If there's been one particular fuel that's driven L.A.'s restaurant scene in 2016, it's pressing, outsized ambition. It takes a ton of ambition to open any restaurant, but this year our chefs and restaurateurs seemed to reach higher, push themselves further, and create restaurants that hummed with the aspirations of some very talented people. There was the outsized extravagance of Gwen, built to hold Curtis Stone's meatiest ambitions. The soaring grandeur of 71Above, and its obvious aim of becoming a jewel in the city's dining scene. The quiet determination of Shibumi chef David Schlosser, who looked to bring a different facet of Japanese cooking to L.A. With these restaurants and many others, Los Angeles proved once again in 2016 that it's up to the task of maintaining its newfound respect in the culinary world, and can easily retain the title of America's most interesting dining scene. <i><a href="http://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/10-best-new-restaurants-in-los-angeles-2016-7727293">10 Best New Restaurants in Los Angeles 2016 </a></i>