There are also few honorable mentions:
Modern Pastry (Boston, MA): Forget the long line at Mike's, the cannoli here is far better, and hardly anyone knows about it
Sunburst Grill (Denver, CO): It's a little mindboggling that Denver has super authentic Filipino food.
Four Winds Steakhouse (Wills Point, TX): delicious steak, even better setting
5-8 Club (Minneapolis, MN): Jucy Lucy is a heavenly experience
Enoteca Vespaio (Austin, TX): fun place to kick back and enjoy some cannoli in Austin
The Turtle (Brownwood, TX): an unexpected gem in a very small town, the owner also makes outstanding gelatos
Blogger Made with Air! gives The Turtle Honorable Mention
as one of the top ten restaurants of 2009. We are quite happy with honorable mention because the other restaurants listed here put us in very good company, indeed. I appreciate Air!'s food photography. All those lovely photographs of gorgeous plates of food made me want to go to my room and do art on a plate.