Apparently you really need to live in California to have a great selection of places to eat. That’s what Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S. would have you believe anyway. 46 out of 100 of them are located in the state.
Of course this is simply based on user data from Yelp, so that would seem to indicate that Yelp is a whole lot more popular in California (where it’s based) than anywhere else in the country. Either that or California really just does completely blow away every other state when it comes to great food. Yelp says in a blog post:
Yelp is a hotbed of user-generated information. From lengthy reviews to photos and searches, there’s a lot that our data can tell us about small businesses and consumer preferences. From this data we know that one of the main questions people across the world come to Yelp to answer is, “Where should I eat?”
Well have no fear, Yelp’s Top 100 List for 2015 is here, revealing the hottest 100 places to eat in the United States based on Yelp data. How did we compile a list so thorough? To determine Yelp’s top places to eat for 2015, our data science team analyzed which places were the most popular and well reviewed over the course of 2014. Unlike our inaugural list from last year, which unearthed the best places to eat on Yelp based on almost 10 years of reviews, this time Yelp’s data science team gave more weight to recent reviews, so that Yelpers’ opinions in 2014 mattered most, while older reviews had less influence on the list. While we still see some of the great places from the 2014 Top 100 that were as good as ever last year, we’ve also made room for some up and comers that were off the charts in 2014. Businesses were compared on a nationwide basis.
Last year’s list included 48 California restaurants.
For comparison, this list from DailyMeal of the 101 best restaurants in the country has less than half of the number of California restaurants Yelp’s list has. This list of the top 100 from OpenTable only has 10 California establishments.
Here’s Yelp’s top 100 for 2015:
1. Copper Top BBQ – Big Pine, CA
2. Art of Flavors – Las Vegas, NV
3. Soho Japanese Restaurant – Las Vegas, NV
4. TKB Bakery and Deli – Indio, CA
5. Ono Seafood – Kona, HI
6. Shark Pit Maui – Lahaina, HI
7. Gaucho Parilla Argentina – Pittsburgh, PA
8. Bobboi Natural Gelato – La Jolla, CA
9. Golden Bear Trading Company – San Francisco, CA
10. Little Miss BBQ – Phoenix, AZ
11. Dat Cajun Guy – Haleiwa, HI
12. Sweet Dogs – Miami, FL
13. Aviva by Kameel – Atlanta, GA
14. Sweet Spice – Savannah, GA
15. Royal Taj – Columbia, MD
16. Arun’s Indian Kichen – Coral Spring, FL
17. Hall’s Chophouse – Charleston, SC
18. Bronze Cafe – Las Vegas, NV
19. Saffron and Rose Ice Cream – Los Angeles, CA
20. Buddha Thai Bistro – Vacaville, CA
21. Yoshino Japanese Deli – Carlsbad, CA
22. Big Al’s Pizzeria – Maywood, CA
23. Andytown Coffee Roasters – San Francisco, CA
24. Kech Cafe – Fountain Valley, CA
25. Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que – Kansas City, KS
26. Los Andes Restaurant – Providence, RI
27. Lahaina Luna Cafe – Lahaina, HI
28. Bell Street Farm – Los Alamos, CA
29. Tacos El Gordo De Tijuana BC – Chula Vista, CA
30. Detroit Coney Grill – Tempe, AZ
31. Sessions West Coast Deli – Newport Beach, CA
32. Baguette Cafe – Las Vegas, NV
33. Carrara Pastries – Moorpark, CA
34. Bogart’s Smokehouse – Saint Louis, MO
35. Reading Terminal Market – Philadelphia, PA
36. Piperi Mediterranean Grill – Boston, MA
37. Kitchen Table Cafe – Denver, CO
38. Mood Cafe – Philadelphia, PA
39. Santos Lucha Libre – Phoenix, AZ
40. Porto’s Bakery – Burbank, CA
41. El Dorado Cantina – Las Vegas, NV
42. Jougert Bar – Burlingame, CA
43. Araya’s Place Thai Vegan Restaurant – Los Angeles, CA
44. Joe’s Falafel – Los Angeles, CA
45. Persimmon Cafe – Charleston, SC
46. Beiler’s Bakery – Philadelphia, PA
47. Starbread – Sacramento, CA
48. Kersmon Caribbean Restaurant – Greenacres, FL
49. Vitality Tap – San Diego, CA
50. Ono Seafood – Honolulu, HI
51. Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse – Downers Grove, IL
52. Da Poke Shack – Kailua Kona, HI
53. Poke Express – Las Vegas, NV
54. Murakame Udon – Honolulu, HI
55. Bronzed Aussie – Los Angeles, CA
56. Bite Into Maine – Cape Elizabeth, ME
57. Franklin Barbecue – Austin, TX
58. Eddie V’s Prime Seafood – San Diego, CA
59. Hey!… You Gonna Eat or What? – Austin, TX
60. Mama D’s Italian Kitchen – Newport Beach, CA
61. Outlaws Cafe – Van Nuys, CA
62. Subculture Extraordinary Sandwiches – Huntington Beach, CA
63. Go Greek Yogurt – Beverly Hills, CA
64. Ninja Sushi and Teriyaki – Roseville, CA
65. Los Agaves – Santa Barbara, CA
66. Sal, Kris, & Charlie’s Deli – Astoria, NY
67. Genie Den – Garden Grove, CA
68. Garbo’s Grill – Key West, FL
69. T-Deli – San Diego, CA
70. Rose’s Luxury – Washington, DC
71. Embargo Grill – San Diego, CA
72. Your Kitchen – Honolulu, HI
73. LouEddie’s Pizza – Skyforest, CA
74. Blues City Deli – Saint Louis, MO
75. Dametra Cafe – Carmel, CA
76. Nick’s Next Door – Los Gatos, CA
77. Don Julio’s Rincon Latin Grill and Pupusas – Ronnert Park, CA
78. Mr. Mama’s – Las Vegas, NV
79. Los Tacos No. 1 – New York, NY
80. Beyer Deli – San Diego, CA
81. Mojo Donuts – Pembroke Pines, FL
82. Peter’s Kettle Corn – Oakland, CA
83. The Pocket Burger Shack – Sunset Beach, CA
84. Mouthful Eatery – Thousand Oaks, CA
85. Playground 2.0 – Santa Ana, CA
86. Monell’s Dining & Catering – Nashville, TN
87. Zenwich – Elmhurst, IL
88. Commonwealth Restaurant – Burbank, CA
89. Istanbul Grill California – Fountain Valley, CA
90. Mister Falafel – San Diego, CA
91. Vietnam Poblano – Houston, TX
92. Tanioka’s Seafoods & Catering – Waipahu, HI
93. Yak’s On The 5 – Dunsmuir, CA
94. Titas Taco House – Humble, TX
95. Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana – Phoenix, AZ
96. Eli’s BBQ – Cincinnati, OH
97. Johnny Pacific – Winnetka, CA
98. The Cinnamon Snail – New York, NY
99. Cafe la Maude – Philadelphia, PA
100. Cream Pan – Tustin, CA
We’ve reached out to Yelp for information on what percentage of Yelp’s U.S. reviews and/or users are from California. We’ll update if we get that information.
Update: Yelp tells me it doesn’t break out reviews or visitors by state, but that the list “represents opinions of the Yelp community, which is strongest in some of our oldest communities and may contribute to why you see many California businesses represented.”
Image via Thinkstock