The Daily Meal's 101 Best Restaurants In America 2014 Panel
It becomes more difficult every year to rank America's best restaurants, which is why in order to devise the highest quality list possible of the 101 Best Restaurants in America, we rely on the expertise and insight from an esteemed panel of writers, critics, and food bloggers from across America.
In 2014, we took the added step of asking restaurant experts and critics across the country to submit nominations of their own, both locally and nationally. We ended up with more restaurants to consider than ever, some 430 from Maine to California, Washington to Florida, and everywhere you can imagine in between.
When it came time to begin the vast and complex task of identifying the country's best restaurants, we consulted our distinguished peers for their opinions. More than 100 panelists completed the survey based on our master list, however, some preferred to remain anonymous.
Here are the illustrious members of our expert panel for 2014:
Bill Addison, Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta, Ga.
Michael Bauer, Inside Scoop, San Francisco, Calif.
Jessica Baxter, Not For Tourists – Seattle. Seattle, Wash.
Naomi Bishop, The GastroGnome. Seattle, Wash.
Anne Braly, Times Free Press, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Kristen Browning-Blas, The Denver Post Food & Dining, Denver, Col.
Jennifer Burcke, 1840 Farm, Dover, N.H.
Dave Cathey, The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Chris Chamberlain, Nashville Scene – Bites, Nashville, Tenn.
Molly Collins, Finding Gastropia, Chicago, Ill.
Rachel Cossar, Foodista on Pointe, Boston, Mass.
Becky Creighton, Culinary Connectors, Littleton, Colo.
Lee Svitak Dean, Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn.
John T. Edge, Southern Foodways Alliance, Oxford, Miss.
Amanda M. Faison, 5280: The Denver Magazine, Denver, Colo.
Rachel Forrest, Seacoast Online, Portsmouth, N.H.
Jonathan Gold, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.
Morris Gut, The Examiner News, New Rochelle, N.Y.
Guttergourmet, The Daily Meal Special Contributor, New York, N.Y.
Barbara Hansen, Table Conversation, Eatmx. Los Angeles, Calif.
Diana Hossfeld, Diana Takes a Bite, Los Angeles, Calif.
Cindy Hui, LookyTasty, Queens, N.Y.
Lauren Knight, The Daily Meal Chicago City Editor, Chicago, Ill.
Alexis Korman, Wine Enthusiast Magazine. New Orleans, La.
Ray Lampe, Dr. BBQ, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Doc Lawrence, Southwind Journeys, Atlanta, Ga.
Kiki Luthringshausen, Beauty and Her Feast, Chicago, Ill.
Wes Marshall, The Austin Chronicle, Austin, Texas
Heather McPherson, Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Fla.
Dr. Mike, What's Cooking with Doc, Tampa Bay, Fla.
Virginia Miller, The Perfect Spot, San Francisco, Calif.
Roger Morris, Been There Tasted That, Landenberg, Pa.
Rick Nelson, Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn.
Kristen Oliveri, Pasta's Kitchen, New York City
Skyler Okey, Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish, Los Angeles, Calif.
Jon Palmer Claridge, Creative Loafing Tampa, Dunedin, Fla.
Deborah Pankey, Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Ill.
Helen Rosner, Saveur, New York, N.Y.
Stan Sagner, New York Daily News, New York, N.Y.
Amy Scattergood, LA Weekly, Los Angeles, Calif.
Kaitlin Steinberg, Houston Press, Houston, Texas
Emily Stone, Chocolate in Context, New York, N.Y.
Mike Thelin, Feast Portland, Portland, Ore.
Julia Thiel, Chicago Reader, Chicago, Ill.
S. Irene Virbila, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.
Leah Walker, Leah Travels, Houston, Texas
Lucy Waverman, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada
Carrie Welch, Feast Portland, Portland, Ore.
Laurie Werner, The Travel Connoisseur, New York, N.Y.
Marjorie R. Williams, Markets of Paris, Cambridge, Mass.
Elizabeth Woessner, EatDenver, Denver, Colo.
Arthur Bovino is The Daily Meal's executive editor. Read more articles by Arthur, reach him by email, or click here to follow Arthur on Twitter.