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Double Chicken Please cocktail bar interior
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

The 50 Best Bars in North America

The 50 Best Bars in North America in 2023

by David Klemt

Double Chicken Please cocktail bar interior

Double Chicken Please in New York City is number one on this year’s list.

The buildup toward this year’s World’s 50 Best Bars is growing with the recent announcement of North America’s 50 Best Bars.

Mexico City, the 2023 North America’s 50 Best Bars host city, is home to several of this year’s rankings. A true cocktail destination loaded with extraordinary bars, Mexico City boasts eight entries. Overall, 14 of the 50 bars on the 2023 list are in Mexico.

Of course, New York City also claims an impressive number of bars earning spots on the list. In fact, NYC boasts 12 of the 50 best bars in North America. More than half of the bars—28—are in the US.

Not that anyone asked, two of the bars on the 2023 list are in the city where I was born, Chicago: Kumiko and Milk Room. And I’m going to give a special nod to Herbs & Rye, number 27 and located in my hometown of Las Vegas (and the US headquarters of KRG Hospitality).

Herbs & Rye cocktail bar and restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada

Of the 50 best bars in North America, Canada is home to seven. Four of these are in Toronto (where KRG Hospitality’s global headquarters are located), two are in Montreal, and one is in Vancouver.

Just one bar in the Caribbean makes the 2023 North America’s 50 Best Bars list. But what a bar: La Factoría is number 24.

Below you’ll find this year’s rankings; destination awards; and individual awards. Speaking of, congratulations to Julio Cabrera and Christine Wiseman! You’ll see why as you scroll. To review last year’s list, please click here.

Congratulations to all the bars and their bar teams representing the best of North America in 2023!

2023 North America’s 50 Best Bars Destination Award Winners

The Best Bar in Northeast USA, sponsored by Perrier

Double Chicken Please (No. 1; New York City, New York)

The Best Bar in South USA, sponsored by Torres Brandy

Jewel of the South (No. 5; New Orleans, Louisiana)

The Best Bar in the Midwest USA, sponsored by Rémy Martin

Kumiko (No. 8; Chicago, Illinois)

The Best Bar in the West USA, sponsored by Naked Malt

Thunderbolt (No. 10; Los Angeles, California)

The Best Bar in the Caribbean, sponsored by Scrappy’s Bitters

La Factoría (No. 24; San Juan, Puerto Rico)

The Best Bar in Canada, sponsored by Tia Maria

Civil Liberties (No. 12; Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

The Best Bar in Mexico, sponsored by Bareksten

Handshake Speakeasy (No. 2; Mexico City, Mexico)

2023 North America’s 50 Best Bars

  1. Milady’s (New York City, New York)
  2. Youngblood (San Diego, California)
  3. Platform 18 (Phoenix, Arizona)
  4. Brujas (Mexico City, Mexico)
  5. Clover Club (New York City, New York)
  6. Allegory (Washington, DC)
  7. The Dead Rabbit (New York City, New York)
  8. Bar Mordecai (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
  9. Yacht Club (Denver, Colorado)
  10. Bar Leather Apron (Honolulu, Hawaii)
  11. Aruba Day Drink (Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico)
  12. Maison Premiere (New York City, New York)
  13. Milk Room (Chicago, Illinois)
  14. Mother (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
  15. Cure (New Orleans, Louisiana)
  16. Cloakroom (Montreal, Québec, Canada)
  17. Sweet Liberty (Miami, Florida)
  18. Service Bar (Washington, DC)
  19. Atwater Cocktail Club (Montreal, Québec, Canada)
  20. Selva (Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico)
  21. Death & Co. (Los Angeles, California)
  22. Martiny’s (New York City, New York)
  23. Pacific Cocktail Haven (San Francisco, California)
  24. Herbs & Rye (Las Vegas, Nevada)
  25. Kaito del Valle (Mexico City, Mexico)
  26. Café de Nadie (Mexico City, Mexico)
  27. La Factoría (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
  28. Arca (Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico)
  29. Sabina Sabe (Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico)
  30. El Gallo Altanero (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico)
  31. Hanky Panky (Mexico City, Mexico)
  32. Botanist Bar (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
  33. Mace (New York City, New York)
  34. Rayo (Mexico City, Mexico)
  35. Baltra Bar (Mexico City, Mexico)
  36. Bar Pompette (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
  37. Employees Only (New York City, New York)
  38. Attaboy (New York City, New York)
  39. Civil Liberties (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
  40. Zapote Bar (Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico)
  41. Thunderbolt (Los Angeles, California)
  42. Café La Trova (Miami, Florida)
  43. Kumiko (Chicago, Illinois)
  44. Overstory (New York City, New York)
  45. Dante (New York City, New York)
  46. Jewel of the South (New Orleans, Louisiana)
  47. Licorería Limantour (Mexico City, Mexico)
  48. Katana Kitten (New York City, New York)
  49. Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City, Mexico)
  50. Double Chicken Please (New York City, New York)

