Sexiest Woman, Best Restaurants

So Esquire magazine's November issue has just hit the stands and readers will be flocking to buy it--for two different reasons. Fans of Kate Beckinsale will be thrilled to see her get her due as the "Sexiest Woman Alive." Fans of fine dining will be eager to read restaurant critic John Mariani's annual picks of the top twenty new eateries in America. As it frequently does on this annual list, the Big Apple has the most selections of any city, landing four top-notch newcomers, two of them in TriBeCa. The quartet of Manhattan winners were:

Locanda Verde (Italian, opened earlier this year in TriBeCa by Robert DeNiro and chef Andrew Carmellini)

Marea (another Italian spot, on Central Park South, with chef Michael White at the helm)

SHO (an Austrian selection, located in the culinarily-challenged Financial District and with the delights of Shaun Hergatt on the menu)

Corton, the other Tribeca eatery, in the space once occupied by Montrachet; it debuted this year from industry vets Drew Nieporent and chef Paul Liebrandt.

The full list of winners follows: 

Area 31, Miami, FL
The Bazaar by José Andrés, Los Angeles, CA
The Bedford Post Inn, Bedford, NY
Blue Ridge, Washington, D.C.
Bottega, Yountville, CA
Corton, New York, NY
L’Albatros Brasserie & Bar, Cleveland, OH
Lemaire, Richmond, VA
Locanda Verde, New York, NY
Marea, New York, NY
Nopalito, San Francisco, CA
Pacci Ristorante, Atlanta, GA
Paces 88, Atlanta, GA
Perla’s Seafood and Oyster Bar, Austin, TX
Prado, Paradise Valley, AZ
Rivera, Los Angeles, CA
Society Café Encore, Las Vegas, NV
Sea Salt, Naples, FL
SHO Shaun Hergatt, New York, NY
Sra. Martinez, Miami, FL