Round one of the Tastemaker Awards Best New Restaurant voting produced some surprising results. As the four round, bracket-style tournament moves on to its elite eight, let's look at the results and the new match ups. Polls are open until 11:30 pm on May 11. Vote now.
Only 28 votes separated B&B Butchers from Helen Greek Food & Wine, but it was enough for the Washington Ave steakhouse to advance. In round two, it has the unenviable task of facing The Burger Joint, which received more votes than any other establishment in its round one matchup against Pappas Charlies Barbeque.
The other close matchup saw Montrose Chinese restaurant Cooking Girl defeat Treadsack's Thai powerhouse Foreign Correspondents by 40 votes. Up next, will the restaurant's Sichuan noodles make a Cinderella run into the final four, or do CultureMap readers prefer the Japanese-inspired bar food and creative cocktails of Midtown's Izakaya, which had no trouble besting Chinatown spot Mein.
Sparks will fly when two restaurants that build their menu around wood-burning ovens square off in a round two matchup that pits Hunky Dory, which defeated its parking lot neighbor Bernadine's, against Southern-inspired neighborhood joint Bramble, which bested The Durham House's Creole cooking.
In the battle of River Oaks, State of Grace triumphed over SaltAir Seafood Kitchen, but Ford Fry's juggernaut will have its hands full with Southern Goods, which had one of the round one's largest margins of victory in its match up with Fielding's Local Kitchen + Bar. Will it be State of Grace's extensive raw bar and elegant dining room or Southern Goods's "why the hell not" ethos and barbecue influence?
That's for you to decide. Vote today!
Sparks will fly when Hunky Dory and Bramble go head to head.
