The Zagat Survey, commonly referred to as Zagat and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, covering New York City, the Zagats surveyed their friends. At its height around 2005, the Zagat Survey included 70 cities, with reviews based on the input of 250,000 individuals with the guides reporting on and rating restaurants, hotels, nightlife, shopping, zoos, museums, music, movies, theaters, golf courses, and airlines. The guides are sold in book form, and were formerly only available as a paid subscription on the Zagat website.
Kramers is an independent bookstore and cafe in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 1976 by Bill Kramer, Henry Posner, and David Tenney, Kramer's has become a local institution and meeting place for neighborhood residents, authors, and politicians. It was one of the first bookstores in the country to feature a cafe which influenced similar business models nationwide. Notable people that have visited Kramer's include Barack Obama, Andy Warhol, Maya Angelou, and Monica Lewinsky, whose purchases at the bookstore attracted national attention during the Lewinsky scandal investigation and led to a high-profile legal battle. Kramer's was sold in 2016 to Steve Salis.
Shake Shack is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permanent kiosk within the park, expanding its menu from New York–style hot dogs to one with hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and its namesake milkshakes.
The Four Seasons Restaurant was a New American cuisine restaurant in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City from 1959 to 2019. The Four Seasons operated within the Seagram Building at 99 East 52nd Street for most of its existence, although it relocated to 42 East 49th Street in its final year of operation. The restaurant was themed around the seasons of the year, with menus, decorations, and vegetation that changed every three months. It attracted numerous high-profile personalities and often hosted "power lunches". Despite mixed commentary of the restaurant's food, the Four Seasons was highly popular, winning the James Beard Award many times.
David Chang is an American restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin stars, which the restaurant has retained each year since. In 2011, he co-founded the influential food magazine Lucky Peach, which lasted for 25 quarterly volumes into 2017. In 2018, Chang created, produced, and starred in a Netflix original series called Ugly Delicious, and through his Majordomo Media group, he has produced and/or starred in more television and podcasts. On November 29, 2020, he became the first celebrity to win the $1,000,000 top prize for his charity, Southern Smoke Foundation, and the fourteenth overall million dollar winner on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Starr Restaurants, stylized as STARR Restaurants, is a restaurant group headed by founder and CEO Stephen Starr, with restaurants in Philadelphia, New York City, Washington D.C., South Florida, and Paris, France.
Jorge M. Pérez is an Argentine-American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and writer. He is best known as the chairman and CEO of The Related Group, a Miami-based real estate company that has been well known for building and operating affordable and luxury multifamily apartments across the United States and internationally. He is ranked 316th on the Forbes 400 list with a net worth of US$ 2.6 billion as of October 2018, and 1,833rd on Forbes Billionaires list with US$1.7 billion as of November 2021.
Roman and Williams is an American-owned, New York-based multidisciplinary design studio known for its work on museums, hotels, restaurants, retail spaces, homes and product design. Founded in 2002 by principals Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, the firm consists of four interconnected enterprises: Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors, an architecture and interior design firm; Roman and Williams Guild New York, a brick-and-mortar store and online retailer offering handmade high craft in furniture, accessories, and housewares by Roman and Williams Guild Original Designs and a guild of independent artists from around the world; La Mercerie, an award-winning French restaurant and bar helmed by executive chef Marie-Aude Rose; and Guild Gallery, an art gallery in SoHo showing established and emerging artists.
Roberta's is a New American pizzeria in Brooklyn, New York. Located in the neighborhood of East Williamsburg, it is known for its wood oven cooked pizza and hipster vibe. The restaurant serves pizza containing ingredients cooked from a rooftop garden, and houses a radio station in the rear of the building.
COTE Korean Steakhouse is owned and operated by Simon Kim, a Korean-American restaurateur. The first location was opened in the Flatiron District of New York City in 2017 and has been awarded one Michelin star and several accolades from the James Beard Foundation. COTE is the only Michelin-starred Korean barbecue restaurant in the world. COTE's second location opened in Miami Design District in February, 2021.
The Clocktower is an American restaurant located at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City. Despite its name it is on the second floor of the building, not in the structure's clock tower. The Clocktower received a Michelin star in the 2018 Michelin Guide for New York City. The restaurant lost the star in 2022.
The Love is an American restaurant located in Philadelphia. It is the third collaboration between Philadelphia-based restaurateurs Stephen Starr and Aimee Olexy, and Starr's twentieth restaurant in the city. The interior was designed by Roman and Williams. The firm also designed Starr's restaurants Upland and Le Coucou.
The NoMad was an integrated hotel and restaurant owned by the Sydell Group and located in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The restaurant of the same name was conceived by chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara of nearby Eleven Madison Park. The hotel was sometimes referred to as NoMad New York to differentiate from its sister locations in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The building is a contributing property to the Madison Square North Historic District, a New York City Landmark.
Abyssinian Kitchen is an Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
Le Coucou is a French restaurant in New York City which opened in 2016. The restaurant's chef is Daniel Rose and Stephen Starr is the owner. The restaurant is located in 11 Howard, a hotel.
Jacqueline is a seafood restaurant serving Pacific Northwest cuisine in Portland, Oregon. The restaurant was established in 2016 and has an aquatic theme.
Capitol Cider is a cider house and restaurant in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington.
Saigon Vietnam Deli is a Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle's Chinatown–International District, in the U.S. state of Washington.
Semma is an Indian restaurant in New York City. The restaurant, operated by Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya and their hospitality group Unapologetic Foods, replaced their first collaborative restaurant, Rahi. The restaurant received a Michelin Star in 2022 and has received positive reviews from restaurant critics.
Bungalow is an Indian restaurant located in the East Village neighborhood of New York City.
