The culinary honors just keep on coming for the Mexican/Latin restaurant industry. Bon Appetit recently recognized four restaurants in the category in its list of Best New Restaurants of 2023.
Chilte, Phoenix. This restaurant, owned by former NFL player Lawrence Smith and Aseret Arroyo serves what Bon Appetit calls “an impressive, constantly changing roster of ambitious Mexican dishes.” The menu includes “hefty tacos arrive cradling fillings like butternut-stuffed chile capped with a rustic red chimayó mole or a thick slab of tender beef tongue on a lacy, crisp layer of cheese. Even more impressive is the mole flight, a trio of sauces accompanied by charred lamb ribs.”
Ensenada, New York City. This “laid-back oases where the seafood is fresh and the mezcal flows freely” features a menu that includes “zippy aguachiles…puffy fried fish tacos and margaritas…[and] mezcal from Ensenada’s extensive curated list, featuring small-batch producers from across Mexico.”
Este, Austin. The newest entry from Chef Fermín Nuñez and Sam Hellman-Mass features seafood dishes “inspired by the Mexican coast” and “just-made tortillas are every bit as good” as those at Suerte, the owners’ “nearby temple to fresh masa.” Pork carnitas get rave reviews, too, although Bon Appetit says diners would “do best to focus all your attention on the bounty of fresh seafood, prepared with such care that steak won’t even cross your mind.”
Maty’s, Miami. Chef Valerie Chang brings “Peruvian cooking traditions that honor her grandmother Maty” at this new restaurant that features dishes such as cebiche mixto with black grouper and crisp calamari, fluffy tortitas de maiz, fried snapper “curled dramatically around cornmeal-dusted fish nuggets,” and a whole roasted dorade “that sits pretty on an ode-worthy ají amarillo beurre blanc.”