2017 Clean Plate Awards
By Kathleen Squires on Oct. 20, 2017If you ask a bunch of industry experts to name the best meals they’ve had this year, you might expect a lot of upscale dishes made with high-end ingredients. But that’s not the case.
Our 11th annual Clean Plate Awards has turned into the year of humble foods. We asked some of the country’s top chefs, restaurateurs and industry professionals to share their picks for the most delectable dishes—the dishes that literally had our peer panel cleaning their plates, engaging their appetites and inspiring new ideas for their own businesses. This year, our panel’s picks include simple yet perfected tacos, pizza, soft serve ice cream and more.
Pretzel with Pig Face Carnitas
Restaurant: Odd Duck, Austin, Texas
Picked by: Cammie Spillyards-Schaefer, vice president of culinary, Cracker Barrel, Lebanon, Tenn.
This dish is a tear-apart pretzel that’s almost like monkey bread. It is stuffed with rich carnitas made from pig face and cheddar cheese, and the pretzel is coated with a salty, crunchy, everything bagel-type topping. It is served with a maple mustard for dipping, making it packed with flavor: savory, crunchy, salty, zippy, rich and sweet. I love that it starts a meal in a shareable way, which is important to consumers today.
Blue Crab Hand Roll
Restaurant: Sugarfish, Los Angeles
Picked by: Cammie Spillyards-Schaefer, vice president of culinary, Cracker Barrel, Lebanon, Tenn.
At Sugarfish, the nori is really crisp and warm, and the blue crab is super high quality with a sweet and salty flavor. What really makes the magic of this dish is the warm, loosely packed rice with just the amount of rice vinegar. That combination all together is an incredibly-balanced bite. The best part is it is great quality for the price point.
Croque Madame
Restaurant: Willa Jean, New Orleans
Picked by: Michael Solomonov, co-founder, CookNSolo Restaurant Partners, Philadelphia
Chef Kelly Fields at Willa Jean’s is as good as it gets. Anything she makes is incredibly good. The croque madame was perfect, but I’ll just go there and get her chocolate chip cookies and pig out. It is a smart business because it’s a high-end bakery, but it functions as a restaurant that supports it all.
Omakase
Restaurant: Shuko, New York City
Picked by: Michael Solomonov, co-founder, CookNSolo Restaurant Partners, Philadelphia
This was one of the best meals I ever had—a 15-course omakase. There is an intense attention to detail and minimalism that really impressed me—chefs sand the bar down every day to get it perfect, and that’s what you eat off of. ... The whole experience was fun and flawless and unique.
Angry Pizza
Restaurant: Pizzeria Beddia, Philadelphia
Picked by: Michael Solomonov, co-founder, CookNSolo Restaurant Partners, Philadelphia
My move is to eat half the pizza the night that I get it, and then I store the other half at room temperature in my oven until morning. It is the best the next day with a cup of iced coffee.
Brisket
Restaurant: Pecan Lodge, Dallas
Picked by: Lane Cardwell, President, Cardwell Hospitality Advisory, Dallas
The brisket here is prime meat, and it’s smoked for 18 hours over a blend of mesquite hickory and oak. I think this is literally the best restaurant in Texas, which means that it is the best brisket in the world. If there is one thing that they really differentiate on, it is its brisket.
Butcher’s Meatballs
Restaurant: Neighborhood Services, Dallas
Picked by: Lane Cardwell, President, Cardwell Hospitality Advisory, Dallas
This is an appetizer—a barbecue-spiced Niman Ranch brisket meatball—that is melt-in-your-mouth tender. They serve it with blue cheese, and they pour the house voodoo peppercorn sauce all over it. It is fantastic. I think for the type of restaurant which is more of a $20 entree kind of a place, the idea of having an appetizer dish of meatballs is odd… until you have them and you say, “Oh, I get it.” They are too good not to put on the menu.
