Zagat Releases 2008 America's Top Restaurants Survey

Showing U.S. Dining is Getting Greener, Healthier and More Casual

    NEW YORK, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Zagat Survey today released the
 results of its 2008 America's Top Restaurants survey. The guide, covering
 1,416 eateries in 42 major markets, is based on 23 million meals
 experienced by over 132,000 surveyors. The average surveyor ate out 3.3
 times per week and spent an average $33.29 for a typical dinner, a 2.3%
 increase over last year. Other notable dining trends this year can be
 summarized in three words, "green", "healthy" and "casual."
     What's Inside: From listings of top food and most popular eateries to
 helpful tips on meal costs and the latest dining trends, the 2008 guide
 covers 42 major markets around the country from Atlanta to Washington, DC.
 The guide also shows increasing consumer interest in small-plates, service
 and casual dining, going so far as to make neckties museum pieces.
     According to Zagat Survey CEO Tim Zagat, "Prices have remained quite
 reasonable at the nation's better restaurants, however, diners everywhere
 are looking for fresh, healthy and sustainably raised options and say that
 they are willing to pay more for them. Even at fine dining establishments,
 diners are insisting on casual dress and mien."
     America's Tops: Eleven restaurants in this year's survey earned a near
 perfect 29 out of a possible 30 for food, including: Atlanta - Bacchanalia;
 Charlotte - Barrington's; Chicago - Carlos'; Cincinnati - Jean-Robert at
 Pigall's; Connecticut - Thomas Henkelmann; Dallas/Ft. Worth - French Room;
 Milwaukee - Sanford; New Jersey - Nicholas; San Francisco - Gary Danko;
 Washington, DC - Inn at Little Washington; Westchester/Hudson Valley, NY -
 Xaviar's at Piermont. Zagat includes the top five places for food and
 popularity in each of the 42 cities it covers in this year's guide. In New
 York and Los Angeles, where diners tend to be tougher graders, the
 following ten restaurants earned food scores of 28:
     Daniel (NY)                    Jean Georges (NY)
     Sushi Yasuda (NY)              Bouley (NY)
     Le Bernardin (NY)              Melisse (LA)
     Per Se (NY)                    Nobu Malibu (LA)
     Peter Luger (NY)               Asanebo (LA)
     Going Greener: Reflecting the growing interest in sustainably raised
 foods, an overwhelming majority of West Coast residents -Portland (80%),
 Seattle (72%) and San Francisco (67%) - say they are willing to pay more
 for it. Countrywide, nearly three out of five diners say they would pay
 more for sustainably raised food, and 55% say they'd pay more for organic
 food. As further sign of increasing concern about health, 65% of surveyors
 favor totally banning trans fats in restaurants. And 69% say they consider
 it important for restaurants to make heart healthy items available on their
 menus. The verdict on smoking is overwhelming with 77% of diners saying
 they'd eat out less if smoking were permitted in local restaurants, and
 only 2% saying they'd dine out more.
     Eating Out Across America: Sixty-seven percent of surveyors say they
 are spending more per meal than two years ago, while only 5% say less.
 While Americans on average eat out 3.3 times per week Texas' cities lead
 the nation with Houston at 4.2 meals per week and Austin and Dallas/Ft.
 Worth both at 4.0 meals per week. Running close behind tied at 3.8 times
 are Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and hot on their heels are Atlanta, Miami
 and San Antonio (each at 3.7). New York trails at 3.3 times, but when
 combined with takeout the percent of meals eaten/taken out by New Yorkers
 is a national high of 7.5 times per week.
     Dollars and Cents: No change this year, New York City continues to lead
 the way as the most costly U.S. city to dine out in, with an average tab of
 $39.46, while Long Island comes in a close second at $39.03. By comparison,
 Zagat's national average is $33.29, while New Orleans ($26.18) and Austin
 ($25.30) are the least expensive cities. What may surprise Americans is
 that US restaurants cost roughly half of what their peers do in cities such
 as London ($79.46), Paris ($74.24) and Tokyo ($69.58). At the most
 expensive venues in each city, the average dinner cost rose 3.8% to $72.08.
     Tipping: Among the nation's most generous tippers are Denver (19.5%),
 Detroit and Philadelphia (19.4%), all exceeding Zagat's national average of
 (19%). West coast diners in San Francisco and Los Angeles are among the
 least generous at 18.4%, while Honolulu averages a desultory 18% tip.
     Slighting Service: Service, cited by 70% of surveyors, is still the
 most common grievance among restaurant-goers across the country. All other
 irritants, i.e. smoking, crowding, noise, parking, prices and food quality
 aggregate only 30% of complaints. Ironically, food is cited as a problem by
 only 5% of Zagat's U.S. surveyors. In New York City, issues like
 noise/crowds (34%) and prices (11%) significantly exceed Zagat's national
 norms.
     Favorite Cuisines: Italian remains the nation's favorite cuisine with
 27% of surveyors naming it. American fare comes in second at 16% and French
 and Japanese tie for third with 11%. Although individual Asian cuisines
 score low, when combined, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Indian reach 30%.
     Online Reservations: An overwhelming 77% of American diners still
 telephone ahead to make reservations at the restaurant of their choice.
 Only 11% reserve online. However, this is changing fast with tech savvy
 diners in San Francisco (43%) and Minneapolis (30%) using the Internet to
 make their restaurant reservations, and more and more diners elsewhere are
 using services such as Open Table in other cities.
     The 2008 America's Top Restaurants guide ($15.95) was edited by Shelley
 Gallagher and Robert Seixas and is available at bookstores and other retail
 outlets, through Zagat.com or by calling 888-371-5440.
     About Zagat Survey, LLC
     Known as the "wildly popular" "burgundy bible", Zagat Survey is the
 world's most trusted source for information about where to eat, drink, stay
 and play. With more than 300,000 surveyors, Zagat Survey rates and reviews
 restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range
 of other entertainment categories and is lauded as the "most up-to-date",
 "comprehensive" and "reliable" guide ever published. Zagat content is
 available to consumers wherever and whenever they need it: in book format,
 on ZAGAT.com, via the downloadable ZAGAT TO GO for smartphones and on the
 mobile web with ZAGAT.mobi. For more information, visit ZAGAT.com.
 
 

SOURCE Zagat Survey, LLC