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[title]Brendan Sodikoff
Brendan Sodikoff doesn’t just open great restaurants—he dominates entire genres. Maude’s Liquor Bar is an incredibly popular French bistro, Doughnut Vault has lines around the block that no other doughnut shop can match, Au Cheval is the diner of your dreams, and Bavette’s Bar and Boeuf is a formidable player in Chicago’s booming steakhouse scene. Rather than resting on his laurels, Sodikoff is still looking for new cuisines to conquer. This year promises to bring a Sodikoff-helmed ramen shop and Jewish deli, and who knows what else is yet to come. If he opened a corner stand selling fried raccoon belly, suddenly fried raccoon belly would be the hippest dish in town.—AT
Other nominees Janan Asfour, Tom MacDonald and Jason Normann (Telegraph and Reno); Matt Eisler and Kevin Heisner (Trenchermen); Jerrod, Molly and R.J. Melman (RPM and Bub City); Alpana Singh (the Boarding House)