The press days of the 65th Frankfurt Motor Show are over, and now the world's biggest auto show is open to the public until September 22.

If you're lucky enough to be in Germany at the moment, get yourself to Frankfurt.

If not, here's a brief look at what you're missing.

These 18 cars are the best of the best, from the latest special edition of the Bugatti Veyron, to the concept car that will define the future of Jaguar, to the electric car BMW hopes can rival Tesla's Model S.

Lexus says the LF-NX Crossover Concept 'explores the potential for a compact crossover' within its range. If it does hit the mass market, expect those sharp lines to be smoothed out.

Lamborghini's Gallardo LP 570-4 Squadra Corse is the fastest Gallardo ever.

BMW finally fully revealed the i8, its plug-in electric hybrid sports car. It will hit the US market next spring for $136,625.

Napoleon Hill, a Great Depression-era author and former advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, decided more than 76 years ago to figure out the key to wealth.

To do so, he interviewed more than 500 of the most successful men in the U.S. at the time, such as Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, and Charles M. Schwab. 

The result of his findings, "Think and Grow Rich," became one of the best-selling books of all time and sealed Hill's reputation as a pioneer of self-help literature.

"TRULY, thoughts are things, and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into riches, or other material objects."

"Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach."

"The major weakness of all educational systems is that they neither teach nor encourage the habit of DEFINITE DECISION. It would be beneficial if no college would permit the enrollment of any student, unless and until the student declared his major purpose in matriculating."

In four seasons of ABC’s reality pitch show “Shark Tank,” we’ve seen some doozies. Hopefuls have pitched selling “pairs” of socks in threes (because you’re bound to lose one), a portable urinal that looks like a golf club, and flatulence-scented candles. 

With an average viewership of six million and airtime that’s worth about half a million dollars to the aspiring entrepreneurs who make it on, you’d think every pitch would be thoughtful, well-rehearsed, and airtight. But you’d be wrong. 

Andrew Figgins, a Chicago-based entrepreneur and owner of the fan site InTheSharkTank.com, says nearly half of the hundreds of pitches that have been made on the show have been awful. The most common problems? Far-fetched ideas, wacky personalities, and lack of basic business knowledge. “The people who have gone on the show and don’t know their numbers get chewed up and spit out,” says Figgins. 

Ahead of the fifth season’s premiere on Sept. 20, Figgins combs the archives to make his picks for the worst “Shark Tank” pitches of all time.

Michael J. Desanti pitches a bird feeder that zaps squirrels.

Episode 423: “Squirrel Boss”

In the most recent season, Desanti says his interactive bird feeder is the first of its kind, designed to keep pesky squirrels away. The remote-controlled feeder allows owners to “zap” critters with a harmless static shock.

Desanti demonstrates his invention by shocking Mark Cuban.

Episode 423: “Squirrel Boss”

In the demo, most of the Sharks feel the shock themselves, and more so when Desanti asks for $130,000 for a 40% stake.

The Sharks aren’t feeling electrified enough to invest.

Episode 423: “Squirrel Boss”

The Sharks are split between thinking the invention is cruel, crude, or just bad business. When they find out that the product hasn’t been patented, they pass.

In a 2002 op-ed in The New York Times, best-selling author Joseph Epstein noted that “81 percent of Americans feel they have a book in them — and that they should write it.”

Thanks to the rise of the self-publishing industry, that number's probably even higher a decade later.

So, wannabe authors, before you start writing the next great American novel, here's some helpful advice from the world's most famous and successful writers on how to perfect your craft.

Learn them. Memorize them. Internalize them.

Did we miss your favorite quote on writing? Add it in the comments.

On Getting Started:

“I always advise children who ask me for tips on being a writer to read as much as they possibly can. Jane Austen gave a young friend the same advice, so I’m in good company there.” - J.K. Rowling, “Harry Potter” series.

“I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.” - Harper Lee, “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

“You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London, “White Fang.”

On Word Choice And Punctuation:

“Never use a long word where a short one will do.” - George Orwell, “1984.”

“If you are using dialogue — say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.” - John Steinbeck, “The Grapes of Wrath.”

“Cut out all those exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own joke.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby.”