Whiskey Cake
Restaurant: Whiskey Cake, Plano, Texas
Picked by: Lane Cardwell, President, Cardwell Hospitality Advisory, Dallas
It’s a moist toffee torte, topped with a bourbon custard sauce, spiced with pecans and housemade whipped cream. It is so good that they named the restaurant concept after it. They are extremely high volume, they do like $8-9 million a year. When you eat it, you realize that you’ve had nothing like it. All of the ingredients are top quality.
Reubenesque Sandwich
Restaurant: R+D Kitchen, mulitple locations
Picked by: Lane Cardwell, President, Cardwell Hospitality Advisory, Dallas
The sandwich is a Reuben with very tender corned beef, with Swiss, on toasted corn rye bread with coleslaw. It is the best sandwich I’ve ever had. I can eat a lot, but I cannot finish this sandwich. It’s dinner one night and lunch the next day.
Unicorn Tears Soft Serve Ice Cream
Restaurant: Unicorn Tears Soft Serve Ice Cream
Picked by: Joe Isidori, chef/owner, Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, New York City
This flavor is a vanilla but it has a blue tint, which makes it really stand out. I think it’s the ice cream of the year and shows that today, desserts have come front-and-center again, but in a casual way. I just love when I see a concept that’s got soft serve ice cream and three things on the menu and 150 people waiting in line.
Tacos
Restaurant: Los Tacos No. 1, New York City
Picked by: Joe Isidori, chef/owner, Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, New York City
They have completely transported the Baja taco experience to New York City, and in a city that is full of tacos, it’s very hard to find a good one that doesn’t come off a street cart. Their tacos are really great and I love the variety offered.
Ramen
Restaurant: Kuro-Obi, New York City
Picked by: Joe Isidori, chef/owner, Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, New York City
The upscale ramen restaurant Ippudo has a little outpost called Kuro-Obi. I have a 6-month-old son, and I can’t go to many restaurants with him, so the regular Ippudo is out of the question. So I find myself going to this Ippudo ramen stand ... It’s my go-to when I take my baby for a walk and give my wife a break. I love that the business model is really simplistic. That’s the future.
The Mother Clucker
Restaurant: Gourdough’s Public House, Austin, Texas
Picked by: Laura Rea Dickey, CEO, Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Dallas
As a Southern girl, can anything be better? I love it because the chicken is fried and spiced to perfection and it is extremely tender. The donut is soft and just the right amount of sweet. Not to mention it is topped with butter and honey, which finishes it off perfectly. We like to call it “Southern heaven on a plate.”
Coconut Curry Shrimp
Restaurant: J&J Seafood Bar, Delray Beach, Fla.
Picked by: Laura Rea Dickey, CEO, Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Dallas
Why I love this meal is simple—it’s fresh, it’s spicy, and it’s a must. J&J Seafood Bar has an open-concept kitchen and all of the meals are extremely customizable. Guests are able to make a selection from the raw bar and then choose how much curry and coconut milk they would like—it is a great alternative to fish tacos.
TableSide Caesar Salad
Restaurant: Junior’s, Oklahoma City
Picked by: Laura Rea Dickey, CEO, Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Dallas
This is a true French-classic Caesar salad, made the same way it’s always been since Junior’s opened in 1973. The ingredients from a cart are made tableside, complete with anchovy oil and egg yolks, fried croutons and shaved Parmesan. It is tart, balanced and only takes six minutes to make.
Tagliatelle al ragu
Restaurant: Uovo, Santa Monica, Calif.
Picked by: R.J. Melman, President, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chicago
I went shortly after it opened, loved the Tagliatelle al Ragu. The restaurant focuses solely on pasta, and I loved the simplicity of the dish and the overall pasta bar concept.
Dosa
Restaurant: ABCV, New York City
Picked by: R.J. Melman, President, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chicago
Dosa with yogurt, avocado and sprouts—it’s almost like a chickpea crepe. It had great texture and was a fun and unique dish.
