Keeping track of who is who and what is hot in the New York food scene is next to impossible. Too many restaurants, too many people and too many different opinions. Which doesn't mean people can't try. And as far as clickable lists of restaurant workers go, Google-owned Zagat's second annual list of 30 Under 30 Up and Comers isn't bad. Nothing makes a New Yorker feel inadequate quite like a list of young people doing well for themselves. more ›

It isn't just Michelin that released its latest New York City restaurant guide this week, NYC's Google-owned restaurant guide, the Zagat Survey, was released today, too. Le Bernardin came out on top not just in Food (29 out of 30), it also unseated Danny Meyer's hold on the top of the Most Popular category for the first time in 15 years...yada, yada, yada...do Zagat Survey's results mean anything? Actually, if you know how to read through the lines, they kinda do! more ›

Since it first brought its popular-in-Europe restaurant guides for New York six years ago, there has been something of a cold war going between Michelin and the other publisher of red-toned restaurant guides, the recently-Googled Zagat Survey. The two companies put their New York guides out within days of each other and regularly try and steal each other's media thunder while distracting consumers from the plethora of free online reviews available (*cough* Yelp *cough*). Now, with both companies' 2012 guides set for release next month, the French tire company has gone and fired this year's opening shot today by releasing its "Bib Gourmand" list of restaurants serving two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less (excluding tax and gratuity). Interestingly, it seems the fancy restaurant guide is taking the Times' lead and starting to look beyond Manhattan a bit. more ›

Tim and Nina Zagat, who should know a few things about the business after publishing their guides for 30 years, would like you to be aware that opening up a restaurant from scratch is, generally speaking, a terrible idea. It isn't that they don't think you are a good cook, or have a good concept, its just that, well, the restaurant business will eat you alive. So today they turned to the Journal to try and disuade potential restaurateurs. And they have some reasonable points: more ›

Once again, we're number one! In bad airports. Hot on the heels of a similar report, for the fourth year running LaGuardia has been deemed the worst airport in the country according to a Zagat Survey of 8,007 flyers. Not that JFK and Newark did much better, coming in 26th and 24th out of 30, respectively. Meanwhile, Portland International got the nod as the best airport in the country. So is there anything that could fix poor beleaguered LaGuardia? "Knock it down and start over," suggests Zagat's founder Tim Zagat. But hey, with a slew of fancy food spots coming to LaGuardia's Terminal D soon enough, at least folks can eat good food while they wait. more ›

Just as cops block bike lanes every morning and man still refuses to ask for directions, so too will people yakking loudly on cell phones forever annoy us. And so too will obligatory articles about how cell phones annoy us annoy us. It might not stop us from demanding we get reception on the subway, but we always find new ways to study and criticize other people's cell phone etiquette. more ›

Open wide for some dining guides! Today marks the debut of the new editions of the Zagat guide and the prestigious NYC Michelin restaurant guide (more on that later). We turn first to the more proletarian Zagat, which covers 2,115 restaurants, slightly more than last year, rated online by 40,569 respondents. Here's what's new and noteworthy: more ›

There is only one wine that pairs well with Fast Food, and that's the kind that comes in a box and burns a little on the way down... or is it? Zagat, following their Fast Food survey, has now attempted the impossible: pairing up Whoppers and whatnot with real wine. They got sommelier Clare Shaheen, of New York’s TriBeCa Grill, to give recommendations—all of her tasting notes and pairings can be found here, but here's a sample. more ›

Nobody really wants to admit to liking "fast food," be it the classiest Panera Bread or the lowliest Burger King. But in their 2010 Fast Food Survey, Zagat has the courage to announce the best tasting meals in the combo-menu lot. And there are a few surprises, including In-N-Out's fall from glory. more ›

Zagat's 10th Annual Nightlife survey dropped today, and the results reveal more about who participates in Zagat's surveys than about The State of Nightlife Today. 5,719 locals shared their thoughts about their favorite nightspots, and what they had to say may not shock you: these people still have money, and they like throwing it around at douchey clubs. Their five favorite places to do this are: more ›

