I Tried The #1 Restaurant in America

0:00 If there are over 1 million restaurants across North

0:03 America and an equal number of best restaurant lists,

0:06 how could you possibly know which are really...

0:08 the best?

0:09 What if there was one ultimate list?

0:11 Well, there actually is, and it says there are five restaurants making

0:15 food better than anywhere else on the continent.

0:17 So I'm testing the top five on the list,

0:19 eating over 100 courses across North America to see if

0:22 the list is as accurate as they say it is.

0:24 And better yet, is it worth it?

0:27 At every stop, we're bringing a very important guest.

0:29 Many will be people who rarely eat food like this.

0:32 A representative of the people.

0:34 And at our final stop, a chef who knows what it takes to be number one.

0:38 Starting not only with a two-Michelin-star restaurant, but you need a secret...

0:42 code to get in.

0:46 So we step inside a place called Tanière.

0:48 This is something I've never...

0:50 seen before.

0:51 A long, eerie tunnel.

0:52 And then another.

0:53 Am I going to be locked away down here forever?

0:55 Kidding.

0:55 I hope.

0:56 This entire restaurant lives underground,

0:58 carved into a series of connected chambers.

1:01 And as the night goes on, we'll move deeper and deeper.

1:04 And our first special guest waiting in the snack room is Gurky,

1:07 a local Canadian food YouTuber who has never been to a place like this.

1:11 One of only two, two-Michelin-star restaurants in all of Canada.

1:15 The snacks were very unique, but the first main course.

1:18 Whoa.

1:19 This is their signature dish called Noble,

1:21 which in the bottom is a rich butter sauce...

1:24 And on top, scallops, poached in that butter with another topping

1:28 of a massive pile of the finest caviar.

1:30 And then they serve that all topped off.

1:32 The first beverage you get in here is

1:34 a beautiful glass of champagne to go with that.

1:37 I mean, the good life.

1:39 C'est bon dans 'yeule.

1:40 Good in the mouth.

1:41 C'est bon dans 'yeule.

1:42 Yes!

1:43 Welcome to Quebec.

1:44 All the layers work together.

1:46 They're leveraging very simple flavors that are very powerful.

1:49 And then this champagne cuts through it like a hot knife in butter.

1:53 It is so sharp and tart and just mineralic.

1:56 Is that a word?

1:58 This meal makes you want to wear a huge coat of fur and be a Noble.

2:03 Next up.

2:04 At the bottom of the plate is a lobster tail.

2:05 At the top, a center cut slice of the lobster claw.

2:08 And to the left, various greens.

2:10 But more importantly, matsutake mushroom.

2:14 Wow, that is so, so packed full of lobster flavor and like a toasted,

2:18 like this roasted mushroom flavor.

2:20 Honestly, that's borderline MSG hack right there.

2:23 That's crazy.

2:24 Full of umami.

2:25 Like, it's crazy.

2:26 The fact that we're getting this from the number five makes me kind of, like,

2:29 almost, like, nervous.

2:30 Like, what is number one gonna be?

2:31 Like, maybe this deserves to be number one.

2:33 I don't know.

2:33 This next one could propel Tanière to the top of my personal leaderboard so far.

2:37 So we have a big rock.

2:38 Ooga booga.

2:41 So we have cheese, Au Gré des Champs.

2:43 Yes.

2:44 Cheese.

2:45 Let's go.

2:45 Now, in the upper left and lower right is that cheese.

2:48 Shaved morel mushrooms in the bottom,

2:50 and in the center is a crunchy tuile cylinder.

2:53 And inside that, more of that cheese in a foam form.

2:56 Cheers.

2:57 Oh, I have a Ratatouille moment.

3:00 Being in...

3:00 the woods with my father and walking on a mushroom that farts.

3:05 I don't like this story, but I love this dish.

3:07 That's a 10 out of 10.

3:08 That is a perfect...

3:10 dish.

3:10 This is a dish that would signal me that we are

3:13 in a restaurant that belongs in the top 50 best restaurants...

3:16 in America.

3:16 Creme brulee at a Michelin restaurant.

3:18 On the left, more caviar.

3:20 And on the right, a maple creme brulee.

3:22 I'm a little skeptical.

3:24 Oh, wow.

3:24 That's insane.

3:25 If someone were to have asked me, what's your favorite use of caviar ever?

3:29 I might have said, on a potato chip, mixed into a sauce.

3:32 I'm going to go ahead and say it's creme brulee.

3:34 Number five is low-key swinging for number one.

3:37 The first dessert.

3:38 Insane.

3:39 But could the final dessert match the surprise I felt entering...

3:42 the final room?

3:43 An ice cream sandwich that on the outside

3:45 has a crunchy praline, and then inside,

3:48 that little thinner part is essentially a jelly,

3:50 and the thicker, creamy part is a maple ice cream.