On Story Development:

“The writer’s job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they are up there, throw rocks at them.” - Vladimir Nabokov, “Lolita.”

“A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.” - Edgar Allen Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

“Get it down. Take Chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good.” - William Faulkner, “The Sound and the Fury.”

“Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.” - Ray Bradbury, “Fahrenheit 451.”

On Editing:

“Write drunk, edit sober.” - Ernest Hemingway, “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

“When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done.” - Stephen King, “The Green Mile.”

“My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying.” - Anton Chekhov, “The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories.”

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” - Mark Twain, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”

“Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” - Mark Twain, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”

And Why Simplicity Is Always Key:

“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” - Thomas Jefferson, “The Declaration of Independence" and other writings.

“Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.” - William Butler Yeats, “Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry.”

SEE ALSO: 35 Books You Must Read Once In Your Lifetime

Join the conversation about this story »

American professional sports is now in its third generation of sports venues.

There were the cozy neighborhood stadiums of the early 20th century, the utilitarian monstrosities of the '70s, and now the vintage revival/space age dichotomy of 2013.

The Library of Congress has a fantastic collection of awesome old photos from the stadiums that no longer exist. When viewed together, they give you an idea of what going to a game was like 100 years ago.

Huntington Avenue Grounds, Boston (Boston Braves, 1903)

Shibe Park, Philadelphia (Philadelphia A's, 1913)

Fans watching from the rooftops outside Shibe Park.

Bermuda conjures up images of pink sand, clear blue waters, and a laid-back Caribbean attitude. And while it has all of that, it's actually not in the Caribbean at all.

About 640 miles off the coast of North Carolina, Bermuda sits in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and is actually closer to New York than it is to Miami. (It's a quick two-hour flight from New York City and a three-hour flight from Miami.)

And sure, there's golf, tennis, diving, and shopping to keep you busy, but the single-best thing to do on the island is just relax.

Here are the best places to do just that.

Dig your feet into the pink sand at Horseshoe Bay, the most famous beach in Bermuda.

Eat breakfast while staring at the water. Ideally from a balcony. Most hotels in Bermuda have water views — and it's worth paying extra to wake up to them. This is the view from a hotel room balcony at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

Get a massage at Elbow Beach Bermuda, a Mandarin Oriental property. All of the individual treatment rooms are actually suites with balconies overlooking the ocean.

Counterfeiters sell $700 billion worth of fake products every year, says Craig Crosby, founder and CEO of the Counterfeit Report, a site dedicated to stopping them,

And when it comes to fake electronics, these things aren't be tested or regulated. They can be dangerous.

Over the summer, two people in China were electrocuted, from using reportedly fake smartphone chargers. The situation was so awful that last month, Apple launched a charger "take-back" program. If you bought a dirt-cheap replacement Apple charger and aren't certain it's authentic, bring it to an Apple store and Apple will replace it.

But Apple isn't alone. Counterfeiters are building all sorts of fake products. While not all of them will kill you, there's a reason that they're cheap. They aren't certified. Don't use the same materials and won't perform like the originals. 

This Amazon Kindle USB adapter looks real. But turn it over ...

That's a counterfeit UL Mark, the symbol for Underwriters Laboratories that tests and verifies the safety of electronics. The real UL symbol is in the corner.

On the bottom of a real Apple USB power adapters, you'll find the phrase, "Designed by Apple in California."

As the youngest branch in the military, the Air Force gets a bad rep.

Other service members are often critical of the relative comfort and higher standard of living afforded to airmen and airwomen.

But they're no runt of the litter — the Air Force has the highest budget of the four branches, and its operational capabilities are robust and exciting. 

In short, the Air Force is way tougher than you think. 

SEE ALSO: Take An Inside Look At The 60-Year Old Behemoth That Would Bomb Syria

Typically, when people think about the Air Force, they think planes and cushy jobs.

But it's much more complicated than that.

Yes, there are lots of planes.

It seems like life on Wall Street is better on the buy-side.

People who work at hedge funds tend to get a bigger salary and better hours as opposed to investment banking.  Not to mention, they also have a more relaxed dress code.

That's not all, though.  There are some hedge funds out there that have some totally sick perks that come with the job. 

