OTHER RESTAURANTS THAT MAKE OUR FOOD TEAM SWOON
Though most of the restaurants on our list are in the communities in or near where we live and work, our writers love to travel, and when they do, they seek out great meals. The following are places our writers continue to crave, months after vacation is over.
Holbox Los Angeles
Details: 3655 S. Grand Ave. Unit C9, Los Angeles, Calif.; 213-986-9972, holboxla.com
Does a restaurant need to be whitetablecloth fancy and over-the-top expensive to earn national accolades? No, and certainly not if that restaurant is Holbox. The counter-service eatery in a Los Angeles food hall serves fresh California seafood inspired by chef-owner Gilberto Cetina’s native Yucatan Peninsula. Cetina, a 2023 James Beard finalist for Best Chef: California, opened the restaurant in 2017 in South Central LA’s Mercado La Paloma. Eight restaurants share a common dining area in the converted garment factory that also houses shops and nonprofits. The Holbox menu features dishes such as Ceviche Mixto with Yucatan octopus, wild Mexican shrimp and Baja striped bass; house-smoked kanpachi tacos with queso Chihuahua, salsa cruda, avocado and peanut chili oil; and Camarones al Mojo de Ajo with roasted local shrimp, garlic butter, cilantro rice, black beans and grilled bread.
Atelier Crenn San Francisco
Details: 201 Pixley St., San Francisco, Calif.; 415-440-0461, ateliercrenn.com
At Atelier Crenn, chef and owner Dominique Crenn unites her French heritage with California’s natural bounty to create an unforgettable 14-course pes-* catarian tasting menu. As the first female chef in the United States to earn three Michelin stars, Crenn is dedicated to providing guests with a unique experience while taking care of the planet. Atellier Crenn is a meat- and dairy-free restaurant with produce supplied by Crenn’s Bleu Belle Farm in Sonoma. Opened in 2011, the restaurant underwent a four-week makeover in early 2023, resulting in a modern dining room with warm wood accents and elements that evoke California’s natural beauty.
Ernesto’s Manhattan, New York
Details: 259 E. Broadway, Manhattan, N.Y.; 646-692-8300, ernestosnyc.com
Let’s begin exactly as you should at Ernesto’s, a darling Basque restaurant that has wowed critics and diners alike since it opened nearly four years ago in a rather remote part of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Order the restaurant’s signature dry, 5-finger Martini, a delicious concoction made with two kinds of sherry and blanc vermouth, garnished with three plump olives on a thin skewer. Leisurely enjoy your drink and then slowly move on to those delectable bar snacks called pintxos: cheesy, shredded chicken croquetas; skewers of sweet and spicy green peppers, green olives, and umami-rich anchovies called gildas; spicy house-made Basque sausage; and that Insta-famous mound of crisp, house-made chips covered with Iberico ham. You can make a meal out of these small plates − and many do − but then you’d miss out on the roasted meats and grilled fish that in the hands of chef Ryan Bartlow may have you swooning. The menu changes frequently. Many of these dishes may no longer be available when you show up. No matter. When a chef is this talented, your only worry is how many dishes you will be able to eat.
Communion Seattle
Details: 2350 E. Union St., Seattle, Wash.; 206-391-8140, communionseattle.com
They call it Communion for a reason. Chef-owner Kristi Brown’s grandmother was a deacon and a pastor, and her mother was a church pianist, so the name of this “Seattle Soul” restaurant pays homage to her religious roots. But the restaurant itself brings about communion, a convergence of spirits. It’s about people coming together, feeling intimate and close in this space − all copper and rich blues and browns − and about bringing Seattle itself to the table. Brown, a caterer for many years before opening the restaurant in 2020, has created her own style of cuisine by sourcing ingredients from her city’s neighbors, including immigrants from Southeast Asia and East Africa. She combines that with culinary influences from her childhood and local ingredients − especially seafood − and turns out delightful dishes such as coconut clams with Laotian sausage, coconut milk and lemongrass, and a seafoodand-panko stuffed trout with a decadent Bernaise sauce. There’s a sophisticated cocktail program, and you can enjoy drinks and dinner looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows of the ground floor of the former Liberty Bank Building, one of the first Black-owned banks in the Pacific Northwest.