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    txmo best new restaurants

    9 Houston restaurants earn spot on 2022's best list by Texas Monthly

    Eric Sandler
    Feb 14, 2022 | 9:52 am
    The classic Peacemaker po' boy.
    The classic Peacemaker po' boy.
    Photo by Emily Jaschke

    Once again, Texas Monthly has published its list of the state’s best new restaurants. Led by food critic and executive editor Pat Sharpe, the 21st edition of the list highlights the magazine’s favorite dishes from around the state.

    Texas Monthly utilized the same format for its 2021 list, opting not to publish a ranked list due to the difficulties restaurants faced during the pandemic. “This year, in the wake of the delta and omicron coronavirus variants, we made the same decision,” Sharpe writes.

    Open to restaurants that opened between December 1, 2020 and December 1, 2021, the list breaks down dishes into the following categories: small plates, sandwiches, large plates, sweets, and cocktails. Separate features highlight Texas-made beers, wines, and spirits; provide an overview of popular outdoor dining options in major Texas cities; and look ahead to 2022’s most anticipated new restaurants.

    Houston leads the way with eight bars and restaurants receiving recognition for their dishes or drinks. Looking at the state’s other major cities, Austin and Dallas eateries each earn seven spots, respectively, while Fort Worth and San Antonio have five entries per city.

    Three restaurants receive slightly longer profiles. They are: March, the Montrose restaurant devoted to elegant, Mediterranean-inspired tasting menus; Up Scale, a San Antonio restaurant that focuses on steaks, seafood, and sushi; and Meridian, Dallas chef Junior Borges’s modern Brazilian restaurant. Sharpe hails March for its “art-filled, 28-seat dining room” and chef Felipe Riccio’s “highly inventive” take on Spanish food the restaurant served in the fall (it just reopened with a new, French-inspired menu for the spring).

    Turning to the Houston bars and restaurants recognized for their individual dishes, both Da Gama’s Tandoori Roots and Ixím’s fried meatballs make the small plates section. Winnie’s gets a nod for its Peacemaker Po’ boy. The large plates section includes the Pollo a la Leña served at Chivos, Duck N Bao’s signature whole Peking duck, and Urbe’s huarache, a masa cake topped with refried black beans, carnitas, and poblano chile strips (rajas). The drinks and dishes section finishes with the Butterfly dessert served at Le Jardinier and Night Shift’s Pornstar Martini.

    The patio dining list mixes old favorites like Backstreet Cafe and Brennan’s alongside relative newcomers like Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co. and J-Bar-M Barbecue. Finally, Texas Monthly is looking forward to Aaron Bludorn’s still-unnamed Rice Village restaurant and Top Chef finalist Dawn Burrell’s Afro-Asian restaurant Late August, among others.

    Head to the Texas Monthly website to see the complete list of selections from across the state.

    March's vermouth is on the cover.

    Texas Monthly best new restaurants 2022 magazine cover
      
    Courtesy of Texas Monthly
    March's vermouth is on the cover.
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    wine guy in NYC

    Chris Shepherd reviews the New York Times' newly ranked No. 1 NYC restaurant

    Chris Shepherd
    Jun 4, 2025 | 4:30 pm

    Sometimes, the stars just align. That was the case for my wife Lindsey and me on a recent trip to New York City. We were there for one night — one shot to eat somewhere memorable — and somehow landed a reservation at Semma, the Southern Indian restaurant from the team at Unapologetic Foods. And today? It just got named the No. 1 restaurant in New York by The New York Times. Not a bad coincidence.

    Here’s how critic Priya Krishna describes it:

    New York is teeming with Indian restaurants. Yet before Semma, a deeply personal tribute to the chef Vijay Kumar’s upbringing in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the city’s diners had never seen Indian food like this. Punctuated with chiles, coconut and earthy curry leaves, Semma’s flavors are lingering and loud, yet restrained. Its dosa is the best in the city: a crisp specimen that’s heady with fermentation and slicked with ghee and fiery gunpowder spice. Semma altered the course of Indian dining here, and four years on, Mr. Kumar’s food continues to feel fresh.

    Semma NYC restaurant
      

    Photo by Chris Shepherd

    The New York Times just named Semma as New York's best restaurant.

    We were already buzzing just walking in. The place had that feeling — you know the one. That electric hum that only exists when everything’s in sync. It’s not something you can manufacture or buy — it either exists or it doesn’t. And at Semma, it was there in full force. That warmth, that soul. Like a worn-in blanket you reach for on a cool night.

    The menu reads like a love letter to the region. Small, shareable bites to start. Bigger plates for the middle. And then the mains, rounded out with rice and breads. Chef Vijay came out to say hi — his face lit up with pride — and asked if there was anything we wanted to try. We just said, “We’re in your hands.”

    The ride began with Paniyaram — crispy rice and lentil dumplings kissed with asafoetida and served with Paatti’s chutney. Then came one of the most unexpected hits of the night: Mulaikattiya Thaniyam — sprouted mung beans with coconut and chili. Light, spicy, refreshing. Those two dishes set the tone: this wasn’t going to be a normal dinner. This was a flavor journey.


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    Next came the dish you’ve probably seen all over the internet: the Gunpowder Dosa. A lacy, crisp crepe made with rice and lentil flour, stuffed with potato masala and served with three sauces. Straight-up delicious. It landed next to a salad of snow and snap peas with coconut and red onion — clean, cool, and crunchy. Then came tender pieces of braised short rib, rich with black cardamom and Tellicherry pepper. Boom.

    We paired it all with a bottle of Matthiasson Chardonnay from the Linda Vista Vineyard in Napa. Steve and Jill Matthiasson are some of my favorite people in wine — smart, thoughtful, and making wines that speak to the land. If you haven’t had one of their bottles yet, go get one. Seriously.

    Somewhere in there, there was an amaro break (because why not?), and then the mains started rolling in.

    The lobster tail — served over a creamy, coconut milk broth with mustard seed and turmeric — was just as silky and luxurious as it sounds. The roasted lamb chops hit with perfect texture and spice. And the goat biryani? A fitting exclamation point to a meal already full of fireworks. At this point, our tastebuds were in full sensory overload — in the best way.

    And just when we thought we were done, out came dessert. One with perfect mango. The other with bright passion fruit. After all the richness and spice, these were exactly what we needed — light, clean, beautiful.

    So — is Semma deserving of the No. 1 spot? Yeah. It is. But it’s more than just the food, wine, or cocktails. What sets it apart is heart. It’s clear how much of themselves chef Vijay, Roni, and Chintan put into this restaurant. The passion, the pride, the story — it’s all on the plate.

    Thank you, chef. Thank you, Roni. Thank you, Chintan. For one incredible night, you invited us into your world. And we’ll never forget it.

    -----

    Share your NYC recommendations with Chris via email at chris@chrisshepherd.is.

    Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $11 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund. Catch his TV show, Eat Like a Local, every Saturday at 10 am on KPRC Channel 2 or on YouTube.

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