Ten of the Best New Restaurants in the Midwest

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Last week Bon Appetit released their list of 50 nominees for the highly coveted title of “Best New Restaurant” of 2013. Lucky for us, ten of those restaurants are right here in the Midwest. It’s time to get out and enjoy the delicious talent in your own backyard. (if you haven’t already).

Illinois

Photo credit: Fat Rice/ Huge Galdones

Fat Rice

Homestyle comfort meets exotic flavors and ingredients at this restaurant inspired by Macau, the former Portuguese colony of China.

Photo credit: Grace

Grace

Situated on Chicago’s restaurant row, Curtis Duffy’s eatery features two tasting menus: flora and fauna (the former dedicated to vegetables).

Photo credit: Bon Appetit/ Huge Galdones

Trenchermen

Brothers Michael and Patrick Sheerin teamed up to turn this former Wicker Park bathhouse into a restaurant known for its unique flavor combinations.

 

Kansas

Photo credit: Bon Appetit/ Bonjwing Lee

Rye KC

  • 10551 Mission Rd.
    Leawood, KS
  • 913-642-5800
  • ryekc.com

Husband and wife team, Colby and Megan Garrelts, take traditional Midwest dishes and cook them with a twist. They source ingredients locally from 13 farms in Kansas and Missouri.

Minnesota

Photo credit: Borough

Borough

Two alums from Travail lead the kitchen at Borough (situated in Minneapolis’ ever-growing North Loop neighborhood), expertly crafting everything from grilled octopus to cauliflower and pickled chiles.

Photo credit: World Street Kitchen

World Street Kitchen

  • 2743 Lyndale Ave. S., #5
    Minneapolis, MN
  • 612-424-8855
  • eatwsk.com

Brothers Saed and Sameh Wadi (the team behind the award-winning Saffron Restaurant & Lounge) dreamt up the World Street Kitchen, with a cuisine inspired by food served from street carts around the world.

 

Missouri

Photo credit: Elaia & Olio

Elaia & Olio

These two Mediterranean restaurants sit side by side: one in a renovated Standard Oil filling station, and the other in a renovated 1980s house.

Photo credit: Niche/ J. Pollack Photography

Niche

Chef Gerard Craft’s newest endeavor sticks to a prix fixe menu, and even serves boozy popsicles as mid-meal palate cleansers.

Ohio

Photo credit: Metropole

Metropole

Everything—from the kale salad to the octopus—gets thrown into the custom-built, wood-burning fireplace at Metropole. 21c Museum Hotel keeps contemporary art and site-specific installations rotating through the space.

Wisconsin

Photo credit: Forequarter/ Underground Food Collective

Forequarter

There’s no head chef or owner here. Instead, the six-person team at Forequarter cooks as a collective, bonded over their love of cured meats and constantly drawing inspiration from local produce.