3:53 So, yeah, ice cream.

3:55 I have a Ratatouille moment once again.

3:58 This is exactly like being in a sugar shack.

4:00 It feels exactly like a maple taffy.

4:03 It's delicious.

4:03 Everything was extremely good.

4:04 10 out of 10.

4:06 I loved it.

4:07 Memorable experience.

4:08 You should try it out.

4:09 Most people would love this kind of food because everything that was served

4:12 are things that are craveable and delicious

4:15 and interesting without being, like, so crazy.

4:17 Incredibly fresh local ingredients executed literally perfectly.

4:21 Who's not gonna love that?

4:22 So is it worth it?..

4:24 Duh.

4:24 But is it a number five or is it a number one?

4:27 It's gonna be a hard question to answer because the remaining spots are insane.

4:30 Number three is a barn, literally in the middle of nowhere.

4:33 Number two, reminder, in all of America, is just a simple neighborhood wine bar.

4:37 And number one is inside a New York City apartment building.

4:40 We've got an interesting experience ahead.

4:43 But next, Smyth in Chicago,

4:45 the only three-Michelin-star restaurant in the top five.

4:48 One of only 14 restaurants in all of America have been bestowed three stars.

4:53 This is about obsessive creativity.

4:55 But there's something unusual they do here.

4:57 Constant risk taking in the middle of dinner service, which we'll see soon.

5:01 And joining me on this adventure is

5:03 quite possibly the perfect person for the job.

5:05 Mr.

5:05 Beef himself, Christopher Zucchero.

5:07 What the show The Bear is modeled after...

5:09 Not only is he a restaurateur, but he's a lifelong dining skeptic.

5:13 So we're gonna find out if we change this man or if his beliefs are solidified.

5:17 You're not a big fine dining guy.

5:19 So what do you think of restaurants like this, and are they worth it?

5:22 Normally, I would not do this.

5:24 My wife eats like this.

5:25 Her friends eat like this.

5:26 And I've been invited to a lot of nice places like this.

5:29 It's just never been my thing.

5:30 Who would want to eat like this?

5:32 This isn't comfortable.

5:33 Now we're gonna see how you feel...

5:35 after the meal.

5:36 Within minutes of being seated,

5:37 they put something on the table that I'm worried is going to...

5:40 upset Chris, but I thought it was beautiful.

5:42 That leaf-like object on top is actually seaweed,

5:45 and underneath, a tart filled with Hokkaido uni.

5:48 Interesting.

5:48 It's beautiful.

5:49 Looks like a piece of art.

5:50 Why would you want to eat something like this?

5:52 Shall we?

5:52 Let's go, my love.

5:53 One bite.

5:55 Delicious, brother.

5:56 Oh, wow.

5:57 Super well seasoned and a little bit of umami.

5:59 Tasted like a real excellent Ritz cracker.

6:04 Okay, he's being nice, but let's be honest, he seems pretty unimpressed.

6:07 Next up.

6:07 I think this is the thinnest sandwich in the world.

6:10 The bread, crispy corn tuile filled with a lot of truffle and pate.

6:14 Second course.

6:15 And we already have a sandwich with the king of sandwiches.

6:18 My wife's gonna be proud.

6:19 She's not gonna believe that I ate something like this.

6:23 What flavors and textures are you picking up, Chris?

6:26 I don't know, man.

6:27 It's delicious, though.

6:28 This is one of those things that no matter who eats it,

6:30 they'll find it delicious and they won't understand why.

6:33 It's like the perfect,

6:34 perfect pairing of an assortment of flavors that you don't

6:36 normally see together greater than the sum of its parts.

6:38 I would normally not eat pate, but all that together was outstanding.

6:43 It was delicious.

6:44 I almost want to eat Vicram's right now.

6:47 Next up, I don't love uni.

6:49 And this is like, uni on uni on uni.

6:51 So...

6:51 without further ado.

6:54 I think it's delicious.

6:55 This is really good, dude.

6:56 It's very refreshing.

6:57 Kind of insanely good.

6:58 It's, like, both rich and light at the same time.

7:01 This is one of the only ways I think you're gonna get me to eat uni.

7:04 Restaurants like this will put things in front of you that are often, like,

7:09 underappreciated or ignored or scary, and they find ways to make you love them.

7:13 And I think that is hallmark of not just great cookery,

7:16 but also good creativity.

7:17 It's basically saying,

7:18 we're gonna take this thing that not everybody loves and just figure it out...

7:23 And then a puffed liquid nitrogen frozen disc...

7:25 of lobster with peanut milk in the bottom.

7:29 This is the most lobstery lobster I've ever tasted in my life.

7:32 What he said.

7:33 It tastes like an amazing Thai dish right now.

7:36 Probably number one lobster bite I've had in the last 12 months.

7:39 It's the only thing like this I've ever had ever,

7:42 in the 45 years I've been on this planet.

