Best New Restaurants: Celestine, Kith And Kin

Find upscale sushi, classic BBQ and much more

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New York

Celestine

This restaurant has so many star partners (Noah Bernamoff of Mile End and Julian Brizzi of Rucola, to name just two) that it's nearly impossible to list them all in one breath. Together, they opened this restaurant, which looks out onto the East River but draws inspiration from the east side of the Mediterranean, serving dishes like short rib Turkish manti and Calabrian fusilli with eggplant, fennel pollen and white anchovies.

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Don Angie

Husband-and-wife duo Scott Tacinelli and Angie Rito made their mark on Quality Italian when they developed the restaurant's signature chicken Parm pizza. Now, they have their own spot that celebrates Italian American cooking in the West Village. Take a date and try the lasagna or prime rib braciole for two.

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Wokuni

High-quality fish at sushi restaurants in New York typically means high prices, but Wokuni wants to break from that tradition. The restaurant, which is owned by Japanese company Tokyo Ichiban, has its own aquafarms in Japan and is importing its fish and selling it at unusually low prices. 

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Los Angeles

Killer Noodle

Takeshi Tsujita's new noodle shop is open and serving bowls of Tokyo-style tantanmen, a dish that will remind diners of dan dan noodles, finished with Sichuan chile oil and loaded with sesame paste. There are also bowls of an "original-style" tantanmen, made with cayenne and black pepper and lemon. Note: You can adjust the spice level when you order. 

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San Francisco

The Salzburg

A small piece of Austria has landed in SF. The chalet-inspired place includes an outdoor patio and a fire pit, while inside there's plenty of bar seating. Pair a beer with house-made sausage, like bratwurst and kaninchenwurst (made with rabbit), and round things with pretzels, beer cheese and spaetzle stroganoff.

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Chicago

Gibsons Italia

There's a new Gibsons in town, and this one is big. It has three stories dedicated to steak and booze, including a rooftop bar with a retractable glass roof. At tables downstairs, there are steaks both from Gibsons signature USDA Prime designation, as well as Kobe from Japan, plus a few Italian touches like house-made pasta.

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BBQ Supply Co.

There's no shortage of smoked meats at the new BBQ Supply Co. in Hyde Park. In addition to smoked half chickens, pulled pork and Saint Louis-style ribs, there are BBQ nachos topped with smoked meat, cheddar, pit beans and coleslaw. 

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Washington, D.C.

Kith and Kin

Top Chef contestant Kwame Onwuachi's high-end restaurant, The Shaw Bijou, was short lived: It closed after only three months. Now, the chef is back with a more casual project at the Wharf, cooking Afro-Caribbean food inspired by his family roots, like Nigerian jollof rice and peel-and-eat shrimp.

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Calico

Blagden Alley, the quaint semi-hidden, H-shaped alley in Shaw has a new resident. Calico, from the team behind Tiger Fork and The Fainting Goat, has a large patio and calls its style "urban backyard." The menu has a few nods to Philadelphia: There's tomato pie (essentially a grandma-style square pizza sans cheese); a hoagie with ham, salami, capicola, mortadella and provolone; and roast pork, which can be served as a sandwich or a platter.

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Houston

Melange Creperie

Sean Carroll and Tish Ochoa finally have a permanent spot to call their own. Fans of their original cart and farmers' market stands will now be able to sit down for crepes at Heights Mercantile. Expect the classics, as well as seasonal specialties like a Wolverine crepe made with spiced pumpkin, bananas and graham crackers. 

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Austin

Soto South

Sushi spot Soto has gone a bit fancier for its second act over by the Lamar Union apartments. Maki options include a lobster tempura; one with truffles, shrimp tempura and sturgeon caviar; plus the house signature Soto maki, topped with torched white tuna, asparagus and bonito flakes.

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Be More Pacific

The Filipino food truck is going brick-and-mortar for the first time, serving dishes like ube, or purple yam, ice cream in halo-halo; lumpia with pork and shrimp; sisig; and kara kare prepared with brisket and bok choy.

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