2023 North America’s 50 Best Bars Individual Awards

Roku Industry Icon Award 2023

Julio Cabrera (No. 9; Café La Trova; Miami, Florida)

Altos Bartender’s Bartender Award 2023

Christine Wiseman (Bar Lab Hospitality)

Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award 2023

Botanist Bar (No. 19; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award 2023

Allegory (No. 45; Washington, DC)

Disarronno Highest New Entry Award 2023

Bar Pompette (No. 15; Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Nikka Highest Climber Award 2023

Overstory (No. 7; New York City, New York)

Campari One to Watch Award 2023

Manhatta (New York City, New York)

London Essence Best New Opening Award 2023

Rayo (No. 17; Mexico City, Mexico)

Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award 2023

Yacht Club (No. 42; Denver, Colorado)

Double Chicken Please image: Emmanuel Rosario / Hanna Lee Communications. Herbs & Rye image courtesy of Hanna Lee Communications.

KRG Hospitality. Bar Consultant. Nightclub. Lounge. Mixology. Cocktails.

Yellow smiley face ball
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Which Cities and States are the Happiest?

Which US Cities and States are the Happiest?

by David Klemt

Yellow smiley face ball

As an entrepreneur and operator evaluating a market for a first location or expansion, it can help to know where people are happiest.

Equally as helpful: Knowing the cities and states that are the least happy. Not, necessarily, so an operator can avoid these markets.

Rather, one’s concept may be a ray of stress-free sunshine for a given community. Providing a great workplace with a positive culture can work wonders for both the happiest and least-happy places. And as the cornerstones of the communities they serve, restaurants and bars can improve their guests’ quality of life.

We’ve looked at the US cities with the greatest inflow and outflow (which can reveal happiness levels), as identified by Redfin. And we’ve checked out the best US retirement cities, researched by Clever.

Now, we’re taking a look at which US cities and states are the happiest and least happy, according to WalletHub. In case you’re unaware, personal finance site WalletHub researches a vast array of topics. You can browse them here.

Happiest Cities

While determining which are happiest, WalletHub identified the happiest 182 cities. Obviously, that’s a far cry from how many cities are in the US.

According to one source, there 19,495 cities, towns, and villages across the country (per data from 2018). Of those, 4,727 cities have populations of 5,000 or more. A total of 310 cities have populations of at least 100,000, and only ten are home to one million people or more.

So, living in any of the 182 cities WalletHub suggests one is pretty happy. However, these are the ten happiest cities, in descending order:

  1. Fremont, California
  2. Columbia, Maryland
  3. San Francisco, California
  4. San Jose, California
  5. Irvine, California
  6. Madison, Wisconsin
  7. Seattle, Washington
  8. Overland Park, Kansas
  9. Huntington Beach, California
  10. San Diego, California

As you can see, six of the 10 cities are in California. In fact, 29 of the 182 cities on this list are located in the Golden State.

To create their list, WalletHub analyzed several metrics that make up three main categories: emotional and physical well-being; work environment; and community and environment.

Fremont, CA, is number one for emotional and physical well-being. The top spot for work environment goes to San Francisco, CA. And the number-one city for community and environment is Casper, Wyoming, which is number 79 on the list overall.

Least-happy Cities

Again, understanding that there are more than 19,400 cities, towns, and villages in the US alters the context of this list a bit.

Living and operating in one of these 182 cities indicates a person is living in a happy city. Basically, it isn’t the worst place to live if it’s on this list.

At any rate, let’s look at the 10 cities that make up the bottom of WalletHub’s list. Or, the “least-happy” cities, at least as far as these rankings are concerned.

  1. Detroit, Michigan
  2. Gulfport, Mississippi
  3. Memphis, Tennessee
  4. Huntington, West Virginia
  5. Montgomery, Alabama
  6. Cleveland, Ohio
  7. Augusta, Georgia
  8. Fort Smith, Arizona
  9. Mobile, Alabama
  10. Shreveport, Louisiana

Happiest States

WalletHub also ranked 50 states to determine the happiest and least happy. I checked, and, yep, that’s all of ’em! I will say it’s a bit disappointing they didn’t include Puerto Rico, but it isn’t the 51st state (yet).

WalletHub focused on 30 metrics to rank the states, which make up three main categories: emotional and physical well-being; work environment; and community and environment.

