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Madison, WI
Opened: August, 2015
On the heels of his successful and acclaimed L’Etoile, Graze, and Sujeo restaurants, Tory Miller has just debuted his fourth Madison, WI, restaurant, Estrellón. Like the French L’Etoile and his Pan-Asian Sujeo, Estrellón indulges Miller’s infatuation with global flavors and cooking styles. This time, he is showcasing traditional Spanish techniques—albeit with the commitment to Midwestern ingredients that inspired Graze. Dishes like paella, tapas and pinxtos all feature meats, produce, and of course, cheeses, from Wisconsin and other regional producers. Miller also worked with a local dairy to create cheeses specifically for Estrellón. Other highlights include a Valencian-style paella made with roasted local rabbit as well as shrimp, mussels, clams, chorizo, chanterelles, cherry tomatoes, Wisconsin cheese, Bomba rice and aioli. The dining room seats 100; another 55 seats are in the bar/taperia, where Miller menus small plates, like these manchego and quince croquettes. The wine list spotlights Spanish wineries and cocktails include fortified wines, including a fresh strawberry sangria.
New York
Opened: June, 2015
So the death of fine dining is upon us? Not if fans of Gabriel Kreuther’s new, eponymous restaurant have anything to say about it. Kreuther helmed some of New York’s highest-profile kitchens, including the Ritz-Carlton’s Atelier and Danny Meyer’s the Modern at the Museum of Modern Art. Now at his swanky new 95-seat place overlooking Bryant Park, Kreuther combines richly herbed Alsatian fare and modern Manhattan sophistication. The prix fixe menu features such treats as diver sea scallops in a bright jalapeno coulis with meyer lemon confit, and sweetbread-black truffle dumplings with summer corn purée and red currants. Acclaimed New York restaurant designer Glen Coben of Glen & Co. Architecture is responsible for the unmistakably upscale space, which features Alsatian floral wall coverings, ceiling-height timber beams, lush cream-colored banquettes and a flock of 42 crystal storks (a beloved, folkloric symbol of strength in Alsace) hanging from the ceiling.
Washington DC
Opened: July, 2015
Robert Weland (Poste Moderne Brasserie; Cork Wine Bar) just launched a fresh new restaurant, Garrison, along historic Barracks Row in DC’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. He’s serving up a menu simply prepared roasted meats and seasonal produce that reflect his sustainably grown approach. First up: rawed and cured offerings like fluke crudo with lemon and fennel; and tomato gazpacho with mustard ice cream. Vegetables include heirloom tomato salad with burrata, vanilla and mint. There’s also: sweet corn tortellini with stracchino cheese and chives; wild striped bass with champ potatoes, poached egg, lemon and capers; and fire-roasted meats such as Long Island duck breast with lavender, fennel and peaches. Well-known DC cocktail impresario Gina Chersevani’s garden-inspired concoctions make use of Weland’s preserved fruits and vegetables, including his house-pickled peaches. Refined and rustic at the same time, delicate food presentations are adorned with tiny flowers.
St. Louis
Opened: August, 2015
Mike Randolph can’t sit still, which is just fine with foodies in St. Louis, where the chef and restaurateur has been churning out some of the citiy’s buzziest and most creative menus (most recently, Público) since he entered the scene in 2009 with his Neapolitan pizzeria, The Good Pie. Now he and wife Liz have debuted a passion project that honors of Mike’s late dad. Randolfi’s (the family’s pre-immigration surname) has replaced The Good Pie, keeping the wood-fired pizzas, but broadening the menu. Following the “80 percent approachable, 20 percent inventive” formula that earned Randolph lots of attention and some serious street cred in previous ventures, they're serving up Southen Italian staples like spaghetti and meatballs as well as poached black cod with pickled potatoes and grapefruit. A best-seller is maccheroni alla mugaia, a hand-pulled, single strand of pasta, which Randolph weaves with local banana peppers and chiles and finishes with parmesan and micro basil from the restaurant’s living wall. There’s also hanger steak Fiorentina (above) with garlic, herbs and sweet corn fregola. Classic red and white tablecloths and family photos line the walls set the scene.
New York
Opened: June, 2015
Rock-n-roll supper club The Hall Brooklyn is the newest project from NYC restaurateur and Food Network regular Michael Psilakis (Anthos, Kefi, MP Taverna). The restaurant/entertainment venue is a pet project for Psilakis, who bought the 4,000-square foot space five years ago hoping to do something special with it. The Hall, with a tricked-out stage, lighting and sound system hosts national and local music talent—as well as with dance, spoken word and comedy acts—and serves up Psilakis' signature Mediterranean cooking. The menu gives guests the option to order large format meals to enjoy throughout the shows, including whole roasted pig, lamb or kid goat. An ala carte menu is also available featuring Psilakis's take on bar snacks, like halloumi cheese sliders, harissa chicken tacos and crab tzatziki. Craft beers are the centerpiece of the bar menu.
San Francisco
Opened: August, 2015
Mercer Restaurant Group’s (AQ, TBD, and Mélange Market) highly anticipated Bon Marché debuted last weekend in San Francisco. Classically French (but not at all intimidating, we’re assured) the all-day restaurant is a grand 7,500 square feet, inspired by Paris’s Marais shopping district and divided into several venues, including a full-service dining room, coffee shop, oyster bar, craft brewery and lounge, along a main thoroughfare. Bon Marché’s setup allows guests to order from all menus (Mussels in the coffee shop? No problem.) anywhere in the restaurant. The menus and wine list are categorized into pricing tiers (for example, $21 and $29 entrees; soups are $9, salads, $11). Executive Chef Matthew Sieger offers seasonal riffs on Brasserie-style classics such as chilled watercress soup with smoked trout roe; and Parisian gnocchi with summer squash blossoms. French classics from the bakery include lemon verbena beignets filled with crème Anglaise and blackberry compote. Master cicerone Rich Higgins consulted with Bon Marché to create French-style beers onsite. All of it has us saying Oui Oui!
Chicago
Opened: July, 2015
Chicago multi-concept operator Dineamic Group (Prime & Provisions, Bull & Bear, BomboBar) just launched its seventh venue, Bar Siena, in the city’s West Loop neighborhood. The concept is a big, (8,000-square-foot), hip spinoff of the group’s successful Siena Tavern. Both restaurants were inspired by a quaint Italian bar (La Taverna, Siena) that struck the fancy of the guys at Dineamic. There’s star power in the kitchen. Top Chef fan favorite and Bar Siena/Siena Tavern partner Fabio Viviani (whose legendary 12-oz. Siena Tavern Meatball has its own Twitter account) is overseeing the from-scratch Italian menu along with Bar Siena’s executive chef Jeremy Tannehill (formerly of the group’s Public House). Fresh pastas and Italian street foods highlight the menu. A cicchetti (small plates) menu includes stracchino cheese fritters and grilled octopus served over peppers and charred escarole with a chili vinaigrette. Pastas include sweet corn ravioli; and agnolotti stuffed with burrata. A first-floor lounge features a giant LED-lit olive branch sculpture and opens to the kitchen with its 700-degree red mosaic-tiled Italian pizza oven they call “Bella, the hottest girl in town.” On our way out, we'll be stopping off at Bar Siena’s doughnut bar, which has its own street entrance. where you can get gelato and Lavazzo coffee, too.
