Alan Richman's 25 Best New Restaurants in America

Alan Richman, GQ critic and haver of controversial cheesesteak opinions, is out with his list of the 25 best new restaurants in the country. And while Philly didn't crack the top half of the list, our city did claim two spots.

Rounding the whole thing out at number 25 is Pizzeria Vetri, which earns its slot through inauthenticity. Turns out Richman thinks Naples doesn't know the first thing about good pizza crust, and prefers Vetri's creation, which he dubs "neo-Neapolitan":

It looks Neapolitan. It tastes Neapolitan. But it's fundamentally different, as though he did DNA research on pizza and eliminated the gene that turns the crust wet. It's the newest step forward in the evolution of the great American pizza crust, this one light and supple but retaining a smidgeon of crispness.

And coming in at number 18 is Avance. Despite describing the aesthetics of the place as "terribly serious and monotonal," Richman was clearly impressed, given that the recommendation is based on "one hurried meal during opening days." But "Bogle's cooking was absolutely assured, even in those first days on the job," and Richman predicts that the dry-aged duck is "likely to become an restaurant staple throughout America in 2014."
· The 25 Best New Restaurants in America [GQ]
· All Best-Ofs Coverage [-EPHI-]