In descending order, the happiest states in America are:

  1. Hawaii
  2. Maryland
  3. Minnesota
  4. Utah
  5. New Jersey
  6. Idaho
  7. California
  8. Illinois
  9. Nebraska
  10. Connecticut

Hawaii doesn’t just take the top spot overall, it also claims number one for emotional and physical well-being. Utah takes first for work environment, and community and environment.

Rounding out the “happiest half” of the US are:

  1. Virginia
  2. South Dakota
  3. North Dakota
  4. Massachusetts
  5. New Hampshire
  6. Iowa
  7. Delaware
  8. Florida
  9. Georgia
  10. North Carolina
  11. Wisconsin
  12. Washington
  13. New York
  14. Maine
  15. Wyoming

Least-happy States

Conversely, the following are the least-happy states, starting with the unhappiest:

  1. West Virginia
  2. Louisiana
  3. Arkansas
  4. Kentucky
  5. Alabama
  6. Mississippi
  7. Oklahoma
  8. Tennessee
  9. New Mexico
  10. Missouri

Filling out the least-happy half of the country are:

  1. Alaska
  2. Michigan
  3. Ohio
  4. Indiana
  5. Texas
  6. Nevada
  7. Vermont
  8. South Carolina
  9. Kansas
  10. Arizona
  11. Colorado
  12. Montana
  13. Rhode Island
  14. Pennsylvania
  15. Oregon

In terms of the three metrics WalletHub analyzed, West Virginia is ranked last for emotional and physical well-being. Unfortunately, Mississippi is last for work environment. And Texas comes in last for community and environment.

Image: chaitanya pillala on Unsplash

Fine dining Ecuadorian dish
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Bon Appétit Reveals Best New Restaurants

Bon Appétit Reveals the Best New Restaurants in 2022

by David Klemt

Fine dining Ecuadorian dish

Condé Nast’s American food and restaurant publication Bon Appétit identifies the 50 restaurants they deem the very best in 2022.

The intriguing list highlights the consumer desire to try a wide range of global cuisines. Indeed, were one to eat their through Bon Appétit‘s 2022 list, they’d enjoy both traditional and modern:

  • African (notably, Nigerian)
  • Cantonese
  • Caribbean
  • Eastern European (Hungarian, in particular)
  • Filipino
  • French
  • Indian (including Goan and Kashmiri)
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Jewish
  • Korean
  • Laotian
  • Mexican
  • Palestinian
  • Portuguese
  • Vietnamese

Of course, one will also find American cuisine. Of note, Texas barbecue, elements of Memphis barbecue, Low Country, Cajun cooking, and Midwest comfort food. There are also restaurants offering creative takes on traditional steakhouse fare. One restaurant’s focus, The Nicolett in Lubbock, Texas, is High Plains cuisine. (For those wondering, Bon Appétit describes this as “West Texas terroir.”)

This is a compelling list, showing that consumers crave a balance between comfort food and stepping outside of their comfort zones to discover cuisines that are new to them. I encourage everyone to look into these restaurants for inspiration and motivation.

Regional Performance

For simplicity, Bon Appétit arranges their list by dividing the US into four large regions: Midwest, Northeast & Mid-Atlantic, South, and West.

Interestingly, the South claims the most restaurants on this list of the 50 best, earning 17 spots. Northeast & Mid-Atlantic restaurants grab 15 spots, the West takes 12, and the Midwest claims just six.

When it comes to the South, Texas performs the best in terms of number of restaurants on the list. There are two in Austin, and one each in Fort Worth, Garland, Houston, Lubbock, and San Antonio.

However, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana also do well for the South, earning three spots each in the following cities:

  • Miami (2) and North Miami (1)
  • Atlanta (2) and Savannah (1)
  • New Orleans (3)

Unsurprisingly, New York leads the way for the Northeast & Mid-Atlantic region. Drilling down, Brooklyn boasts four of Bon Appétit‘s 50 Best New Restaurants 2022; New York City is the home of three; and one is in Hudson.

Pennsylvania, however, claims three spots, all in Philadelphia.

Equally as foreseeable, California boasts the most restaurants among this list of fifty. Predictably, most are in Los Angeles, which claims three in total. Oakland, San Diego, and San Francisco round out California’s spots with one each. Coming in second in terms of Western states with multiple restaurants on the list is Oregon, with two in Portland.

Unfortunately, the Midwest simply doesn’t perform nearly as well on this year’s list as its counterparts. In fact, it has just half the number of restaurants as the third-place region with six. Cincinnati, Ohio, takes a third of those spots. Surprisingly, Chicago is home to just one restaurant on this list.

The 50 Best New Restaurants

Below you’ll find Bon Appétit‘s list in alphabetical order.

