Benu Named Best Restaurant In America By David Chang, Wall Street Journal (VIDEO)

In July, Chef Ferran Adria served the last meal at his famed El Bulli in Spain -- widely considered the best restaurant in the world -- before closing indefinitely. But before the tears had dried on the cheeks of El Bulli's waitlisted diners, the question on everyone's mind was already circling: which restaurant will be the next El Bulli?

And according to the Wall Street Journal and one unexpected cheerleader, it could very well be San Francisco's own Benu.

On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal released its picks for the next big restaurant, taking into consideration food, desirability and original contribution to the culinary landscape. "They really tend to be restaurants that are proposing a new idea in the world of haute cuisine," explained reporter Katy McLaughlin. Benu was included on a list of six restaurants in the world that fit the bill.

"He's [Chef Corey Lee] combining Asian flavor profiles, Asian ingredients, with this really high-tech modern food that we've heard about," said McLaughlin. "And he's really one of the first." Case in point: Benu's menu includes dishes like malted rice tea with pine nut and pine needle honey.

Lee, Thomas Keller's longtime right-hand-man at The French Laundry, opened Benu in 2010 with a strong interest in avant-garde food and molecular gastronomy, combining an Asian palette with European techniques. His efforts have not gone unnoticed.

In the article, Benu also had a very (very) unlikely endorser: New York's Chef David Chang.

"Benu really is the best restaurant in America," said Chang. For those familiar with Chang and his past comments about the Bay Area food scene ("Every restaurant in San Francisco is just serving figs on a plate."), such a quote is quite a departure.

But in contrast to Chang's complaint about our dining scene's simplicity, Benu's menu is anything but simple. As the Wall Street Journal pointed out, Lee's dedication to haute cuisine moved him to partner with a hydrocolloid manufacturer that allows him to infuse huge quantities of butter into mashed potatoes.

So is Benu just a flash in the pan, or is it really the next big restaurant in the world? Only time will tell, but we know where we're booking a reservation. And fast.

Check out Benu in the Wall Street Journal video below:

Comments

[jennielake]

11:47 AM on 10/10/2011

... yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm

oops... I forgot my wallet

Run Forest Run

lol

[lars828]

01:41 PM on 10/07/2011

I thought San Francico's leading restuarant was Dairy Queen.

[Tim Giangiobbe]

08:14 PM on 10/07/2011

ACTUALLY THE DAIRY QUEEN HAS BEEN LONG GONE
WITH THE DOGGIE DINERS
ALAMEDA HAS ONE ON CENTRAL
THE SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM CONES ROCK ON HOT DAYS

[Milash]

11:51 AM on 10/10/2011

We don't have DQ is SF.

[Proud Bay Man]

01:17 AM on 10/07/2011

Looks like they didn't get all the soap off the plate before serving their guest. Yuck!

[HowRudeIsThat]

12:04 PM on 10/06/2011

Oh brother, one look at that plate with its pretentious, spit-like foams and I'm absolutely sure I will never go there!

[SteveDenver]

04:27 AM on 10/07/2011

I'm with ya. I step around things on the sidewalk that look like that. A similar foam can be generated by putting salt on garden snails.

[jayemjay]

03:04 AM on 10/06/2011

"...Lee's dedication to haute cuisine moved him to partner with a hydrocolloid manufacturer that allows him to infuse huge quantities of butter into mashed potatoes."

As if low cuisine from the likes of The Cheesecake Factory isn't already doing enough to harden Americans' arteries.

[SteveDenver]

04:28 AM on 10/07/2011

Favorite. Cheesecake Factory is grotesque and their entire machine is insidious.

[Tim Giangiobbe]

08:19 PM on 10/07/2011

Hey I like the CHEESECAKE FACTORY and the PASTA DISHES along with THE DESSERT and a HEART ATTACK and HARDENED ARTERIES TO GO
YUMMY give me a HEAPING HELPING MA
While I OCCUPY WALL STREET NOW

[norepublicanleftbehind]

05:04 PM on 10/05/2011

I'm sure it must be a nice experience but the menu looks a little too chi-chi for me. I'll stick to Zunis.

[tuff guy]

05:38 AM on 10/06/2011

...yeah, zuni's just 'über cool'.

[bayland]

10:49 AM on 10/06/2011

Zuni is excellent, year after year, no gimmicks, no shrines.

[Tee1up]

04:54 PM on 10/05/2011

When I see a $65 entry that leaves 85% of the plate empty, I usually run for the exit or sharpen up my best dine and dash shoes. Seriously though, 'best' is a pretty subjective term and when critics start using it, the check can get pretty scary.

[Tim Giangiobbe]

08:26 PM on 10/07/2011

Sixty Five Bucks(65.00) can buy two McDonalds Sausage Biscuit Breakfast a Starbucks Coffee, a PHO lunch that is DELICIOUS and then a Tad Steak for dinner that's a bit tough but WE 99 percenters can handle it and then go to Cold Stone for Dessert and have a couple bucks left to go to a MOVIE at the METREON but dont buy food in the theater unless you are PREPARED to get ripped off and not say YUMMY

[Jambala99]

03:50 PM on 10/05/2011

More Michelin stars than anyone else, we have 30% of the "Best Restaurants" as deemed by "Open Table" users, and now this! San Francisco is awesome!