Online restaurant reservation site OpenTable released on Wednesday its list of the 100 "hottest restaurants in America" for 2016, with San Diego eateries Juniper & Ivy and Kettner Exchange making the cut.
The list reflects the combined opinions of more than 5 million restaurant reviews submitted between March 1, 2015, and Feb. 29 by verified OpenTable diners for more than 20,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the website.
The Los Angeles area had the most restaurants on the list — 17 — with eight of those located in West Hollywood: E.P.+L.P., .ink, The Ivy, The Nice Guy, Toca Madera, Ysabel, Pump and Sur Lounge. The latter two eateries are operated by onetime "Dancing With the Stars" contestant Lisa Vanderpump and husband Ken Todd, who appear on the Bravo series "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and "Vanderpump Rules."
Bestia, Republique and Perch in Los Angeles made the list, as did Cassia in Santa Monica, Venice eateries Gjelina and the High Rooftop Lounge, Vitello's in Studio City and two South Bay restaurants — Manhattan Beach Post and Palmilla Cocina Y Tequila in Hermosa Beach.
Three Riverside County restaurants — all in the Coachella Valley — were recognized: Eight4Nine and The Tropicale, both in Palm Springs, and The Nest in Indian Wells.
No Orange County restaurants were on the list, which includes honorees in 27 states.
California has 25 restaurants listed, followed by New York with 15, Florida and Illinois with seven each, Texas with five, Colorado and Georgia with four winners apiece, and Louisiana, Massachusetts and Nevada with three each.
Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, and Utah count two winners per state. Connecticut, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee are also represented.
More than one-fifth of the restaurants on the list opened their doors in 2015. While American cuisine was quite popular, Asian, global, Italian, Mexican and sushi eateries also made strong showings.
All restaurants with a minimum "overall" score and number of qualifying reviews were included for consideration, according to OpenTable. Qualifying restaurants were then sorted according to a score calculated from each eatery's average rating in the "hot spot" category.
