Restaurant RecommendationsClick on a state to view recommendations. |
Hawaii |
| Honolulu |
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Ono Hawaiian Foods, 726 Kapahulu Ave.; 808-737-2275; no web site
For an authentic taste of Hawaiian food, this decades-old eatery is one of the best. Order a combination plate to taste poi, kalua pork, and lomi salmon – the trilogy of ethnic Hawaiian food. There's usually a line for lunch or early dinner but it's worth the wait.
Ono Hawaiian Foods |
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Side St. Inn, 1225 Hopaka St.; 808-591-0253; www. sidestreetinn.com
It's a dark, not-elegant-at-all sports bar with good local food, the kind chefs like to eat after hours: pork chops, fried rice, ahi poke and other tasty dishes that go well with a li hing mui margarita. Go with a group so you can order lots of different tastes. Great for people watching.
www. sidestreetinn.com |
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Alan Wong's, 1857 S. King St.; 808-949-2526; www.alanwongs.com
A perennial award winner for good reason: A commitment to using locally-grown products reflecting the islands' unique ethnic cuisine in a menu that is creative and whimsical. Signature dishes include the ahi poke stack and ginger crusted onaga. Reservations are a must.
www.alanwongs.com |
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Pavilion Café at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St.: 808-532-8734; www.honoluluacademy.org/394-pavilion_cafe
An oasis within the bustling city with fresh, local, and simple lunchtime fare. Try the piadina, a flatbread loaded with greens, prosciutto, mozzarella, pesto, and tomatoes. Pastas, sandwiches, and salads all have a Mediterranean flair. Terrific homestyle desserts. And art surrounds you.
www.honoluluacademy.org |
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Town, 3435 Waialae Ave.; 808-735-5900; www.townkaimuki.com
A tribute to sustainable eating, this neighborhood restaurant's menu shines with locally-sourced ingredients hand-crafted into Tuscan-style dishes. Wild boar charcuterie, red veal braises, buttermilk panna cotta. If you're looking for organic, edgy but natural food, this is the place.
www.townkaimuki.com |
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Louisiana |
| New Orleans |
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Brigtsen’s, 723 Dante St.; 504-861-7610; www.brigtsens.com
Frank Brigtsen is a city kid who was taught by his mentor, Paul Prudhomme, that his culinary inheritance did not end at the city limits. You can taste the lesson in his food: Pan-fried Des Allemands catfish over stone-ground jalapeno grits, shrimp remoulade with mirliton corn relish - this is fusion cooking that never crosses the state line.
www.brigtsens.com |
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Casamento’s, 4330 Magazine St.; 504-895-9761; www.casamentosrestaurant.com
Sterile-looking and bracingly white, this Uptown institution has the look of a science lab that treats patients with Gulf seafood. The restaurant closes in summer. Otherwise, check out the raw bar and fried oyster loaves. Fried shrimp are also terrific. If you spot a sign in the window advertising soft-shell crabs, look for a place to park. Open lunch only.
www.casamentosrestaurant.com |
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Cochon/Cochon Butcher; 930 Tchoupitoulas St.; 504-588-7675; www.cochonrestaurant.com
Cochon: Commander’s Palace and Emeril’s likely serve more customers, but no New Orleans restaurant has generated more buzz than Cochon during the past several years. Served at reasonable prices, Cochon’s pork-centric menu connects Cajun cuisine to the broader culinary traditions of the American South.
Cochon Butcher: Cochon Butcher sells salumi and charcuterie from the kitchens of Herbsaint and Cochon, its sister restaurants, but it’s also a Cajun-style grocery, a sandwich shop (Both the muffuletta and pastrami rank among the best in town.) and a late-night small plate and wine destination.
www.cochonrestaurant.com |
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Commander’s Palace, 1403 Washington Ave.; 504-899-8221; www.commanderspalace.com
Hit this classic spot for brunch. The push of the past and the tug of the present animate every dish on the menu, with the possible exception of a few desserts (Get the shortcake.) and the soups (The turtle should not be ignored.). Mostly you’ll find distinctive haute Creole whose flamboyance is just barely held in check.
www.commanderspalace.com |
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Dante’s Kitchen, 736 Dante St.; 504-861-3121; www.danteskitchen.com
The food is a shade less polished than at higher-profile restaurants, but Dante’s Kitchen is serious about sourcing local products and showcasing them in dishes that are modern and recognizably Southern. Try barbecue shrimp made with Abita beer or a composed salad with house-made ricotta salata and marinated vegetables picked by sous chefs.