Smoked oysters
Restaurant: Roister, Chicago
Picked by: R.J. Melman, President, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chicago
Chef Andrew Brochu does an amazing job. I loved the smoked oysters with chipotle butter, epazote vinegar and French curry.
Berkshire Pork
Restaurant: Oriole, Chicago
Picked by: Rick Bayless, chef/owner, Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Xoco, Chicago
A completely swoonworthy revelation with kimchi, nectarine and enoki mushrooms. An unforgettable dish at a visionary restaurant on the rise.
Braised Duck
Restaurant: Quintonil, Mexico City
Picked by: Rick Bayless, chef/owner, Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Xoco, Chicago
I eat here just about every time I’m in Mexico City, and each time chef Jorge Vallejo always reaffirms that it’s one of the best restaurants ever. Stunning dry-aged, braised duck served with bruleed figs, bitter almond-habanero puree and charred red onion sauce.
Patbingsu
Restaurant: Parachute, Chicago
Picked by: Rick Bayless, chef/owner, Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Xoco, Chicago
All of the desserts are astonishing, but for our table the standout was patbingsu [shaved ice] with condensed milk ice cream and red bean paste. The fact that it’s served in a relaxed neighborhood spot with great service made it taste
even better.
Oeuf Norvegien
Restaurant: Le Coucou, New York City
Picked by: Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, co-founders, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago
The dish is as tasty as it is beautiful. It’s very rare that you see a dish that is so intricately prepared at breakfast like Le Coucou’s oeuf norvegien.
Tea Smoked Duck
Restaurant: Sumi Robata Bar, Chicago
Picked by: Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, co-founders, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago
Corn Agnolotti
Restaurant: Gjelina, Los Angeles
Picked by: Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, co-founders, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago
Lardo-wrapped langoustine with white asparagus
Restaurant: Oriole, Chicago
Picked by: Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, co-founders, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago
Spicy Taco Handroll
Restaurant: Juno, Chicago
Picked by: Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, co-founders, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago
The handroll is so bright with just the right amount of heat. Between the texture of the octopus and the texture of the nori, it makes the dish incredibly addicting.
Tuna tartare with sunchokes, tarragon and ginger
Restaurant: Loring Place, New York City
Picked by: Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, co-founders, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago
Steak Tartare
Restaurant: The Grill, New York City
Picked by: Tim Ryan, president, Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y. and St. Helena, Calif.
The best restaurant in general this year was The Grill, which is in the space of the old Four Seasons. What Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, both CIA graduates, have done to it is awesome. They have brought back the vitality there; there is a great buzz, great service, great bar—it is all great. I had the best steak tartare that I ever had there. It was very different. They didn’t serve it with toast or anything typical—they served it with beautiful tiny leaves of romaine lettuce all standing like soldiers in a huge bowl of crushed ice. One of the things I like about The Grill in general is they are reinvigorating this classic American restaurant—the greatest American restaurant ever, something that was dying out.
Tacos
Restaurant: Empellon Cocina, New York City
Picked by: Tim Ryan, president, Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y. and St. Helena, Calif.
There is a lot happening in Midtown Manhattan. The new Empellon Cocina by chef Alex Stupak is great. I love the tacos. The salsa is fresh, and he is making his own corn masa. When you walk by there, you can smell it on the street. It’s very tempting and hard to walk past.
Porchetta Sandwich
Restaurant: Salumi Artisan Cured Meats, Seattle
Picked by: Tim Ryan, president, Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y. and St. Helena, Calif.
In Seattle, Salumi is the polar opposite in every way of The Grill. It is on the other side of the country and is in a tiny, tiny hallway in a very unassuming place—there are like two seats there. This is owned by Mario Batali’s father, Armandino. We had a porchetta sandwich there and hung out with Armandino and it was fabulous. Everything is top quality and it’s a really special experience.