News | October 12, 2011

12 Up and Coming Top Chef Restaurants

News | October 12, 2011

By Lexi Holzberg Kritzer

Top Chef Stars have taken the world of TV by storm, but aside from starring in talk shows and product endorsements, some are managing to find time to open restaurants on the heels of their success. Check out this list of 12Top Chef Contestant eateries coming to a town near you.

1. Stephen Asprinio

Restaurant: PizzaVinoTeca

City: New York, NY

This season-one alum is set to open a wood-grilled pizza joint in NYC’s Financial District called PizzaVinoteca in February 2012. The 45-seat casual sit-down eatery, which Asprinio hopes will become a national chain, will feature reasonably priced Roman-style pies, a concept that he calls “recession-proof.” To drink, expect craft beers, low-priced vino and housemade root beer (32 Water St.).

2. Richard Blais

Restaurant: The Spence

City: Atlanta, GA

The Top Chef: All Stars winner, known for his wildly innovative and unconventional cooking techniques, will open this new eatery, a partnership with Atlanta restaurant group Concentrics, in winter 2012. Although Blais is known for molecular gastronomy, for this project, expect more traditional dishes like housemade pasta, burgers and wood-roasted meats (75 Fifth St. NW).

3. Leah Cohen

Restaurant: Pig & Khao

City: New York, NY

Cohen, formerly of Centro Vinoteca, has been spending time hosting pop-ups at Manhattan’s LTO and traveling throughout Southeast Asia. She’s currently still looking for a space in the East Village for her new Asian eatery, Pig & Khao, which will draw inspiration from the continent and feature cuisine from many different countries. No opening date has been set although signs point to late winter.

4. Tiffani Faison

Restaurant: Sweet Cheeks

City: Boston, MA

This season-one finalist will soon open Sweet Cheeks, her take on Southern BBQ, in the next few weeks. Promising an “ingredient-driven” menu, a large outdoor space and a “serious beverage program,” it has all the makings of a down-home hit. Look for it to open in mid-October in Boston’s Fenway neigborhood (1381 Boylston St.).

5. Hung Huynh

Restaurant: Catch

City: New York, NY

Hung Huynh, who had previously been cooking at kosher Midtown eatery Solo, is teaming up with the EMM Group (Abe & Arthur’s, Tenjune) for this seafooder opening in the Meatpacking District this Saturday. Expect a relaxed atmosphere and a focus on sustainable fare (21 Ninth Ave.).

6. Stephanie Izard

Restaurant: Little Goat

City: Chicago, IL

Following up on the success of her barely eight-month-old eatery Girl & the Goat, this Top Chef winner’s upcoming project on Randolph Street will be a no-fuss diner/bakery concept inspired by the East Coast. The 100-seat eatery will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and will feature private dining and a bar. Look for a late fall opening.

7. Brian Malarkey

Restaurant: Various

City: La Jolla, Seattle, Denver, Etc.

Malarkey has major expansion plans in the works, hoping to open 15 new restaurants that will be riffs on his existing San Diego eateries Searsucker and Burlap. Locations are planned for Seattle, Denver, Houston and more, and the cuisine will vary locally. And that’s not all: in March 2012, Malarkey will debut a new La Jolla project with partner James Brennan and designer Thomas Shoos that will have either a “non traditional Italian” or a “neighborhood fish market” theme – the duo has yet to decide.

8. Spike Mendelsohn

Restaurant: Good Stuff Eatery

City: Arlington, VA

There are rumors that this fedora-loving chef will be taking his popular burger spot, Good Stuff Eatery, to other cities like Philly and Chicago. First up, however, the chef tells us he’ll be expanding to Crystal City in Arlington, VA, this spring.

9. Kevin Sbraga

Restaurant: Sbraga

City: Phildelphia, PA

This season-seven winner will soon be opening a small-plater in Philadephia, a prix fixe concept that will feature the chef’s “personal rendition of American food,” offering items like meatloaf with truffles and foie gras. Expect the 65-seater in late October/early November (440 S. Broad St.).

10. Ryan Scott

Restaurant: Name TBD

City: San Francisco, CA

Though this season-four vet has been busy with his 3-Sum-Eats truck, he’ll soon open a yet-unnamed, brick-and-mortar eatery that will be a fast-casual concept modeled after San Francisco’s Myth Cafe (68 W. Portal Ave.).

11. Dale Talde

Restaurant: Talde

City: Brooklyn, NY

The Top Chef Chicago/Top Chef All-Stars alum is gearing up to open his Asian-American eatery Talde in the next few weeks in Park Slope, Brooklyn. For his first solo venture, the former Buddakan chef will partner up with Thistle Hill Tavern owners John Bush and David Massoni to open a 70-seat space that will fuse American and Asian (namely Southeast Asian, Chinese and Japanese) cuisines. It will feature a chef’s counter facing an open kitchen (369 Seventh Ave.).

12. Bryan Voltaggio

Restaurant: North Market Kitchen

City: Frederick, MD

The DC-based season six vet will open North Market Kitchen, an ambitious 10,000-sq.-ft. eatery in Frederick, MD, that will include a 200-seat dining room, a specialty store, an exhibition kitchen, a raw bar, a cheese counter, a patisserie and more. He’s modeling the venture after NYC’s Eataly, the massive Italian food market launched by Mario Batali (331 N. Market St., Frederick). He’s also planning a yet-to-be-named bistro/steakhouse in DC’s Chevy Chase Pavilion (5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW).

Source: Huffington Post

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