www.danteskitchen.com |
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Mr. B’s Bistro, 201 Royal St.; 504-523-2078; www.mrbsbistro.com
Chef Michelle McRaney has always kept Mr. B’s menu open to the soft winds of change, while the gumbo ya-ya and barbecue shrimp are still standard bearers. People go for local food prepared rationally and for a reasonable ransom (apple cider-braised Mississippi rabbit, fried oysters, dolloped with horseradish hollandaise).
www.mrbsbistro.com |
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Liuzza’s By the Track, 1518 N. Lopez St.; 504-218-7888; http://www.nola.com/sites/liuzzas/
This Faubourg St. John haunt (not associated with Liuzza’s on Bienville) specializes in po-boys that go that extra step, be it basting fried oysters with garlic butter, spiking roast beef with fresh horseradish or filling hollowed-out pistollettes with molten barbecue shrimp. The house gumbo is both fresh and fierce. Open lunch only.
www.nola.com |
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Parkway Bakery and Tavern, 538 Hagan Ave.; 504-482-3047; www.parkwaybakeryandtavern.com
The revelation of Parkway Bakery is that a po-boy joint does not need to appear on the verge of collapse in order to evoke history and serve great food. The classics -- roast beef, shrimp, hot sausage - are hard to beat, and and Justin Kennedy, Nix’s nephew and managing partner, makes sure they stay that way.
www.parkwaybakeryandtavern.com |
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Patois, 6078 Laurel St.; 504-895-9441; www.patoisnola.com
Patois’ chef, Aaron Burgau, believes that clean flavors and distinguished ingredients deliver their own rewards. Sampling the sautéed sweetbreads with beluga lentils or a fine hangar steak frites proves that accomplished bistros are not exclusive to bigger cities.
www.patoisnola.com |
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Restaurant August, 301 Tchoupitoulas St.; 504-299-9777; www.restaurantaugust.com
John Besh has expanded so relentlessly that the performance of his flagship restaurant is less a measure of Besh’s cooking ability than the strength of the family he has created to mind his empire. Chef de cuisine Michael Gulotta channels his mentor’s obsession with detail and technique. Small touches pay big dividends, like the marcona almonds that elevated a traditional soft-shell amandine into a league of its own.
www.restaurantaugust.com |
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Maryland |
| Baltimore |
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Aldo’s, 306 S. High St.; 410-727-0700; www.aldositaly.com
This family-owned restaurant in Little Italy offers chef Aldo Vitale’s native Southern Italian cuisine in an upscale atmosphere with a refined twist - try the butter-poached lobster risotto or succulent veal chop with polenta. Actor Chazz Palminteri was a regular when he was on tour with “A Bronx Tale,” until he convinced Aldo’s sons to partner with him and open a nearby pizzeria called Chazz: A Bronx Original. (www.chazzbronxoriginal.com).
www.aldositaly.com |
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Suzanne Loudermilk, restaurant critic and food editor of Baltimore magazine, www.baltimoremagazine.net
Baltimore is endearingly called Crabtown by its residents, and rightly so. But there is more than steamed crabs and Old Bay on the city’s restaurant tables, though you’ll want to try our crustaceans, too.
www.baltimoremagazine.net |
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Charleston, 1000 Lancaster St.; 410-332-7373; www.charlestonrestaurant.com
This is probably Baltimore’s plushest, priciest restaurant, complete with a front-row seat to the harbor. Chef Cindy Wolf, a multiple James Beard Award nominee, wows diners with a prix-fixe menu that perfectly interprets her French-inspired, Lowcountry cuisine. The dishes are expertly paired with wines from the restaurant’s 700-plus labels. The well-trained staff doesn’t miss a beat.
www.charlestonrestaurant.com |
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Nick’s Fish House, 2600 Insulator Dr.; 410-347-4123; www.nicksfishhouse.com
Crab houses are as plentiful as Ravens football jerseys in this town. Nick’s wins points for waterfront dining in a sprawling wood building with outdoor decks and a sail-up dock bar. Order a dozen fat steamed crabs and a pitcher of ice-cold beer and get crackin’. Don’t know how? Just ask. Insider tip: Check out the “mustard” inside the shells.
www.nicksfishhouse.com |
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The Black Olive, 814 S. Bond St.; 410-276-7141; www.theblackolive.com
For the freshest seafood, locals and out-of-towners flock to this charming, rowhouse restaurant. (Recently, I walked past Mario Batali, who was heading there with friends.) Guests are invited to a gleaming fish case to meet their dinner, if they choose. The menu also hints of the owner’s Greek roots with offerings like mussels in Ouzo. Landlubbers, don’t despair. The slow-braised lamb shank meets all your protein needs.