We spoke to some hedge fund sources who spilled about which funds have the coolest perks.  We also did our own research on the web to dig up other perks.

If we're missing any bigs ones, feel free to send an email to jlaroche@businessinsider.com. 

Marc Lasry's Avenue Capital has free ordered-in breakfast. Not a bad way to start the day.

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has a state-of-the-art gym at its 888 Seventh Avenue headquarters. We hear that there's also a personal trainer who comes in.

Blackstone, a private equity/investment banking/hedge fund firm, has an in-house shoe shine person.

Source: Dealbook, William Alden

Oyster is a new app launched last week, that wants to for books what Spotify did for music and Netflix for film and TV. For a monthly fee of $9.95, you can access over 100,000 titles from various publishers, and share what you're reading with friends. 

Click here to go straight to the Oyster app tour >>

The goal of Oyster is to make reading a social activity, according to the app's website.

From anywhere a mobile device can go—a bustling subway car, a quiet coffee shop, or lost at sea with a Bengal tiger—our mission is to build the best reading experience, one that is both communal and personal, anytime, anywhere.

Oyster is currently rolling out on on invitation only basis (you can sign up for the waiting list here) but here's a look at what to expect when you get your access code.

The app is free to download, but you'll be prompted to enter credit card information before you can begin reading books.

Oyster will immediately ask you to choose five books you'd be interested in reading. You can swap the books out whenever you want, and Oyster will suggest other titles based on your picks.

Payment is made by credit card and is charged automatically every 30 days. Oyster is all-you-can-read for $9.95 a month. You can cancel at anytime, but Oyster does not offer refunds or credit for partially used months.

Apple just officially announced and unveiled the iPhone 5S, which is supposed to be twice as fast as its predecessor and comes with a fingerprint sensor.

The fingerprint system, dubbed Touch ID, will let you unlock your phone by simply placing your finger on the home button. 

We've broken down how the system works.

With Touch ID, all you have to do is touch your finger to the home button to unlock your phone. No more need for passwords .

With the new iPhone, you'll be able to use your fingerprint to buy apps, music, books, TV shows, and movies through the iTunes Store.

But first you'll need to add your fingerprint and set your phone to allow its use instead of your Apple ID password.

The last time Greg Newkirk visited New Orleans, one of his favorite local attractions was an actual local.

“I had walked into a shop to ask a few questions and ended up getting a thorough history of New Orleans voodoo by a man who was the nicest self-professed vampire you would ever meet,” says the Cincinnati-based editor of Roadtrippers.com.

Go straight to the weird cities >

“He gave us weird travel advice, delicious food advice, and psychic life advice. If that doesn’t sum up the French Quarter, I don’t know what does.”

Such full-service eccentricity made New Orleans a natural contender for the nation’s strangest people, based on votes in the offbeat category of T+L’s annual America’s Favorite Cities survey. Readers rank 35 metropolitan areas for features such as live music and food trucks as well as their residents—be they smart, attractive, or, indeed, lovably weird.

Certainly, New Orleans had some tough competition in the offbeat category. Austin, TX, and Portland, OR, have staked their reputations on quirky hipster charm, while Savannah, GA, Santa Fe, NM, and New York have deep traditions of colorful local characters.

And while a little bit of the bizarre always provides great people-watching, travelers may also embrace such destinations because they encourage them to step out of their own shells and relax.

“People feel very uninhibited when they visit,” Fred Perrotta, cofounder of Tortuga Backpacks, says of his hometown of San Francisco. “Why be reserved, trying not to offend the person next to you, when he’s half naked, riding a unicycle, and carrying a pet pig?”

More from Travel + Leisure:

Vote Now! America's Favorite Towns Survey

America's Best Sandwiches

Storm Photos Around The World

Best Chicken And Waffles

America's Best Bakeries

No. 1 New Orleans

Winning the top slot again, New Orleans waves its freak flag with plenty of civic pride. Given the year-round schedule of festivals—and its ranking at No. 1 for live music and wild weekends—the come-as-you-are attitude is infectious. A prime spot for people-watching is Frenchmen Street in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood; you can join the dancers at the Spotted Cat, or browse the eccentric crafts and jewelry at the Frenchmen Art Market.