Zagat released its 2010 NYC edition and, as expected, old favorites remained on top. The most popular restaurants are Gramercy Tavern (number 1), Union Square Cafe, Le Bernardin, Babbo and Daniel while top food can was deemed to be founded at Le Bernardin (number 1), Daniel, Jean Georges, Per Se, and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon. Asiate had best decor and Per Se has best service. more ›

Back when antediluvian diners sought opinions without the help of the Internet, Tim and Nina Zagat built a restaurant survey and ranking empire, which grew into a sprawling international family of guides on everything from dating to dumping. Just before the financial collapse really got nasty, they tried to sell the whole enterprise for $200 million, and are rumored to have turned down offers as high as $100 million. Today, the Post finds the Zagats in deep weeds, largely due to competitors like Yelp, which now boasts more than 7 million U.S. visitors per month with reviews on all sorts of things, including Zagat! By comparison, Zagat's website, which requires a $25 annual fee, averaged just 270,000 unique visitors last month. The company laid off 16 people, and the Zagats have given up trying to sell it. As one Yelper opines, "If Zagat was the bomb, [Yelp] wouldn't exist, so thanks for sucking so bad, Zagat. I almost was forced to go to Chinese food in Chinatown due to an out-of-town colleague who had armed himself with Zagat and biblical notions of self importance... In the end, I won and we ended up at a real restaurant that didn't have to pay for a review." Well, not exactly. more ›

Brooklyn gets its new burgundy bible today as Zagat releases its 2009 guide to the borough. Prospect Heights' Garden Café was ranked No.1 for both food and service, and DUMBO's River Café, where the trees suffered so much this summer, was named No. 1 for decor. Meanwhile Il Passatore, the rustic Italian place in Williamsburg, rose to the top of the best new restaurant category. Carroll Gardens' Black Mountain was deemed the No. 1 Wine Bar, and Stonehome in Fort Greene ranked best in the nightlife category for its romantic ambiance, big wine selection and tasty vittles. All in all, the exhaustive guide covers 241 of Brooklyn’s finest restaurants, 144 nightspots, 367 shops, and 231 gourmet stores and attractions, like the Central Library in Prospect Heights, which has 1.5 million volumes spanning 64 languages, a newish outdoor plaza and, let's not forget, free admission. more ›

Starting in January, some of New York's top restaurants and chefs will take turns offering menus inspired by 19th century banquets, as part of Zagat's "NYC Vintage Dinner Series." Each chef will host a one-day-only event where, according to Tim Zagat, guests can enjoy an "unforgettable dining experience with dishes that have largely disappeared in the last 100 years." The series was unveiled at a press conference at Le Bernardin this morning. more ›

In a recent Zagat survey, 10,000 frequent fliers ranked LaGuardia the worst out of America's 27 biggest airports, the Daily News reports. JFK didn't fare much better either, coming in fourth from the bottom of the list. Zagat Buzz has more on the survey, which declared Tampa the best airport in the land. Speaking to the News on her way through LaGuardia, 40-year-old Jennifer Thayer of Colorado Springs griped that the airport "seems like it's out of the 1960s. There's not a whole lot of choices." Never mind how a place without choices resembles the swinging sixties; what bothers Thayer is that "they don't have those massage people." Not true! Tomorrow, Lather Spa is giving out free massages in Delta’s Crown Room Club. But too little, too late for Thayer; she's already back in Colorado, where they say the airports smell of sandalwood and ambrosia. more ›

Just as the current economic conflagration is blazing brighter than ever, two major restaurant guides have appeared in as many days this week, telling you all the best places to dine in style until the money runs out. Yesterday saw the release of the prestigious Michelin NYC guide, and today we have the more democratic Zagat restaurant guide, compiled using reviews from 38,128 local surveyors who ate out over 6.6 million meals this past year, covering 2,073 eateries across the five boroughs. Some of this year's standouts include Asiate (best decor), Union Square Cafe (most popular), Per Se (best food) and Momofuku Ko (best newcomer). more ›