Inside look at how USA TODAY chose its Restaurants of the Year for 2026
- - Inside look at how USA TODAY chose its Restaurants of the Year for 2026
Liz Johnson, NorthJersey.comFebruary 11, 2026 at 5:02 AM
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The USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year 2026 list is our third annual look at the best restaurants across the USA and we're thrilled to share it with you.
But you're probably curious. How did we choose a restaurant in Lecompte, Louisiana over one from, say, Los Angeles.
Because we're confident.
This is not your usual best-of list, where food writers fly in for a whirlwind weekend of eating and drinking, often relying on the institutional knowledge of the locals who know the scene best.
This list, instead, comes from our own locals. Food writers who know their beats best. They live there. They work there. They eat there. That's what makes our list stand out.
A non-vegetarian tasting platter featuring chicken, lamb chop, salmon and tiger prawn from Indibar in Scottsdale on Aug 28, 2025.
Hundreds of journalists across the country contributed. Writers nominated restaurants from across the country, and a team of editors with discriminating taste whittled them down to 39.
Each writer, photographer and editor contributed to the main story — the big list — but also wrote local stories for their own sites and newspapers. From Phoenix to Providence, from Michigan to Mississippi, these are not your usual suspects. They’re restaurants our writers love.
The restaurants are places we frequently recommend, places we take friends and family. These places are so lovable, we're often planning our next visit while sitting at the table finishing dinner there.
"We love the restaurants in this list, and we want you to, too" said project leader Liz Johnson, senior director for entertainment for the USA TODAY Network and a former food writer. "From a humble luncheonette to a special occasion steakhouse, these are the spots we vouch for implicitly."
How many have you been to? USA TODAY's 2026 Restaurants of the Year
You'll notice our list doesn't skip flyover country, like many do. Yes, you can get a great meal in San Francisco or New York, but you also can have excellent dining experiences in New Jersey and South Dakota. And we love that some of our restaurants celebrate their local cuisine or that of their chefs heritage — Native American, Appalachia, Cajun country, Norway, Bolivia.
With more than 200 sites in 42 states, the USA TODAY Network's roots run deep. We tapped into that expertise, asking our writers to share their favorites, the best of the best from the towns and cities they cover.
Inside Volare Italian Ristorante in Louisville, Ky. Nov. 19, 2025
We looked for a rich buffet of flavors, and we found it — from a truck-stop cafe in Virginia to a tasting menu in Milwaukee.“This list of best restaurants across the country creates a roadmap to some of the tastiest places to eat in America,” said Des Moines Register staffer Susan Stapleton, an editor on the project who writes about restaurants and is a former James Beard Award nominating-committee member in Nevada and Iowa. “The restaurants chosen reflect the rich tapestry of cuisines, chefs and restaurateurs found nationwide, from an Indian fusion restaurant in York, Pennsylvania and a rum bar in Eugene, Oregon to a seafood stalwart in Oklahoma City that can stand toe to toe with any restaurant in New York City or Los Angeles. Our nationwide team of culinary experts reached deep into their knowledge of their local dining scenes to pull out the best for you to sample as you travel across the United States.”
Now, we invite you to dig in and enjoy our USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year 2025.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How USA TODAY made its picks for Restaurants of the Year in 2026
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