7:45 I can't believe it.

7:46 Is this actually changing Chris's mind here?

7:48 We haven't won him over yet, though, so on to the next course.

7:51 Three Michelin stars don't fuck around.

7:53 They design their spoons for the vessels that you're eating out of.

7:56 This is essentially a lobster chawanmushi,

7:58 which is a savory Japanese egg custard.

8:02 It's so hard to make something cold that flavorful.

8:04 It's crazy.

8:05 I like custards.

8:06 Whatever came out of that was delicious.

8:08 This is the type of dish that makes a restaurant two or three Michelin.

8:12 It also is the type of dish that will get you on the top 50 list, especially...

8:15 in the top five.

8:17 I don't like seafood.

8:18 I've engulfed everything that's been seafood.

8:20 It's easy to do here.

8:21 He goes, "I don't like seafood." I'm,

8:23 like, hammering him with the seafood restaurant.

8:25 No, you do whatever you want to me, Joshua, I'm enjoying this.

8:28 Chris was shocked, but it turns out I am as well.

8:31 And it gets crazier.

8:32 Smyth is known for creating dishes on the spot,

8:34 and believe it or not, they did that with this.

8:37 A completely translucent ravioli.

8:38 Like, look at this.

8:39 You can see through them, filled with pea broth and hoja santa.

8:44 Banger.

8:44 Bingo.

8:45 This was seasoned 30 seconds ago.

8:47 They dialed it in just now and then sent it out.

8:49 From an operational standpoint, it's, like,

8:52 not only borderline impossible but it also is ballsy.

8:55 This is another on the spot dish.

8:56 The little brown pieces are brined young walnut,

8:59 a quenelle of cream sitting in a broth,

9:01 and possibly the most generous serving of caviar I've ever seen.

9:05 Hopefully, Chris likes caviar.

9:08 It's f***ing crazy.

9:09 There's no way they haven't tested this.

9:10 This is the best caviar dish I've ever had.

9:12 Same here.

9:13 Like, this is a 10 out of 10 use of caviar.

9:15 This is it.

9:16 This is the one.

9:17 A three Michelin star restaurant constantly striving for utter perfection.

9:21 And they're like, f*** it.

9:22 Let's just test brand new dishes on these guys

9:24 that we've never put on the menu ever before.

9:26 Right now on camera.

9:27 You gotta respect that.

9:28 I understand why this is at the top five restaurant in America.

9:32 I also am beginning to question, should this be number one?

9:35 Then came the most beautiful bread I've ever seen in my entire life.

9:40 This looks like it belongs with the gods on Mount Olympus...

9:43 Oh, my God.

9:45 That is diabolical.

9:47 How good that is.

9:48 It makes Parker House rolls look like f***ing b******t.

9:51 All right, that's what it does.

9:53 I don't know if this is our last course,

9:54 but if it is, that was one hell of a crescendo.

9:57 And that means that dessert is next.

9:59 Of course.

9:59 It's rice pudding, My favorite quintessential...

10:02 dessert.

10:03 Any place has rice pudding.

10:05 I automatically get it.

10:06 There's a twist, though.

10:07 The twist is that it has foie gras in it.

10:09 And I'm gonna be honest with you guys.

10:10 I don't like foie gras that much.

10:11 Neither do I.

10:12 They're f***ing it up for us.

10:13 Man, I really hope this is not a risk that doesn't pay off for them.

10:17 It all comes down to this.

10:19 Mm.

10:19 I hate foie gras.

10:21 I hate all that stuff.

10:22 But the rice pudding is warm.

10:24 Most people never have that s***.

10:26 Rice pudding warm.

10:27 This just won me over, even though there's foie gras in it.

10:29 I love you, Josh.

10:30 And I love you, Vic.

10:32 Going through this whole thing,

10:33 we took you to the number four restaurant in North America,

10:36 three Michelin star Smyth.

10:37 Is it worth it?

10:39 I think I've reached my ne plus ultra, as they say,

10:41 which is the French word for like, the limit.

10:44 I've eaten 24 inch pizzas by myself, all types of racks of ribs.

10:48 I've never been this full in a while.

10:50 I didn't think a place like this, you could fill up on that.

10:53 And I'm completely wrong about that.

10:55 So I apologize for sitting in my restaurant for so many years,

10:58 f***ing harping on joints like this because

11:00 clearly you can get your money's worth here.

11:02 I'm stuffed right now, Joshua.

11:04 Wow.

11:04 Honestly.

11:05 On to the next.

11:07 Now that we've come back to the US we're actually going

11:09 to go right back to Canada for restaurant number three, Pearl Morissette.

11:12 This one might be one of the weirdest.

11:14 It's just on a random farm in the middle of nowhere.

11:16 So if all of their food is being served off the farm,

11:18 how are they going to deliver any sort of an experience when it looks like this?

