The Biggest Restaurant World Stories of 2011

Yesterday afternoon, we looked at the stories that were most popular in the slightly-less-than-half-a-year that Eater NOLA has been live. This morning, it's time to take a look at the stories that we think were the biggest or most important restaurant world stories of 2011. As with the most popular ones, the fact that Eater NOLA launched in early September means there's a smaller body of work to choose from (and limits us to stories from this fall), but even still, several stories jump out as more noteworthy than others.

The Company Burger opened in August, the most notable (and most hyped) burger joint to open this summer.

Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre voted on whether or not to sell a portion of its building to Dickie Brennan in order to stay afloat. The sale was okayed, though it's been a while since we've heard anything more about this new Brennan venture.

Bacchanal was shut down for operating without proper permits, eventually reopening with chef Joaquin Rodas operating out of a food truck. Still no live music, though.

Root also opened, and people were generally pretty psyched.

Maybe more than any other city, Eater NOLA loves maps. This year's best were definitely the drunk food, Saints bars and cocktail maps.

And the story that we're totally arbitrarily calling the biggest story of the year:

Dominique Maquet left Dominique's on Magazine, just after it had been called one of the best new restaurants in the country by Esquire. Dominique's on Mag then became Appoline, while Dominique focused on opening Tamarind. There's also a new Dominique's on Magazine coming, due to open in May of 2012.

· All Year in Eater Coverage on Eater NOLA [-ENOLA-]