And the Best Restaurant in the World Is...

After four years, El Bulli has been knocked off the pedestal: It was ranked the world's No. 2 restaurant in this year's survey of the 800 most influential chefs and critics. The new top dog? Copenhagen's Noma, which has been wooing foodies with its classic Nordic fare. Chef René Redzepi forages for the mushrooms and berries used in his dishes in nearby forests, and refuses to use Mediterranean standards like olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes, reports the Telegraph.

Among the famed dishes served in his waterfront, converted-warehouse restaurant: Vegetables in Soil, a mix of carrots, radishes, leeks, and celeriac served on "soil" made from malt and hazelnuts flours, butter, and beer; and Pike Perch with unripe elderberries, cabbage stem, and watercress. The British paper also notes that Gordon Ramsay's restaurants failed to crack the top 100 for the first time.
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