You know, I saw the Bourdain episode on it, and vaguely remember him saying ‘get here while you can’.
Didn’t get there while I could.:(... did you?
No, no, no. On the current *50* list, and counting the last eighteen months, I've eaten at #6 (Per Se), #19 (Le Bernardin), and #25 (Daniel - like Per Se, a definite keeper). Of course, the food always tastes better with good friends instead of clients, and when somebody else is paying.
I don't live on the West Coast (haven't since junior high), but when I'm in Northern California I've tried unsuccessfully to get a reservation at The French Laundry ever since The Soul of a Chef: The Journey to Perfection was published. It's the book that introduced the ordinary world to Thomas Keller.
I dined at the Quilted Giraffe during its flash-of-glory days, and likely another dozen restaurants that flashed onto this list, flashed off it, and closed. I dined at Lutèce back in the early 1980s, when it was still, well, Lutèce (and still open).
However, some of the finest meals - or specific appetizers, entrees, or desserts - came from restaurants or even diners that will never gain recognition on lists like these.