11:22 So this is their moment to prove their seating on the list...

11:24 If they can still deliver, do they deserve to be number one?

11:27 Eating with us is Canada's biggest

11:29 calorie consumer bodybuilding YouTube legend, Will Tennyson.

11:33 As a bodybuilder, you try to get every

11:35 last ounce of value out of what you consume.

11:37 So Will is the perfect person to help us decide.

11:39 Is this meal truly worth it?

11:40 We'll make that decision at the end.

11:42 Here we have a tart filled with crab.

11:44 But you see that little clear jelly looking stuff underneath the crab?

11:48 That's a hardened gel of pure crab flavor.

11:50 I don't want to eat it.

11:52 I want to frame it.

11:53 It's beautiful.

11:55 Then in front of us, we have what looks like a taquito to me.

11:56 But it's not a taquito.

11:57 It is a roe crispy carrot.

11:59 Cheers.

11:59 That's a nice taquito.

12:01 Whoa.

12:01 The tart shell.

12:05 That was executed well.

12:07 I love, like, the crispy wafer at the bottom.

12:09 Oh, my God.

12:10 Never had anything close to this.

12:11 This is just a snack.

12:12 You gotta calm down.

12:13 I thought when he put this down, this is like a little burrito or something.

12:16 But it's a towel.

12:17 You never know.

12:18 This dish is interesting.

12:19 I wasn't expecting to see a geoduck dish,

12:21 which is a type of clam that looks like a penis.

12:24 Oh, huge penis, actually.

12:25 I love that.

12:27 It's very fresh.

12:28 It almost reminds me of like a Chinese egg custard,

12:30 even though there's no egg in it.

12:31 Not only is this beautiful, but it's hyper, hyper, hyper local.

12:34 Because they have stuff that's coming from the ocean locally,

12:36 and then they have stuff that's coming from their greenhouse locally.

12:38 Are you supposed to, like, superset,

12:40 like the sake with the dish or you, like, finish one and then go...

12:43 Yes, superset.

12:44 The sake.

12:44 Crazy use of superset.

12:46 This is where things got a little unusual.

12:47 Instead of a small plate, we were given a giant slice of bread.

12:50 Did you smell it?

12:51 Sniff the underside of that.

12:53 Right.

12:53 Wow.

12:54 Yeah.

12:55 So fine dining, you typically see a lot of small portions,

12:56 which you've already seen, but we have...

12:58 the signature dish, which is from a 3 kilo loaf of bread.

13:01 They did specify you can have as much of it as you like.

13:03 Should we ask for more?

13:05 Of course we should.

13:05 I low key, could just do this and then just eat that.

13:08 That's crazy, man.

13:09 Macros are dead.

13:10 Memories over macros, right?

13:13 Mmhmm.

13:13 Why is bread so f***ing good?

13:14 I don't even know.

13:15 It doesn't make sense.

13:16 But I can almost taste the fact that the butter was made here.

13:19 It tastes so fresh.

13:21 You give it a 10 out of 10?

13:22 I give it a 9.

13:23 Damn.

13:24 Almost perfect.

13:24 This is supposedly the most perfectly cooked lobster ever,

13:27 but will it compete with the lobster dish at Taniere and Smyth?

13:31 I don't smile much, but this one's making me smile.

13:33 I haven't even eaten it yet.

13:35 This one deserves a standing ovation.

13:37 It is a privilege to be here right now.

13:39 We've had lobster at almost every single restaurant we went to on this list.

13:42 Best lobster dish by far.

13:43 That is a banger.

13:44 Cooked absolutely perfectly.

13:46 Seasoned perfectly without losing any of the flavor of the lobster.

13:49 On to the next course.

13:50 The most perfectly cooked scallop sitting on top of pearls,

13:54 made of lobster, green strawberry, and served tableside...

13:57 a savory broth.

13:59 Oh, this is so good.

14:00 First of all, the scallop is cooked insane.

14:02 Ooh.

14:02 Tastes like bacon.

14:05 I also am getting that.

14:06 They're leveraging all the briny flavors of the sea in this.

14:08 You have dashi, rich umami.

14:10 God, the scallop is just, like, briny and perfectly cooked.

14:12 It, like, melts in your mouth, and I don't know how to say it without saying it,

14:15 but the little balls in your mouth.

14:17 Incredible.

14:17 Like, texturally.

14:18 Actually, yeah.

14:19 Honestly, Will's right.

14:20 The balls in your mouth are crazy.

14:21 Like, I love these balls in my mouth.

14:23 Gargle them around and then chew.

14:25 Whoa.

14:26 Yeah.

14:27 So we've moved on to an interesting course.

14:29 This is a celery root, one of my most favorite vegetables.

14:31 They, like, let it stay in the ground too long so it freezes over,

14:34 and then it thaws, and then they slowly cook it for multiple hours.

