Where to Eat Now
By Donna Covrett
Photographs by Ryan Kurtz // Illustrations by Sean Sims
Hungry? Excellent. There’s plenty here to satisfy your appetite. The Top 10 Restaurants in town. The year’s hottest new spot. Twenty-three dishes that made our dining critic lick her chops. Plus our first-ever survey of local chefs. What more could you want? A napkin perhaps? We understand.
It has been an interesting year. We’ve experienced an eruption of dining options around Fountain Square. Route 4 in Fairfield has developed into a major artery of international cuisine, with at least two dozen African, Asian, and Latin eateries. Many restaurants have rallied behind the “eat local” movement. On menus, pork, lamb, and venison muscled beef and chicken aside; confit is turning up all over town; and breakfast—eggs and bacon, waffles from “The Waffle Guy” paired with foie gras—isn’t just for breakfast anymore.
This year, instead of ranking the top 25 restaurants, we’ve narrowed our focus to the Top 10, and for the first time we’re naming the year’s best new restaurant. Why? Simple. Because we want to tighten up the ratings, and broaden the conversation where food and dining out is concerned. Many restaurants that might not meet all the criteria for a Top 10 list—ours or yours—still have characteristics that make them deserving of attention. We’ve highlighted some of these small but important details, including some of our favorite dishes of 2007.
All of the restaurants on this list share a common goal: to provide you with an experience born of consummate skill and service. They struggle every day to inject passion and emotion into a stressful, repetitive job and present food in a way that is as fresh and spontaneous as the day they opened their doors. It’s a monumental task. All of these places are raising the bar.
Best Restaurants 2008: The Top 10
Best New Restaurant 2008
The Utensil Awards
The Chefs' Survey
Seven Super Small Plates
Midday Marvels: Four Lunch Winners
Two of a Kind: chocolate desserts, late-night munchies, vegan dishes, and cool interiors
Waitstaff We Love // A Chef to Watch
Plus: Sunday Suppers, Tables for Eight, Wine By the Glass, and a First-Date Mecca
Originally published in the March 2008 issue.