Atomix Tops Weird and Wacky North America’s 50 Best Restaurants List

<img decoding="async" class="size-full-width wp-image-1583163" src="https://observer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/NA50BR25-No.1-shot_high-res.jpg?quality=80&w=970" alt="" width="970" height="647" data-caption='Atomix came out on top at the inaugural North America 50 Best Restaurants ceremony. <span class=”media-credit”>Michael Kirschbaum/50 Best</span>’>

Not surprisingly, JP and Ellia Park’s genre-bending Korean fine-dining restaurant, Atomix, topped the inaugural North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list, which was announced at a ceremony inside Wynn Las Vegas on Thursday night. But the rest of the list and the rankings often seemed unpredictable and strange.

Los Angeles chef Michael Cimarusti, who’s celebrating 20 years of Providence, won the Chefs’ Choice award. But Providence itself was near the bottom of the list—and in very good company there. There are only 16 restaurants in the United States that currently have three Michelin stars. Three of these destinations are Quince, Providence and Atelier Crenn, which were respectively ranked 48th, 47th and 46th on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants. So it only took a couple minutes of the countdown on Thursday for viewers to realize that things were going off the rails.

There were no Indian restaurants on the list, despite the impact and critical acclaim of restaurants like New York’s Semma and Dhamaka, two game-changing gems from the Unapologetic Foods hospitality group. Important and excellent Israeli restaurants like Ori Menashe’s Saffy’s in Los Angeles and Michael Solomonov’s Zahav in Philadelphia were also overlooked.

Andrew Carmellini, a deeply respected veteran chef in New York City, saw his Cafe Carmellini ranked No. 39. Carmellini has been a New York legend since running the kitchen at Daniel Boulud’s Cafe Boulud, where his staff included young cooks like David Chang, Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone. Meanwhile, Boulud, Chang, Torrisi and Carbone had a combined zero restaurants on the list.

There were many reasons to wonder if ChatGPT could have done a better job than the 300-member academy of voters. Canada, which has zero three-Michelin-starred restaurants and a population significantly less than that of just California and New York City combined, somehow got three of the top five spots, while three-Michelin-starred SingleThread in Healdsburg, California, and three-Michelin-starred Le Bernardin in New York settled for the eighth and ninth spots. Host city Las Vegas got zero spots. And for the purposes of this list, Mexico isn’t even considered part of North America.

<img decoding="async" class="size-full-width wp-image-1583174" src="https://observer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/NA50BR25-DakarNola-Team2-CreditJeremyTauriac.jpg?quality=80&w=970" alt="" width="970" height="693" data-caption='Dakar NOLA was a highlight of the list. <span class=”media-credit”>Jeremy Tauriac</span>’>

All this said, there were plenty of gloriously cheered moments on Thursday. Chef Serigne Mbaye’s Senegalese tasting-menu destination Dakar NOLA was ranked No. 6. Susan Bae of Washington D.C.’s Moon Rabbit was named best pastry chef. Nok Suntaranon of Philadelphia’s Kalaya was named best female chef. Emeril’s in New Orleans (No. 30) solidified its status as an evolving two-generation wonder, where icon Emeril Lagasse’s son, E.J., is now running the kitchen. Los Angeles, often snubbed in national awards despite its ultra-diverse and strikingly flavorful food, was repped by chef Jon Yao’s Kato (No. 26) and chef Gilberto Cetina’s Holbox (No. 42) alongside Providence. Other respected restaurants that received hearty applause included chef Kevin Tien’s Moon Rabbit (No. 17), chef James London’s Chubby Fish (No. 19) in Charleston, chef Gregory Gourdet’s Kann (No. 27) in Portland, chef Jesse Ito’s Royal Sushi & Izakaya (No. 32) in Philadelphia and chef Joshua Pinsky’s Penny (No. 40) in New York, but the overall rankings offered more confusion than clarity about what a list like this should be.

Despite the random feel of the rankings, it was at least good to see that much of the vibrant cuisine celebrated on this list is forward-thinking and that much of it is also an example of how top-tier food is often driven by immigrant storylines.

So let’s let JP Park have the final words.

“Ten years ago, Ellia and I came to the U.S. to start a new life and to open the restaurant,” he said after receiving Atomix’s award. “At the time, we’re just nobody. And we only had one dream, just to cook well and open a good restaurant. But as time passed, we met so many wonderful people around us and our dream grew bigger. We stayed curious. We studied more. And worked harder.”

The crowd gasped and cheered louder and louder as JP addressed Ellia and explained how love is a vital ingredient at Atomix.

“Thank you for dreaming with me and working with me and making me a better person,” JP said. “Every valuable idea in my mind was planted by you. I’m still far from perfect, but I want to love you more and build a better world with you.”

In a way, JP was inadvertently summing up the inaugural North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Things are often imperfect, so it’s important to stay curious, study more and work harder. That’s how you improve.