Restaurants

Does America need another Italian restaurant? If that restaurant is Che Fico, the answer is a definitive yes. From practically the moment it opened, this place has been humming like a restaurant in its second decade. Every employee wears a smile, the servers know the menu back to front, and the exacting chefs have mastered pizza, pasta, and the world’s most flawless rustic desserts.

Genius is when you take a timeless concept, turn it on its head, and redefine it. That’s what sibling restaurateurs Jonah and Amanda Freedman have done for the classic Jewish deli: They improved an already perfect thing.

There’s no better place on the planet to drink natural wine than right here. How did Brooklyn transplants Orenda and Peter Hale go from running a little bottle shop to transforming their town, glass by glass and dish by dish?

At her deeply personal restaurant in the East Bay, Nite Yun reimagines the Cambodian food of her childhood, from soulful bowls of Cambodian noodle soup to flavorful marinated pork chops, all set to a psychedelic Khmer playlist.

The best meal of all time is the accidental long, boozy lunch. And the best new place to have it is at this all-day hang, with its crimson-red spritzes and endless selection of snacky things. Don’t be surprised if you arrive at 10 a.m. and are still there at 2 p.m.

Behind a small, spare counter hidden in a college food court, Tsuyoshi Nishioka prepares a single dish: the best niku (beef) udon you’ll ever eat, made with the silkiest noodles you’ll ever slurp.

From the butteriest croissants to outstanding pho, it’s never been a better time to hit up Portland, Maine.

“The most diverse culture in the world is my West Indian culture. Hands down.”

From a natural wine–fueled French restaurant in New York to a temple to all things masa in Austin, these are the contenders for this year’s Hot 10.

The former Top Chef contestant is running the show at El Jardín in San Diego and still finding time for the gym.

The LA restaurant critic set me on my path. In fact, without him, I wouldn’t even have known a path existed.

Adam Rapoport on the Pulitzer-winning LA Times food critic, who passed away on July 21st.

Jonathan Gold has died of pancreatic cancer after getting diagnosed with the disease earlier in July.

Prepare to be entranced by pasta.

“Now after 30 years, I think of hospitality as a kind of social work.”

Well, first you have to get used to the smell.

From tiny grilled peas that taste like caviar, to a quenelle of smoked-milk ice cream—I was left in tears after this once-in-a-lifetime meal.

We’re hooked on the rice paper salad and egg-yolky pho at the new Vietnamese restaurant in Greenpoint.

The B’s Cracklin’ pitmaster knows exactly who he is and where he comes from.

At Molino el Pujol, the freshly made tortillas are out of this world.

You’ll forget you’re in New York City once you step into Ayako Kurokawa's bakery

Hedai Offaim’s kitchen is the most important, lived-in room of the house. Take a look and see why.

Since I was 10, I've spent my summers eating pizza, spaghetti & meatballs, and antipasto. I'm glad it's still the same.

I regularly fantasize about pizza with refried beans on it.

The real discovery of my 16-month road trip across the U.S.: Even the deepest “red” and darkest “blue” states contain endless diversity.

My wish for the Fillmore in light of its heartbreaking history and uncertain future? For all places to put as much craft into our community as go into their cocktails.