2011: The Year in Eater

Phew, it has been a year: Eater expanded to eight new cities, gave out awards to chefs for being hot and also for cooking, celebrated the fine art of the hamburger, and a whole hell of a lot more. It has been a fine year for chefs and restaurants indeed. Hop to it:

Eater Expansion in 2011

At the beginning of 2011, the Eater network comprised eight websites (National, NYC, SF, PDX, LA, Miami, Austin, and Chicago). By the end of 2011, Eater had doubled in size and launched in eight new cities: Washington, DC in March; Seattle in April; Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston in July; New Orleans in September; Boston in November; and Denver in December. In 2012, look forward to Eater Philadelphia, Eater Las Vegas, and more.

Burger Week

This year, Eater held its first-ever Burger Week, during which it was (almost) all hamburgers all the time across the Eater universe. Josh Ozersky meditated on the past, present and future of the burger; there was a veggie burger power hour, and, of course, the Ron Swanson turkey burger became a reality.

Hottest Chef

There are many, many hot chefs all over this great land of ours, but the hottest of them all was David Bazirgan of San Francisco's Fifth Floor, according to Eater's 2011 Hottest Chef competition.

Eater Awards

The second annual Eater Awards happened this November, and food world big shots like Grant Achatz and José Andrés were awarded one of Eater's tomato can trophies. Also, there was a big ol' party.

Chinese Food Week

Eaters DC, Chicago, LA, SF and NY all explored the wild world of Chinese food in their respective cities this year during the first Eater Chinese Food Week. Eater SF talked to San Francisco mayor Ed Lee about his favorite restaurants, Eater Chicago talked to Chinatown "mayor" Tony Hu about his favorite restaurant, and chef Eddie Huang took Eater NY on a tour of Chinatown.

Eater Lounge Aspen

Eater went to Aspen for the annual Food & Wine Classic and asked many chefs — including Thomas Keller, José Andrés, Daniel Boulud, John Besh, and more — all kinds of questions. And then had them ask each other questions.

Eater Lounge NYC

The New York City Wine and Food Festival saw the debut of Eater's Wonder Wheel, a new Eater Lounge fixture that dares chefs to eat cupcakes, take shots, and more.

TV Recaps

· Top Chef All-Stars
· Top Chef Masters
· Top Chef Just Desserts
· Next Iron Chef
· Top Chef Texas

Cookbooks

· Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold, Maxime Billet, and Chris Young.
· Eleven Madison Park: The Cookbook by Daniel Humm and Will Guidara
· The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert
· The Art of Living According to Joe Beef by David McMilland and Frédéric Morin
· Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi

· The Best Lines From Gwyneth Paltrow's Cookbook
· Is the Future of Cookbooks Digital?
· The Eater Fall 2011 Cookbook and Food Book Preview

And More!

· Eater's Airport Dining Guides
· Shit People Steal
· Vintage America
· Eater Interviews
· The Cookbook Shelf
· Eater Heat Maps
· Sound Cheque
· Shitshow Week

· All Year in Eater 2011 [-E-]