14:37 It smells more like a croissant than celery root.

14:41 That's bonkers.

14:42 That's a flex.

14:43 My toenails are curling.

14:45 Wait, pause.

14:46 How are you supposed to go back after something like this?

14:48 You know what I mean?

14:49 Like, if my wife makes me dinner when I go home, I'm just gonna throw it away...

14:51 I'm like, this is what I expect now.

14:52 Like, you're not making me celery root like this.

14:54 Give it to the dog.

14:55 How many calories you think we're at for the meal so far?

14:57 I'm gonna say we're at 1350, maybe you 2000 with the butter.

15:00 You're right.

15:01 Yeah.

15:02 This is the best dish I've had so far.

15:03 This is number one.

15:04 Number two is the lobster, and number three is the tart in the very beginning.

15:08 I just want to point out the fact that what beat out lobster was a vegetable.

15:12 Not just a vegetable, but a really f***ing ugly vegetable.

15:15 I don't know about this one, guys.

15:16 A halibut dish sitting what they call an onion bubble bath.

15:20 Ah.

15:20 And more caviar.

15:21 Of course.

15:22 That is a f***ing banger.

15:24 Personally, we got another number one.

15:26 No!

15:27 it's seasoned perfectly...

15:28 Balanced perfectly.

15:28 The caviar, little pops of umami, and salty brininess from that.

15:32 The fish is cooked perfectly.

15:33 But what I really love about this is the explosion

15:35 of smoke in my mouth from the smoked onion.

15:38 Like, every bite, I'm like...

15:39 almost like my mind just goes clear.

15:40 It's just so good, though.

15:41 We were getting tremendously full, but then at the start of dessert,

15:44 they threw us a curveball that really confused Will.

15:47 Can you explain to me why at this point we need to have cheese?

15:50 It's like, the last thing I want.

15:51 Honestly, I don't know, but I like it.

15:53 Yeah.

15:53 I'm not gonna complain about it but...

15:54 You sound like you're complaining.

15:55 I guess I am complaining about it.

15:57 Yeah.

15:59 I think it's kind of like...

16:06 Oh, oh, you're changing your mind?

16:08 That honey.

16:09 I'm never gonna be able to enjoy other honey ever again.

16:11 This feels like the most luxurious bite we've had.

16:13 We're transitioning into dessert quite literally with a very

16:16 sweet but also a very salty dish.

16:18 Our first two desserts were tasty, but not crazy.

16:21 A rosehip ice cream and an apple tart.

16:22 But now we have something I didn't know was possible.

16:25 We have reached the final two courses.

16:27 So far, they've had non-stop bangers.

16:29 A few ones that didn't quite impress us as much, but ultimately,

16:31 I think overall, we could agree this has been a pretty phenomenal experience.

16:35 Are they going to win it at the end, or is this going to be a crash?

16:37 I feel like they have to.

16:38 They have to end on a high note.

16:39 I feel like the chefs back there know that this has to bang.

16:43 The more I eat this the more I like it.

16:45 I appreciate the creativity of this.

16:46 We ate that fast.

16:47 Hang on.

16:49 We have warm madeleines.

16:52 It's like a little banana bread pillow.

16:54 Crispy on the outside.

16:55 It's almost like a donut and a cake at the same time.

16:57 I love the cold, and I love the hot.

17:00 It's a nice, lighter thing to finish off.

17:02 Kind of like a fruity finish.

17:03 Holistically, this meal has been absolutely bonkers.

17:06 I wish it would have ended with a bit more of a bang,

17:08 but I have mixed feelings about it, and I want your actual opinion.

17:11 Is it worth it?

17:12 I feel like there was a few moments within this meal

17:14 that I'm going to talk about for a very long time.

17:17 I think that food is more than just food.

17:18 It's an experience.

17:19 And I think you'll be able to, like, go and share that with other people...

17:21 Makes it worthwhile.

17:22 That, like, halibut, that lobster.

17:24 I think it's definitely worth it.

17:26 We're at number three, but does this belong at number one?

17:29 So we move on to number two...

17:31 This is Mon Lapin in Montreal, Quebec.

17:34 This is the biggest upset on the entire list

17:37 because it's nothing like any of the other restaurants.

17:40 It has zero Michelin stars, no tasting menu, reasonable prices,

17:44 and it's run by one of the chillest chefs I think I've ever met.

17:47 But I'm a little bit in the hot seat here because we're with Chef Laurent.

17:51 He's a regular here.

17:52 He's a native, and his goal is to convince me

17:54 that Mon Lapin should be number one on the list.

17:56 We'll see if he's right at the end of the video.

17:58 We're at Mon Lapin.

18:00 My rabbit.

18:01 Like you.

18:02 The food, the wine, the service, everything is to the level of a Michelin Star.

18:06 Like, you can come here on a regular Tuesday night,

18:08 just show up in sweatpants, have a good dinner, and leave.

