Every year, Bon Appétit restaurant editor Andrew Knowlton leaves the comfort of his N.Y.C. office to hit the streets in search of the best new restaurants from across the country. The list is currently narrowed down to 50 nominees and will eventually dwindle to 10 finalists who each get a spread in the magazine’s September issue. Apparently, Knowlton was impressed when he stopped to grab a bite in our hood, because four L.A. restaurants are in the top 50: Alimento, Gjusta, Jon & Vinny’s, and, of course, Petit Trois.
Sure, it’s down from our five nominees last year: Night Market Song, Q, Trois Mec, and Grand Central Market, which ended up being L.A.’s sole finalist in the top 10. (But calling a food hall with almost 50 vendors in it a “restaurant” deserves an asterisk—that’s like saying the Western Conference All-Star team is the best in the NBA.) Both on paper and off, L.A.’s 2015 restaurant class looks as strong as ever.
With Petit Trois having the strongest awards pedigree—Eater named it one of their 21 best new restaurants—it likely has the best chance of making the esteemed top 10. However, Bon Appétit has a knack for featuring innovative and quirky concepts (the unassuming Austin, TX food truck Thai Kun was a finalist last year) and Knowlton has already gushed over Gjusta, calling it a “DIY fantasy.” The finalists in this heavyweight food fight are scheduled to be announced later this month.