  • Agi’s Counter (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Baba’s Pantry (Kansas City, MO)
  • Bacanora (Phoenix, AZ)
  • Bata (Tucson, AZ)
  • Birdie’s (Austin, TX)
  • Bocadillo Market (Chicago, IL)
  • Bonnie’s (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Cafe Mochiko (Cincinnati, OH)
  • Cafe Mutton (Hudson, NY)
  • Canje (Austin, TX)
  • Common Thread (Savannah, GA)
  • Daru (Washington, DC)
  • Daytrip (Oakland, CA)
  • Dear Annie (Cambridge, MA)
  • Dept. of Culture (Brooklyn, NY)
  • El Rincon del Maiz (Garland, TX)
  • Gage & Tollner (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Good Good Culture Club (San Francisco, CA)
  • Her Place (Philadelphia, PA)
  • Irwin’s (Philadelphia, PA)
  • Juniper Cafe (Atlanta, GA)
  • Kingfisher (San Diego, CA)
  • Korshak Bagels (Philadelphia, PA)
  • La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal (Denver, CO)
  • La Onda (Forth Worth, TX)
  • Lasita (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Lengua Madre (New Orleans, LA)
  • Los Félix (Miami, FL)
  • Lucian Books and Wine (Atlanta, GA)
  • Ma Der Lao Kitchen (Oklahoma City, OK)
  • March (Houston, TX)
  • Mid-City Restaurant (Cincinnati, OH)
  • Mister Mao (New Orleans, LA)
  • Morchella (Portland, OR)
  • The Nicolett (Lubbock, TX)
  • One White Street (New York, NY)
  • Paradis Books & Bread (North Miami, FL)
  • Phởcific Standard Time (Seattle, WA)
  • Quarter Sheets (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Reese Bros Barbecue (San Antonio, TX)
  • Regards (Portland, ME)
  • República (Portland, OR)
  • Seafood Sally’s (New Orleans, LA)
  • Semma (New York, NY)
  • Sozai (Clawson, MI)
  • Sunny’s Steakhouse (Miami, FL)
  • Supperland (Charlotte, NC)
  • Uncle Lou, New York, NY)
  • Yangban Society (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Z&Z Manoushe Bakery (Rockville, MD)

Image: Kiyoshi on Unsplash

Red neon hand sign over a cocktail
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Discover the World’s 50 Best

Discover the World’s 50 Best with this Helpful Tool

by David Klemt

Red neon hand sign over a cocktail

You may be familiar with the World’s 50 Best Bars and the World’s 50 Best Restaurants rankings, but do you know about their Discovery tool?

On episode 82 of the Bar Hacks podcast, Mark Sansom mentions this powerful and helpful tool. Sansom, for those who have yet to listen to the episode, is the content director for the World’s 50 Best Bars.

Put plainly, the World’s 50 Best rankings are powerful and influential. As Sansom says, when the organization shouts, people listen. Making the 100 to 51 or 50 to one list can change a restaurant or bar’s business. Exposure, traffic, revenue, status, longevity… The restaurant and bar lists are game changers for those who work hard enough to earn a spot.

However, the World’s 50 Best, as the name suggests, ranks just a few hundred restaurants and bars:

So, the organization put their heads together. What if they could increase the chances that thousands of venues could find themselves on the radar of millions of people across the world? What could that do for a much larger swathe of deserving restaurants and bars?

50 Best Discovery

Enter, the 50 Best Discovery database.

“That’s the more egalitarian face of 50 Best, and that’s where we’re really excited about moving in the future,” says Sansom.

According to Sansom, there are more than 2,500 restaurants and bars just waiting for, well, discovery. It is, as he says, “the world’s most authoritative database on restaurants and bars anywhere.”

Compellingly, this is more than just a lonely input field chilling out on a webpage. Rather, there’s also a slideshow of 50 Best editor’s picks to scroll through. In using the tool for this article I discovered the following venues without even scrolling:

  • Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas
  • Cal Pep in Barcelona, Spain
  • Amass in Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Fyn Restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa

In other words, this tool is aptly named: The mission is discovery, and I’d say that mission is well on its way to achievement.

North America Results

Given the potential of the 50 Best Discovery database, I of course took it for a spin. You can do the same by clicking here.

Below, my results. In the interest of full transparency, it appears some cities in North America could use some work.

However, I feel confident that the 50 Best Discovery database will improve over time. After all, this is a new tool. Remember, the North America 50 Best Bars list is also brand new. As the organization recognizes more regions and venues, they’ll develop their database further.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

  • Proof

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  • Bar Raval
  • BarChef
  • The Shameful Tiki Room

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

  • Botanist
  • Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar
  • The Keefer Bar

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

  • Greene St. Kitchen
  • Herbs & Rye
  • Wing Lei

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

  • Bastion
  • The Catbird Seat
  • Pearl Diver

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

  • Vedge
  • Zahav

Image: Marcus Loke on Unsplash

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