One Virginia Restaurant Made the New York Times 2025 '50 Best' List — Here's Which One

Each year's list, the newspaper notes, is entirely different from the previous year's.

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The New York Times fanned across the country in search of entries for its annual 50 best restaurants across America list, which was published this week.

Each year's list, the newspaper notes, is entirely different from the previous year's, so you won't always find the usual suspects on the list. More than half on this year's list opened since the paper published the 2024 list.

For this year's list, the newspaper sent 14 reporters and editors on 76 flights to eat more than 200 meals in 33 states. One thing you will not find on the list is the name of the best restaurant in each state; this is a list of the 50 best across the country, so some states and cities have numerous entries on the list while others have zero entries for their state or city.

In Virginia, the restaurant named to the top 50 list this year is Maude and The Bear, in Staunton, at 1106 N. Augusta, about a 2 1/2-hour drive from Alexandria (you can also spend the night there since it's also an inn). It was also nominated in the "Best New Restaurant" category by the James Beard Foundation earlier this year.

Others on the list within driving distance are Dōgon (serving up Afro-Caribbean cuisine in the Salamander DC hotel, cousin to the resort in Middleburg) and La' Shukran (offering a Middle Eastern-inspired menu in the Union Market District in Washington, D.C.) and The Wren in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore.

Here's more about the Virginia eatery, from its website: Maude & the Bear, a story-book 1926 Montgomery Ward kit house, has been whimsically re-created as a modern restaurant and inn. The restaurant at Maude & the Bear serves a tasting menu Thursday through Saturday by reservation, as well as a multi-course breakfast for our inn guests only.

Chef Ian Boden started his career in a small family-owned bistro just outside of Washington DC. After college, Ian moved to New York City, working at several prominent restaurants that you may never have heard of. Ready for a change, he moved back to Virginia where he opened a few restaurants, most notably The Shack, which received national acclaim. Ian has been nominated twice for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic by the James Beard Foundation.

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