No. 2 Portland, OR

Up two rankings from last year, this Oregon city is home to the Unipiper, a unicycling bagpiper fond of dressing as Darth Vader or Santa—and he’s just another denizen of this earnestly out-there town. The east side has a high concentration of mustachioed, fedora-wearing folk, at spots such as Voodoo Doughnut, the vegan mini-mall on SE 12th, or the nearby food truck pod, at Hawthorne.

No. 3 Austin, TX

Long before Austin became famous for its South by Southwest festival, the biggest annual party was (and to some, still is) Eeyore’s Birthday, celebrated in late April by musicians, college students, hipsters, and politicos in Pease Park. Year round, you can see a monument to the Keep Austin Weird mantra at the Cathedral of Junk, a 60-ton structure that a resident built in his yard using old bicycles, cribs, and hubcaps. Austin also scored highly for ice cream: local chain Amy’s serves kooky flavors like bacon jalapeño popper.

The all-too-common criticism against consumer 3D printers is that you "can't make anything useful with them."

While they've come down in price immensely ($400 versus tens of thousands of dollars), there's still the problem of making them appealing to the Average Joe. We have this once-exclusive technology shrunken down to fit on our kitchen counters, and we don't know what to do with them.

CGTrader, a marketplace for 3D artists, knew that there were plenty of useful things you could make with a 3D printer, so they gathered up these handy 3D-printed objects. We added some of our own as well.

This working padlock and its key are made entirely out of plastic.

This lamp is made out of several smaller pieces that snap together.

For the musicians, you can make a pickup holder for acoustic guitars.

"Today’s workplace doesn’t tolerate slackers,” says Gen Y career expert Dan Schawbel in his new book "Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success." In a rapidly changing economy, young people either rise to the top or don’t survive. 

To navigate the new workplace, Schawbel says millennials need to master a new set of rules that aren’t taught in school. Advances in technology, the rise of social media, and 24/7 connectivity mean young people have to promote themselves and take ownership of their careers in ways that previous generations wouldn’t or couldn’t have imagined. 

Based on interviews and original research from Schawbel’s Gen Y research firm Millennial Branding, he reveals the new rules of the modern workplace that young people must learn to get ahead. The following is adapted from the introduction of “Promote Yourself.”

1. Your job description is just the beginning. 

If you want to succeed in today’s workplace and make a name for yourself, you’ll have to do a lot more than what you got hired to do. In fact, your job description is just a scratch on the surface of what you should be doing. Always be on the lookout for new projects and collaborations with other groups, and do as much training and development as possible. 

2. Your job is temporary. 

As the world changes, so does the workplace. Companies are acquiring or being acquired, merging with other companies, or crumbling. Your team could be eliminated, your position outsourced, or you might lose interest in your job altogether. 

3. You’re going to need a lot of skills you probably don’t have right now. 

A recent Department of Education study shows that companies are having trouble finding and retaining the right talent. Soft (interpersonal) skills have become more important than hard (technical) skills. It’s never been easier to acquire hard skills — and those skills will only get you so far. Companies are looking for leadership, organizational, teamwork, listening, and coaching skills. 

4. Your reputation is the single greatest asset you have. 

Titles might be good for your ego, but in the grand scheme of things what really matters is what you're known for, the projects you’re part of, how much people trust you, whom you know, who knows about you, and the aura you give off to people around you. Sure, what you do is important. But what others think you do can be just as important if not more so. If you build a strong reputation, the money and opportunities will find you. 

5. Your personal life is now public. 

The 15 seconds it takes you to tweet about how much you hate your boss or to post a pic of you passed out with a drink in your hand could ruin your career forever. Even the littlest things — how you behave, dress, your online presence, body language, and whom you associate with can help build your brand or tear it to the ground. 

6. You need to build a positive presence in new media. 

There are plenty of benefits to new media and the convergence between your personal and private lives. Your online social networks enable you to connect with people who have interests similar to yours. Your online presence can help you build your reputation, and the educational opportunities available online can help you dig deeper into the things you’re passionate about and want to become an expert in. 

7. You’ll need to work with people from different generations. 

There are now four distinct generations in the workforce: Gen Z (interns), Gen Y (employees), Gen X (managers), and Baby Boomers (executives). Each of these generations was raised in a different period of time, has a different view of the workplace, and communicates differently. By learning how to manage relationships with those in other generations, you will be more successful.

