The world’s 50 best restaurants

The world’s 50 best restaurants, as determined by Restaurant magazine and sponsored by Italian beverage emporium San Pellegrino, were announced today. 2011’s top three–Denmark’s Noma, and Spain’s El Celler de Can Roca and Mugaritz–have kept their respective first, second and third positions. Restaurants in the U.S., London and Italy round out the top 10, with eight new restaurants added to the list that have never made it before. And, once again, there’s not a Canadian place in sight.

Have we ever made the cut? Yes: Michael Stadtländer’s Eigensinn Farm came in at number nine in 2002–the list’s inaugural year–and dropped to number 28 the next year, while Susur Lee’s Susur, which closed in 2008, came in 49th place in 2002.  But for the last nine years, this country’s finest eateries have been shut out of the top 50.

I’ve only been to one restaurant on this year’s list, New York’s Daniel, so I’m certainly not an authority on what it takes to make the grade. But presumably it takes chefs who are really breaking culinary grounds, or cooking up traditional fare better than anybody else, in order to be considered by the 800 international restaurant industry experts who travel the world annually and compile the list.

I’m curious to know what restaurants, if any, Canadian food authorities (that’s another debatable list unto itself) think should have been a contender this year.

Do tell!