18:11 Kicking us off, this is a cookie in the shape of a rabbit,

18:14 except it's filled with chicken liver.

18:16 A humble and also unexpected start.

18:19 So good, simple.

18:20 The cookie is super crisp.

18:21 It's like a shortbread.

18:22 So very buttery.

18:23 A little lightly sweet.

18:24 And then the inside, the chicken liver mousse is creamy like butter.

18:28 So clean.

18:28 Nice flavor, well seasoned.

18:30 Really nice great start.

18:31 Another shockingly simple dish.

18:33 Clams with a lot of crushed sun gold tomato on top.

18:36 Very fresh, briny.

18:39 The perfect sweetness, acidity.

18:41 The natural brininess of the clams.

18:42 It's amazing.

18:43 Followed by what looks like essentially deep fried ravioli.

18:46 Wow.

18:47 It's so tender.

18:48 It almost has like a spanakopita.

18:49 I was just saying, we think the same way.

18:53 It's just like uncomplicated and delicious.

18:55 There wasn't a million ingredients.

18:57 It was a great sauce.

18:58 A lot of Swiss chard cooked very nicely, seasoned very nicely, very simply...

19:02 This last one stopped me in my tracks.

19:03 These are leeks, gently cooked in mussel brine.

19:06 And you eat them by taking them out,

19:08 putting them on a beautiful in-house made potato chip,

19:11 spoon on some of the aioli they serve on the side and take a bite.

19:14 Beautiful.

19:15 So simple.

19:16 I always have the word pure because

19:17 of that, letting the ingredient just speak for itself.

19:19 They're really blowing me away.

19:20 I can't believe how good this is.

19:22 We're just getting started...

19:23 So they've earned their number two spot for sure.

19:25 But this next dish might have me thinking it's number one...

19:28 So we have shrimp from Nova Scotia.

19:30 which are usually cooked directly on the boat,

19:32 and somehow they've managed to acquire them, on the plug...

19:34 So we're gonna enjoy them raw.

19:36 Yeah.

19:36 In 37 years of existence,

19:37 I've never had those raw because they always come cooked.

19:42 Yeah, they're unbelievable.

19:43 Wow.

19:43 Great sweetness.

19:44 That's insane.

19:45 Are those not regular capers?

19:47 Question.

19:47 Yeah?

19:48 What are those you said?

19:49 Blueberry capers.

19:50 Premature blueberry fermented like capers.

19:55 Green blueberries fermented like capers.

19:57 That just blew my**** right off my body.

19:59 The sweetness from this is sweeter than any king crab, lobster, whatever.

20:02 And they're just little baby shrimps.

20:04 I mean, I don't think I've ever had anything

20:06 from a seafood standpoint that pops with sweetness like that naturally.

20:10 Canada.

20:11 This is toast...

20:12 Well, actually a scallop toast filled with a scallop

20:15 mousse and a sauce to dip it in.

20:21 So good...

20:22 The sauce here is called a rouille with saffron and garlic.

20:25 That is incredible.

20:26 Better than any shrimp toast I've ever had.

20:28 The textures are so beautiful and contrasting.

20:31 The outside's beautifully crispy and toasted.

20:32 The inside is like smooth and almost creamy texture.

20:36 Almost like a soft scrambled egg.

20:38 Oceanic, briny, super, super salty and nice.

20:41 It's a perfect dish.

20:42 It really is.

20:42 It's unbelievable.

20:43 The first time I had this, it was like the first time I kissed you...

20:46 It was amazing.

20:49 Now a celery root dish that may compete with the one from Pearl Morissette.

20:53 We have a roasted celery root, buffalo mozzarella, a special sauce,

20:57 and finished with a ton of grated Perigord truffle.

21:01 Wow.

21:02 If I smell it, I only get truffle.

21:03 When you bite it, all you get is celery root.

21:06 It's also so fresh.

21:07 It's not too rich at all.

21:08 All the flavors are there to, like, lift the celery.

21:11 This is making me realize something.

21:12 Tell me.

21:13 I understand now why they are so high on the list.

21:16 I'm realizing that every single thing here is so fresh and also,

21:19 like, creatively hand selected.

21:21 You probably have a guy for celery root, a guy for asparagus,

21:24 a guy for tomatoes, you have a guy for clams.

21:27 It's when you take the time

21:28 to curate different suppliers for every single ingredient.

21:31 A lot of chefs don't think about that.

21:32 It's kind of a lost art.

21:33 Mon Lapin.

21:34 Wow.

21:35 Fewer dishes, and they're matching punch for punch.

21:38 And apparently, it's my birthday, by the way.

21:40 It's not.

21:41 Happy birthday, Joshie!

21:42 He's 25 years old today.

21:43 Just aged very badly, that's all.

21:45 Yeah.