8. Your boss’s career comes first. 

If your manager is unsuccessful, his frustrations will undoubtedly rub off on you, and the chances you’ll ever get a promotion are pretty slim. But if you support your manager’s career, make his life easier, and earn his trust, he’ll take you with him as he climbs the corporate ladder — even if that means going to another company. 

9. The one with the most connections wins. 

We have moved from an information economy to a social one. It’s less about what you know (you can find out just about anything within seconds with a simple Google search), and more about whether you can work with other people to solve problems. 

10. Remember the rule of one. 

When it comes to getting a job, starting a business, finding someone to marry, or just about anything else, all it takes is one person to change your life for the better. People may be saying no all around you. But as long as one person says yes, you're on your way. 

11. You are the future. 

By 2025, 75% of the global workforce will be Gen Y. That means that even though you may be early in your career, in the not too distant future you’ll be at the forefront. Right now, you have to position yourself to take one of these major leadership roles when the workforce shifts and older generations retire.

12. Entrepreneurship is for everyone, not just business owners. 

A lot of people define "entrepreneurship" as starting a business, but in recent years the meaning has broadened to include someone who’s accountable, who’s willing to take risks, and who sells him- or herself. If you want to get ahead, start looking at your company’s management as a venture capital firm. Be persistent, sell your ideas to them, and come up with innovative solutions no one else has thought of.

13. Hours are out, accomplishments are in.  

If you want to keep your job and move up, stop thinking that you have to put in a ridiculous numbers of hours per week. Instead, realize your value, deliver on it, measure your successes, and then promote yourself. 

14. Your career is in your hands, not your employer’s.  

No matter what they say, companies are looking out for themselves. And while you should definitely try to make your company successful, you need to make sure that you’re getting something out of the deal, too. If you aren't learning and growing, you aren't benefiting anymore, and that's an issue that you will have to resolve. Don't rely on anything or anyone: Be accountable for your own career, and take charge of your own life.

Join the conversation about this story »

Evernote is a useful multi-platform app that lets you organize and collect notes. Besides just jotting down thoughts, Evernote lets users save entire web pages, maintain to do lists, and a ton of other things you might not have known about.

If you're a power user, it might be a good idea to consider Evernote's Premium subscription. Evernote Premium costs $5 per month or $45 per year. You get a ton of extra features like 1GB of upload space and offline access.

Whether you're a regular user or premium user if you use Evernote the following tips will help you get the most out of the awesome productivity service.

Set reminders using Evernote ...

You can set reminders in the Evernote app on your desktop or smartphone. To use reminders, you simply click or tap the alarm clock icon at the top of any note. 

After you set a reminder, you’ll get an in-app alarm and, if you want, an email the day that a Reminder is due. 

Enable 2-step verification for even more security

2-step verification requires you to enter a randomly generated verification code in addition to your username and password the first time you log into your account on any device, including your computer.

Verification codes will be sent via text message or using a code generation app, made by Evernote on your smartphone.

To turn this feature on just head to settings on the web and choose security. Keep in mind this feature isn't available just yet for all users but if you have a premium or business account you can activate it now.

Encrypt pieces of text for more security ...

If you want to encrypt a certain portion of your text you can do that in Evernote.

Simply highlight the text, right click, and choose "Encrypt selected text". A menu will pop up where you can select a password. The text can then only be seen when the password you selected is entered.

I went to San Francisco to go to a conference and meet with sources. Usually when I go to San Francisco, I stay at the Courtyard Marriott downtown.

But last week, they wanted $500 per night!

That was nuts. 

So I decided to finally try out AirBnB, a service for renting other people's rooms and homes.

I'd always been too sketched-out to try it before.

But this time I came up with 1,050 reasons to give it a try.

Would I regret my decision?

I went to San Francisco last week for a conference and to meet with sources.

Usually when I go to SF, I stay at the Courtyard downtown. The location is great, plus…

…the rooms are nice…

One of the most talked about features in Apple's recently announced iPhone 5S is Touch ID, the fingerprint sensor that will act as an extra level of security for its owner. 

