The Best New Restaurants 2012
- 1/32
The Optimist, Atlanta
- 2/32
1. "Brooklyn" — Rakish, Comfortable, Spectacular — Is Everywhere
- 3/32
Gusto, Los Angeles
- 4/32
Gabriel Stulman, Perla, New York
- 5/32
Sbraga, Philadelphia
- 6/32
State Bird Provisions, San Francisco
- 7/32
The NoMad, New York
- 8/32
2. But the Big, Splashy Restaurant Is Not Dead
- 9/32
AQ, San Francisco
- 10/32
Underbelly, Houston
- 11/32
3. High-Flying, Big-City Food Is Migrating
- 12/32
4. The South Is Having a Moment, Praise Jesus
- 13/32
Southern Steak and Oyster, Nashville
- 14/32
The Macintosh, Charleston, South Carolina
- 15/32
Chef Roberto Donna, Al Dente, Washington D.C
- 16/32
5. Ethnic Food Is Showing Off Its Roots
- 17/32
Bäco Mercat, Los Angeles
- 18/32
Sobou, New Orleans
- 19/32
Juvia, Miami Beach
- 20/32
BierBeisl, Beverly Hills
- 21/32
Five Chefs to Watch
- 22/32
-
- 23/32
-
- 24/32
-
- 25/32
-
- 26/32
Hostess of the Year: Kendall Morales
- 27/32
The Esquire Hall of Fame: Drew Nieporent
- 28/32
Bob Carter's Brown Oyster Stew
- 29/32
Roberto Donna's Spaghetti Carbonara
- 30/32
Ben Benson's, New York, 1982-2012
- 31/32
The Catbird Seat, Nashville
- 32/32
Things You Shouldn't Say in a Restaurant
By John Mariani
Nearly three decades have passed since Esquire published its first annual list of the Best New Restaurants of the Year. Sweeping trends in the restaurant world have come and gone, but this year has been unlike any other: In place of one trend, there are a whole bunch - and not just trends but also new ideas and personalities and ingredients and entirely novel kinds of cuisine bouncing around every city we visited. We've organized our list accordingly, showing how each restaurant fits into a larger phenomenon in the world of eating out. So get eating. It's a big, exciting, delicious country out there.
MORE FROM ESQUIRE:
How to Master the Business Lunch
How to Nail Your Job Interview
75 Things Men Don't Know About Women
And the Sexiest Woman Alive Is...