For the last couple of years, the editors of SFist have been putting together Best-Of lists of foods and restaurants based on both popular and our own personal opinions, but now it's time for something a little different. The -ist network's data guru Steven Melendez crunched through a series of restaurant-specific guidebooks and lists for San Francisco and came up with a statistical methodology to assess the restaurants' relative buzz, popularity, and critical acclaim based on the stars and raves they've received over time. And the results, I have to say, give us both a solid ranking and great picture of the top tier of San Francisco's food scene as it stands today.

That's not to say these are all super-high-end, ultra-expensive restaurants  the methodology corrects for price point, using Zagat's average price indicator, meaning that cheaper restaurants with lots of acclaim (like Mission Chinese Food) get into the mix too. And look out in the coming days for a separate map and ranking for the Best Bang-For-Your-Buck Restaurants in town, based on this same methodology.

Points were given to each place thusly:

Below, SFist's first ever, statistically accurate ranking of the Best Restaurants In San Francisco, all in a handy map.



Steven Melendez is a Brooklyn-based independent journalist who was previously a full-time member of WNYC's Data News Team.