Congratulations to all at Alinea Restaurant!

All of your dedication and hard work has paid off, once again! This just in from ChicagoTrubune.com:

Alinea (1723 N. Halsted St., 312-867-0110) is the 10th best restaurant in the world, according to the 2009 S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, published by Restaurant Magazine.

Alinea, which made its debut at #36 back in 2007 (it was the highest-ranked newcomer that year) and jumped 15 points to #21 last year, leaped another 11 places to reach 10th place this year.

Shockingly, Charlie Trotter’s (816 W. Armitage Ave., 773-248-6228), which has been included on every 50 Best list since the rankings began in 2002, did not make the top 50 this year. Trotter’s was the 38th-ranked restaurant in 2008.

For the fourth straight year, the top two restaurants are the same: El Bulli, Ferran Adria’s acclaimed restaurant near Barcelona is #1, and the United Kingdom’s Fat Duck remained #2.

Eight U.S. restaurants made the list, tying France as the most-represented countries on the list, two of them by Thomas Keller: Per Se, in New York City (the highest-ranking American at #6), and French Laundry (#12) in Yountville, CA.

You can find the complete list at theworlds50best.com