Cleveland-area restaurants get top ratings in Zagat guide: Restaurant Row

Twenty Cleveland-area restaurants appear on Zagat's recently released "America's Top Restaurants 2011."

Three local landmarks earned coveted "extraordinary to perfection" top rankings: Chez Francois (29 out of a possible 30 points), Johnny's Bar (28) and Dante (27). Parallax, Lola, Crop Bistro & Bar, Downtown 140, Red the Steakhouse, Flying Fig and L'Albatros Brasserie and Bar all round out this year's Top Food rankings.

Restaurateur Zack Bruell is the only Northeast Ohio chef to land all of his independently owned restaurants among the top 20. Chinato ranks among Zagat's Other Noteworthy Places in its Cleveland section. (A fourth restaurant with which he is affiliated but doesn't operate, Table 45 at the InterContinental Hotel & Conference Center Cleveland, is not among the 20 listed by Zagat. Blue Point Grill, Fahrenheit, Fire Food & Drink, Greenhouse Tavern, Lolita, Luxe Kitchen, Momocho, Sergio's in University Circle and Three Birds are all on the Noteworthy list.

For those unfamiliar with the Zagat guide procedure, more than 150,000 diners -- not professional critics -- across the U.S. weigh in with their assessments of restaurants in 45 cities coast-to-coast. You can join in. Go to zagat.com for more information on how to participate.

(Article Courtesy of Cleveland.com)