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Best Restaurant In The U.S.A. Is The Slanted Door: James Beard Awards

Have You Been To The U.S.A.'s Best Restaurant?
Judy Bellah via Getty Images

Looking for a dining destination in the U.S. that has the stamp of approval from the foodie elite? Check out The Slanted Door, a popular contemporary Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco which was awarded the equivalent of best picture at an event known as the Oscars of the American food world.

On Monday night, the best of the U.S. food world gathered in New York for the James Beard Foundation Awards, one of the most important days on the American gastronomy calendar.

Billed as the Oscars of the food world, the annual James Beard Foundation Awards honour the chefs, restaurants, food journalists, TV personalities and restaurateurs shaping the culinary landscape across the U.S.

After years of being nominated in categories like Outstanding Chef and Outstanding Restaurant, chef Charles Phan took to the stage Monday night to accept the award for Outstanding Restaurant, defined as a restaurant that serves as a national standard-bearer for consistent quality and excellence for the last 10 years or more.

After dabbling in everything from architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, the family garment business and software development in Silicon Valley, Phan capitulated to his greater passion for cooking and opened The Slanted Door in 1995.

Fans of Alice Waters at Chez Panisse will recognize the same culinary tenets in Phan’s cuisine at The Slanted Door, as he credits one of the pioneers of local, sustainable foods for shaping his own food philosophy.

“...our vision is the same now as it was [in 1995]: To blend Vietnamese cooking techniques and flavors with local ingredients,” says the restaurant website.

“We proudly serve local organic produce, ecologically and humanely raised meats, game and poultry found at farms around the San Francisco Bay Area.”

Diners can expect dishes like grass-fed rack of lamb with sunchokes, purple fingerlings and tamarind sauce; organic chicken claypot with caramel sauce, Thai chili and fresh ginger; and crispy whole branzino with tamarind, ginger, crispy leek and Thai basil.

California won big Monday, as another native took the title of Outstanding Chef, an award given to an individual whose career has set industry standards and served as an inspiration to other chefs.

Nancy Silverton of Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles took home that award, notably for her work as a pastry chef with a particular mastery of artisan breads.

Predictably, after a whirlwind year inventing pastry mash-ups like cronuts and milk and cookie shots, French chef Dominique Ansel in New York took the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef.

You can also check out the winners on our Pinterest page.

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