21:46 Worked in the restaurant industry.

21:47 Yeah.

21:48 This is the most random thing you can imagine.

21:50 A buckwheat cake is something I've never even heard of.

21:52 And every time I come here, I get it because it's very good.

21:55 Wow.

21:55 Yeah.

21:56 Oh, my God.

21:57 Right?

21:58 That's so good.

21:59 Like, a little crispy tuile makes the cake.

22:00 Dense and, like, whole grain, but in a nice way.

22:02 Yeah.

22:03 Super lightly sweetened.

22:04 And then that caramel, like, super rich, super buttery, salty.

22:07 That brings a lot of the sweetness.

22:09 Textural wonderland.

22:11 So this is the final dessert.

22:12 The sorbet meets meringue meets brown butter meets berries.

22:16 It doesn't look crazy.

22:17 If they don't hit it with this, then it really ruins the meal.

22:20 Can these guys bring it home?

22:22 That is a top 10 dessert of my life.

22:25 I love this.

22:26 That brown butter powder is genius.

22:28 Because it brings dairy in without, like, overwhelming your palate with cream.

22:31 Yeah.

22:32 Instead, we get the best form of dairy, which is toasted milk solids.

22:35 I'm shocked.

22:36 Could this place be the best restaurant in North America?

22:40 This is the best meal I've had on this list,

22:43 and it is the best cooking I've had on this list by far.

22:46 You can't be the best without having ego about it.

22:49 You can't, but this is, like,

22:51 one of the first times I've been to a restaurant that's on a major list

22:55 and has a high ranking where it does

22:57 not feel overwhelmingly like they have a huge ego.

23:00 This level of talent has been here forever.

23:02 It's just been always under-recognized.

23:03 I think we're starting to get the love that we deserve

23:05 in Montreal because we've had some great restaurants for the longest time here.

23:08 Out of the list we've had thus far, it is the best place that we have eaten at.

23:12 We have one more left.

23:14 So the question is, is this number one or is the number one number one?

23:19 It all comes down to this.

23:20 The final restaurant.

23:22 The number one on the list, Atomix in New York City.

23:26 From the outside, I'm going to be honest, it's just a random apartment building.

23:30 But what's tucked inside blew my mind.

23:31 Underneath the surface isn't just a breathtaking kitchen.

23:34 You're greeted by a display of every

23:37 single fresh ingredient you're about to eat.

23:39 Hand selected by the chefs.

23:40 It's a whole experience before the food even starts.

23:43 It has best restaurant in North America energy.

23:46 And to help us make this decision,

23:47 we have the only person I think suited for the job.

23:50 Christian Petroni, chef, Food Network celebrity.

23:53 He's built and run many restaurants.

23:54 So I asked him, what does he think it takes to be number one?

23:58 Well, first of all, the people behind it need to be a little sick in the head.

24:02 There's a level of pure obsession to be

24:04 called one of the best restaurants in America.

24:07 You need to execute every day at the highest level humanly possible.

24:12 Nobody is moving without purpose.

24:14 It's theater, man, in the most beautiful way.

24:18 First course, a wild looking raw scallop set atop rice and a wrap of seaweed,

24:22 almost like a sushi roll.

24:25 Send out a dozen more.

24:26 You know?

24:26 I would eat 600.

24:27 A whole tray of them.

24:28 Every little grain of rice, you could detect the individual piece in your mouth.

24:34 And everything about that bite was so dialed.

24:37 Believe it or not, this is the craziest looking

24:40 little clam tart in the form of a single bite.

24:44 Bang.

24:46 Wow.

24:47 Yeah.

24:48 When fine dining is executed really well,

24:50 it's when they can still maintain craveability.

24:52 Because when you lose craveability, then what's the point?

24:54 You'll be thinking about those bites three days from now.

24:57 They sent these out to let us know, hey, man, you guys are safe here.

25:01 If they were like, take your shoes off, I'd do it.

25:03 Mine are already off.

25:04 Oh, shit.

25:04 Okay.

25:05 Belt?

25:06 So I don't know the last time you guys went to a restaurant

25:08 and they had personalized chopsticks for you to choose, but this one does.

25:11 Part of me is excited about the choice,

25:13 but I'm also a little nervous because what if I regret this?

25:16 These are a little short.

25:17 Sometimes you just gotta pick a pair of chopsticks and run with them.

25:20 I should add, every time they bring me a new drink.

25:22 It is so cold.

25:23 It's like, colder than ice, but somehow in a liquid state.

25:26 It's like McDonald's Diet Coke level cold.

25:28 You know what I'm talking about.

25:30 This next one is risky, to say the least.

25:33 Monkfish liver...

25:33 Now, this is a make or break dish.

25:35 I've had monkfish liver four or five times,

25:37 and there have been times where it has blown me away.

25:39 Delicious.

25:40 And then there have been other times where it was the polar opposite.