www.theblackolive.com |
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Woodberry Kitchen, 2010 Clipper Park Road; 410-464-8000; www.woodberrykitchen.com
Nobody does farm-to-fork better than Woodberry’s chef/co-owner, Spike Gjerde, a James Beard Award nominee. He uses ingredients from local farms, vineyards, waterways, and creameries to produce a menu of homey dishes like the Tilghman Island crab cake, the Springfield chicken n’ biscuit, and The Butcher’s Sandwich with house-cured meats. Scoring a weekend reservation can take weeks.
www.woodberrykitchen.com |
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North Carolina |
| Chapel Hill |
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Crook’s Corner, 610 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill; 919-929-7643; www.crookscorner.com
Look for the lighted pink pig on the roof, but don’t assume this is a barbecue joint. Chef Bill Smith presents relaxed Southern goodness, from a pimento cheese appetizer to fried chicken and black pepper cornbread. Catch the honeysuckle sorbet in the spring. James Beard Award winner.
www.crookscorner.com |
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Lantern, 423 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill; 919-969-8846; www.lanternrestaurant.com
Local ingredients meet Asian sensibilities amid the striking modern decor. Chef Andrea Reusing lets the ingredients shine by adding touches, such as XO sauce on tea-smoked chicken or Indian spices and tomato chutney on okra. Try the whole fish with tamarind and chilies. Great cocktails. James Beard Award winner.
www.lanternrestaurant.com |
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| Durham |
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Magnolia Grill, 1002 Ninth Street, Durham; 919-286-3609; www.magnoliagrill.net
Chef Ben Barker and wife/pastry chef Karen were cooking local before it was cool. Plan your meal with the assumption you’ll have dessert - do not pass it up. Ben loves his pork, and his Southern approach especially shines in those entrees. Portions are generous. James Beard Award winner.
www.magnoliagrill.net |
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| Raleigh |
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18 Seaboard, Seaboard Station, Raleigh; 919-861-4318; www.18seaboard.com
How Chef Jason Smith offers such good food at such reasonable prices is a mystery. Local food is used proudly, especially seafood from the N.C. coast. Items from the wood-fired grill come with your choice of sauce. Don’t miss the she-crab soup. Expect a crowd on the weekends.
www.18seaboard.com |
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The Raleigh Times, 14 E. Hargett St., Raleigh; 919-833-0999; www.raleightimesbar.com
The century-old building housed The Raleigh Times newspaper, and memorabilia decorates the walls. The casual menu does bar food right, with fresh-made guacamole, a collection of sandwiches (including Cuban-style roast pork), hangar steak and PBR-battered fish. Extensive list of local and other beers. Good place to watch the downtown scene.
www.raleightimesbar.com |
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Pennsylvania |
| Pittsburgh |
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Kaya, 2000 Smallman St.; 412-261-6565; www.bigburrito.com/kaya/
Kaya is more than a decade old, but the restaurant feels fresh on each visit. The menu offers a contemporary interpretation of flavors and techniques drawn from the Caribbean, South America, and Pacific. The lengthy, seasonal appetizer menu makes this one of the best spots in town to eat tapas-style. Broad range of prices.
www.bigburrito.com |
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Bite Bistro, 565 Lincoln Ave. Bellevue; 412-761-9500; www.bitebistro.com
This neighborhood bistro is casual and affordable, but surprisingly special. Whole-grain salads and lots of greens mingle nicely with pasta sauced in foie gras butter and a fantastic take on steak frites. Don't miss the mix-and-match ice cream soda for dessert.
www.bitebistro.com |
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Dinette, 5996 Penn Circle South; 412-362-0202; http://dinette-pgh.com/
Chef-owner Sonja Finn brought a northern California sensibility home to Pittsburgh. The menu may consist entirely of small plates and pizzas, but artful presentations and an exquisite balance of flavors and textures heighten the impact. Well-curated wine list and stylish, colorful decor.
www.dinette-pgh.com |
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notion Restaurant, 14 Allegheny River Blvd. in Oakmont 412-828-7777; www.notionrestaurant.com/
Though technically not in Pittsburgh, this is the city's most cutting-edge restaurant. Chef-owner David Racicot uses modern techniques, tools and ingredients to craft elegant, complex dishes from only a few primary, ingredients, playing with texture, form and flavor. His menu is
constantly evolving, but his dishes are consistently witty and delicious.
www.notionrestaurant.com |
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Salt of the Earth, 5523 Penn Ave.; 412-441-7258; www.saltpgh.com/
Kevin Sousa's long-awaited debut restaurant skips the bread basket, presents the menu on a giant chalkboard, and seats diners at wooden benches along communal tables. The stunning, yet casual, setting matches the food, which is comforting and challenging. Expect oft-neglected proteins such as snails, a global ingredient list that encompasses huitlacoche, and inspirations that range from the streets of Vietnam to a family barbecue.
www.saltpgh.com |
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