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2019’s Best Restaurant in America Was Just Revealed…and It Only Has 10 Seats

konbi los angeles bon appetit hot 10

Every year, Bon Appétit selects ten new restaurants from around the country that they’ve deemed to be *the best*—establishments like Turkey and the Wolf in New Orleans and Wildair in New York City—and ranks them in the magazine's so-called Hot 10. It’s a pretty big deal—like a cultural stamp of approval or a Michelin star (but less hoity-toity).

At the top of this year's Hot 10 list? Konbi in Los Angeles. According to the magazine, it's a ten-seat, daytime-only restaurant that's something like an homage to Japanese konbini, 24-hour convenience stores. Yes, correct, there are just ten seats. Ten!

The sandwich shop’s chef-owners Akira Akuto and Nick Montgomery both hail from David Chang’s Momofuku restaurants in NYC, so it makes sense that the place is both popular and delicious. On Konbi's menu are bites such as crispy pork katsu, egg salad and omelet sandwiches, a variety of vegetable plates, coffee, tea, French pastries and 36 chocolate croissants a day that are, according to Bon Appétit, both “coveted” and “the best.”

In a press release, Bon Appétit deputy editor Julia Kramer said of the Hot 10 list, “This is a more casual and truly fun bunch of restaurants than ever before. These places are driven by passion and purpose, and are serving exceedingly delicious, deeply personal food that defines what it means to eat in America right now.” She would know, considering she visited more than 30 cities and 200 restaurants to assemble the list.


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Senior Food Editor

Katherine Gillen is PureWow’s senior food editor. She’s a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City...