25:43 It's like butter.

25:44 Oh, my God.

25:45 Oh, my God.

25:46 That is so damn good.

25:47 I'm kind of shocked out of the monkfish liver that I've had.

25:49 This one's craveable.

25:50 I was gonna say make or break...

25:52 So far, it's a make.

25:53 Underneath that giant dollop of caviar are shreds of kohlrabi,

25:56 which is kind of like a radish.

25:58 Underneath that is hot crab all sitting in a rich cream sauce.

26:03 Whoa.

26:04 I'm, like, tearing up a little bit.

26:05 This one's getting me.

26:06 This one's really...

26:07 good.

26:07 The little flecks of salt popping.

26:09 The perfectly cooked kohlrabi, the cream...

26:12 This is a meal.

26:13 I'm feeling it.

26:14 I'm schvitzing.

26:15 So this is a standout dish for me.

26:17 It's a dish that makes me ask, is this the type of dish that makes

26:20 a restaurant the number one restaurant in America?

26:23 How many times can lightning strike, right?

26:25 I don't know.

26:26 It's striking.

26:26 Ever heard of abalone?

26:27 Well, it looks like this.

26:29 It's essentially a giant clam.

26:30 This one is tempura fried sitting in a sweet and sour sauce,

26:33 almost oddly simple.

26:34 But they gave us another little dish that they

26:36 told us to save for the very last bite.

26:39 If you want to be the best in the US you

26:41 have to find a way to merge the creative art with familiarity.

26:46 That's crazy, right?

26:47 That's f***ing insane.

26:48 And then you hit this thing that they tell you to hit last.

26:50 The accoutrement.

26:51 The accoutrement.

26:52 This little thing is a 10 out of 10 I'd change absolutely nothing.

26:55 It was so good because I think that the intensity of the acid, the saltiness,

27:00 the sweetness, and the umami combined with all

27:03 of the aromatics was at its absolute maximum.

27:06 And that was crazy.

27:07 Now they're hitting me in my soul.

27:09 Lobster glazed in one of my favorite ingredients ever, Gochujang.

27:13 And on the side, a perfectly cooked rice rolled in tofu skin.

27:17 The rice is cooked so crazy perfect.

27:20 And the spicy little kimchi in there.

27:22 This is, like, I think,

27:23 the most obvious impression of Korean cuisine in our entire meal tonight

27:26 that is perfectly meshed because this is the fine dining, the lobster.

27:30 But then you take a bite of this, and it's like,

27:32 oh, this is like an amazing little Korean dish.

27:34 The lobster, creamy, rich butter.

27:36 We're in France...

27:38 But then you put it up against this Korean style rice.

27:41 One of the things I'm starting to realize here,

27:44 they're telling a story about Korean culture with every single dish.

27:47 What drives me to cook food...

27:49 I'm constantly trying to get people to see food through the lens that I see it,

27:53 to enjoy it as much as I do.

27:54 And that's kind of what they're doing here.

27:57 They're telling the story of Korea and presenting it to you

28:00 in the best possible format in a way that's delicious, that you get it.

28:03 We didn't have a single bite of truffle for this entire dinner until dessert.

28:08 To the right, there's a little chocolate

28:10 torte topped with a massive layer of fresh, thinly sliced black truffle.

28:13 On the left, a corn ice cream on top of white chocolate snow...

28:17 We waited the entire meal for this.

28:19 Will it pay off?

28:20 The texture of the cake is, like, decadent and thick.

28:23 It's like a black truffle brownie with corn

28:25 ice cream is what it tastes like to me, and I'm here for it.

28:28 I love that the truffle adds, like, a little bit of a subtle,

28:32 earthy funk, but leaves almost like an earthy

28:34 mocha kind of tone to the chocolate.

28:36 Having that sort of hint of, like, let's be honest, dirt, right?

28:41 Yeah.

28:42 Is beautiful.

28:42 Against, like, what I see as a very sort of nostalgic style of dessert.

28:47 Guys.

28:48 A hilariously understandable ending to a meal that closes out possibly

28:52 one of the craziest dining experiences we've flown all across North America.

28:57 The top five restaurants.

28:58 The question that we need to answer here is, do they deserve their spots?

29:03 After 100 courses?

29:04 Five major cities.

29:05 Here's what I really think.

29:06 The ranking did not matter at all, actually.

29:10 It's so incredibly difficult to even get on a list like this as a restaurant.

29:13 It's just giving you an idea of the type

29:15 of caliber of a restaurant you're going to be walking into.

29:18 They all felt like number one in their own

29:20 way because they were all completely different.

29:22 Each restaurant could be number one on a different day to a different person,

29:25 just depending on how the restaurant's night

29:27 went or how that person's night went.

29:29 So just pick something, go and have a good time.

29:31 Love you.

29:32 Subscribe...

29:32 see you.