Yesterday at SFist HQ we got an email from the OpenTable team letting us know that their hotly anticipated (JK) list of the nation's 100 "hottest" restaurants for 2016 had just been revealed. The list, we learn, is generated by taking more than 5 million restaurant reviews submitted by verified OpenTable diners, taking a minimum "overall score" as a base qualification, and then sorting the list of qualified restaurants by their rating in OpenTable's "Hot Spot" category. So, on the one hand, it's democratic, and should reflect what OpenTable users believe are the country's most buzzworthy and hard-to-get-into eateries. But on the other hand, has anyone ever submitted a review on OpenTable? Because I haven't.

In the end, only two Bay Area restaurants made the cut for the nation's "hottest" hot spots, and only one is in San Francisco. And as you learned from the headline, that is transgender dinner theater spot Asia SF, which isn't winning any prizes for its cuisine. The other one is Mua in Oakland, which is well liked on Yelp, but isn't exactly known for its food.

So maybe this says more about who in the Bay Area actually submits OpenTable reviews?

By contrast, there are 17 Los Angeles restaurants on the list, including places like Lisa Vanderpump's much televised SUR, and acclaimed celeb chef Michael Voltaggio's .ink. These places make sense because they are kind of legitimate hot spots, even if SUR is so five years ago.

And in Chicago you have the legitimately good and buzzed over Girl & the Goat, also from a Top Chef winner, Stephanie Izard. In New York, there's Marcus Samuelsson's Red Rooster. One of two New Orleans spots on the list, Shaya, just got nominated for a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.

So WHAT is UP, Bay Area?? Asia SF is the best we can do for a "hot spot" on OpenTable? I hear if you get their "platinum menu" it comes with blackened tuna sashimi and ice cream in little tiny cones for dessert.

Pretty sure someone needs to work on this data set before next year's list.

Previously: The 17 Best New Restaurants Of 2015
Does Super Duper Really Make The Bay Area's Best Burger? (The Answer Is No.)