any out -- there were over 200 openings last year -- and hurried to eat at any contenders, often places too new to review but not too new to be turning out amazing meals.
From these brainstorms, we worked our way to a short list of finalists. Over the course of several meetings, we shared experiences -- both good and bad -- that we'd had at each of them. Just prior to publication we revisited the top two -- and after those visits selected our winner. Congrats, Lower48 Kitchen, and many thanks to the other restaurateurs who made this the most competitive year we've had.
Read the Lower48 Kitchen award here.
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