The methodology is interesting, and may explain some of the quirks.
Businesses from across the country were compared using a ranking that looks at both the ratings and the number of reviews while accounting for quality, popularity, and statistical fluctuations. To localize the list, only reviews written by users whose profiles list their home location as within the reviewed businesses’ country were factored into the ranking.
The localization may end up penalizing especially east coast cities with multiple counties in the metro area. DC restaurants would exclude all the MD & VA residents who dine in the district; Manhattan restaurants would exclude workers from the other boroughs and NJ...