From coast to coast, May saw a slate of openings from some of the country’s most preeminent fine-dining chefs. On the West Coast, Sujan Sarkar has taken the Indian food he’s become known for at Chicago’s Indienne to San Francisco with Tiya. And Joshua Skenes, the chef formerly behind the Michelin-starred restaurant Saison, is now slinging pizzas at Los Angeles’s Leopardo.
Out east, two New York City restaurants are making waves: Harold Dieterle, the very first winner of Top Chef , debuted the Italian Il Totano. And Marc Forgione has revamped his namesake restaurant with a new menu in a new space. In the middle of it all sits Austin’s Prélude, a moody cocktail bar with bites from the Bocuse d’Or winner Mathew Peters.
Below are the five most exciting new restaurant and bar openings of May. Many people probably know Harold Dieterle as the first-ever winner of Top Chef . Beyond the TV screen, though, he’s been behind a number of hot spots, with Il Totano being just the latest.
As a southern-Italian restaurant, seafood really shines here : Crudos are plentiful, and the pastas include everything from Dungeness crab to mussels. Meat eaters will similarly delight in dishes like spicy duck meatballs with mint cavatelli and a crispy pork cotolette with white anchovies. Marc Forgione ’s eponymous restaurant is celebrating its sweet 16 by relocating to a new space and revamping its menu.
The chef’s New American spot is elevating its offerings with fresh plates like ag.
