From racking up Beard Award nominations to blowing up Instagram, the Los Angeles food world has been demanding a lot of attention lately; and the same goes for this city's up-and-coming food creators.
Food & Wine has named its Best New Chefs of 2017, and three chefs from two L.A. restaurants have landed on the top 10 list. Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson of Kismet (and Madcapra) along with Jordan Kahn of Destroyer both secured spots on the list. L.A. was the only location to have multiple chefs on the list; take that, literally every other city in the country.
Kramer and Hymanson's inclusion should come as no surprise; Kismet has been perhaps the year's most lauded new opening. Its mix of Turkish and Mediterranean fare (think broccoli toast, shakshuka and flakey breads and dips) on the East Hollywood/Los Feliz border should be familiar to anyone who's stopped by the duo's successful Grand Central Market falafel stall, Madcapra. Food & Wine specifically singled out Kismet's scallop, pepper and nut-topped smashed potatoes as "America’s most addictive new side dish."
Kahn, meanwhile, was praised for positioning Destroyer as a sort of subversive anti-Sqirl, with a minimalist, Icelandic-influenced take on grains at the Culver City spot. The magazine paints him as a maestro of thrilling (and affordable) breakfast and lunch dishes, and teases that Kahn's high-priced dinner theater-like venture, Vespertine, is due to open this May.
It's not the first time L.A. has received recognition in the feature: Night + Market Song's Kris Yenbamroong, Bestia's Ori Menashe, Alma's Ari Taymor and Ink's Michael Voltaggio have all been highlighted in recent years. Good company!
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