Americans often get a bad rap for introducing the world to drive-thru restaurants, TV dinners and deep-fried everything. However, homegrown chefs from West Hollywood to Washington, DC are changing perceptions of our native cuisine with inventive fare that takes an haute approach to the family recipe book. Drawing inspiration from market-fresh local ingredients such as mountain huckleberries and Louisiana crawfish, these creative cooks imbue their menus with a unique energy and strong sense of identity. Take a look at GAYOT’s 10 Best American Cuisine Restaurants to find the places that stir our patriotic pride.
1. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Tarrytown, NY
(Blue Hill at Stone Barns)
Experience Dan Barber's dynamic tasting menus in an elegant restaurant uniquely situated on a working farm that grows most of the kitchen's ingredients.
2. The Church Key, West Hollywood, CA
(The Church Key)
Michael Mina protégé chef Steven Fretz pushes boundaries in L.A. with playful Modern American cuisine that can range from pig ear "Cheetos" to chicken liver parfait served on rolling dim sum-style carts.
3. Dovetail, New York, NY
(Dovetail)
Chef John Fraser's creative, market-fresh American cuisine is artfully presented amidst intimate, posh Upper West Side surroundings.
4. Fearing’s, Dallas, TX
(Fearing's)
It may be The Ritz-Carlton, but chef Dean Fearing's bold flavors are putting on a Texas twang in deluxe dishes such as maple-black peppercorn buffalo tenderloin.
5. Girl & The Goat, Chicago, IL
(Girl & The Goat)
Expect the unexpected at this fun and funky West Loop restaurant showcasing the cooking of "Top Chef" winner Stephanie Izard. Try to get a seat near the kitchen line to take in the action.
6. K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, New Orleans, LA
(K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen)
Superb Cajun-Creole cuisine, including gumbo and crawfish, is found in this Big Easy establishment by the legendary chef Paul Prudhomme.
7. MistralKitchen, Seattle, WA
(MistralKitchen)
Chef/owner William Belickis attracts chic gourmands for casual lounge grazing or more serious fine dining at one of Seattle's premier destinations.
8. One Market, San Francisco, CA
(One Market)
Bradley Ogden founded this festive Embarcadero eatery more than two decades ago, but today chef Mark Dommen helms the stoves. He turns out sophisticated farm-to-table dishes that celebrate fresh Bay Area produce and seafood.
9. Range, Washington, DC
(Range)
"Top Chef" alum Bryan Voltaggio spotlights seasonal Chesapeake ingredients from farm and sea at his sprawling, high-end, Washington, DC, restaurant.
10. Restaurant Eugene, Atlanta, GA
(Restaurant Eugene)
Restaurant Eugene's luxe New American cuisine has a decidedly Southern sensibility, with dishes ranging from foie gras with chanterelle mushrooms and country ham broth to short ribs with grits and white truffle.
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