Oberlin
The menu at Benjamin Sukle's seafood-centric, Italian-American restaurant checks every one of our "foods we want to eat right now" boxes. Grab a stool at the bar, order a bottle of Melon de Bourgogne, and direct all your attention to the crudo. Sukle (best known for his fine-dining restaurant, Birch) uses local bycatch such as mackerel, black bass, or the adorably named scup, sourced from one of his three fishermen. At least a half dozen fish are offered each night, all sliced with precision and served in simple but clever combinations, such as bluefish with dill and sauerkraut. (Check.) As psyched as we are about the raw section of the menu, it's—literally—only the beginning. Sukle's Caesar salad is a genius reinvention of the classic, crunchy from paper-thin slices of kohlrabi, with added depth from cured herring. (Check.) And his pastas are nothing short of transcendent, whether it's the pillowy seared potato gnocchi with littleneck clams in a chive-flecked sauce (basically born-again clam chowder), chitarra cacio e pepe, or pici with pork ragù. (Check. Check. Check.)
PRO TIP: Flip to the "Vic's Picks" section of the wine menu for deep-cut bottle recs.
THE DETAILS: Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