The phone can be programmed to recognize the user's distinct fingerprint. 

This is a feature that Apple is eager to show off, but how will they do that in stores where hundreds of people come in and out to test out the same machines day after day?

The answer is a demo application Apple has designed specific to the iPhone 5S demo units that will be found in Apple Stores and Carrier stores, 9to5Mac reports. 

Here's how it will work, according to 9to5Mac:

To test Touch ID, a customer can launch the demo app. In this app, a customer can setup the device to recognize a single fingerprint. When the setup process is complete, the application will direct the user to place that fingerprint on the Touch ID sensor on the Home button. The application will then show that the Home button successfully read the fingerprint. Then, the app will tell the user to place a different finger on the Home button. The app will then show a red fingerprint outline to note that the authentication was not successful.

This will help potential buyers understand the setup process of Touch ID, and how it will work to accept or reject fingerprints, even if the demo application does not support the feature's full functionality (unlocking the phone and downloading content from iTunes). The application will reset so each new customer will be able to try out the fingerprint sensor feature when they visit the Apple store.

Join the conversation about this story »

The passenger jet Bombardier created to compete with industry giants Airbus and Boeing has taken off for the first time.

The Canadian aircraft manufacturer is known for producing smaller business jets, but it believes the all-new CSeries will be it a serious competitor in the commercial space.

One version of the plane, the CS300, will be able to seat up to 160 passengers.

That size puts it in the range of the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, which dominate domestic air routes. Most of the CSeries jets will made for the 100- to 149-seat market, which Bombardier says is growing.

Bombardier's move into the larger passenger jet market, combined with the growth of Brazil's Embraer, poses a threat to the dominance of Airbus and Boeing.

Chris Sloan of Airchive.com was in Montreal for the jet's debut in March, and shared his photos with us. You can read his take on the new jet here.

A fog machine added some flair to the jet's debut in March.

Once it cleared, the media on the scene had a better view.

Most of the CSeries jets will hold 100 to 149 passengers.

Perhaps you heard Apple released a gold iPhone 5S?

If not, it did, and it looks pretty decent. 

Following the gold iPhone, photoshop stud Martin Hajek whipped up some renders of a gold iPad Mini.

There are no rumors of Apple doing a gold iPad, so we're not expecting it. 

But... should Apple decide to go that route, here's what it would look like.

Let us know what you think.

Most lists of top restaurants are crowd-sourced from diner reviews or compiled by anonymous editors. Samir Arora, a former Apple employee and the founder of Glam Media, decided to go a different route with his new global restaurant guide: "Foodie Top 100 Restaurants Worldwide."

Click here to jump right to the restaurants >>

He asked a handful of notable food critics, including former New York Times food writer Patricia Wells, former New York Magazine food critic Gael Greene, former Gourmet editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl, and top critics from France, Japan, and India to share their picks for the world's best restaurants.

The guide focuses foremost on food, looking at factors like service and decor as complementary. As Arora writes in the introduction, "The food must be spectacular; everything else is secondary."

France and Japan are the big winners in the Foodie guide, each with 29 restaurants selected by the critics and Foodie's editors. We're taking a closer look at the 20 U.S. restaurants picked by critics (presented here in alphabetical order); the full list is available on Glam Media's website. Click here to buy the guide.

Alinea, Chicago

Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea is known for his creative modern cuisine and artistic presentations, with dishes like squab inspired by Miró.

Critic's tip: "If it's on the menu, try the Lamb 86, an 86-ingredient dish served with 64 composed garnishes — all colorful, all fantastically delicious, and served in little dots like old-fashioned ribbon candy."

Benu, San Francisco

Korean-born Chef Corey Lee serves inventive contemporary American cuisine in his restaurant in San Francisco's South of Market district.

Critic's tip: "Even if you don't order wine pairings, ask Yoon Ha for drink recommendations. You won't regret it."

Blanca, Brooklyn

Blanca is technically a 12-seat "tasting room" tucked behind Brooklyn's famed pizzeria Roberta's. Chef Carlo Mirachi serves a parade of innovative, Italian-inspired dishes throughout the meal.

Critic's tip: "With few seats, the restaurant books well in advance and reserves only one month out. For the best shot at securing a seat, call the first day of the month."