Parisian Gnocchi
Creepies (Best New Restaurant 2026)
Chicago, IL
When David and Anna Posey of Elske in Chicago opened neo-bistro Creepies next door last fall, it quickly became the hottest table in town. The Francophilia here is obvious, but not over the top—Chicago is squarely baked into its identity. The menu from chef Tayler Ploshehanski is simply fun, rethinking bistro classics with a Midwestern take. Don’t miss the Parisian gnocchi, so cloud-like they practically evaporate on the palate, topped with a brittle sheet of pastry that invites someone to dramatically shatter it. Savory ham, Swiss cheese, egg yolks, and a sharp mustard round out this joyful, winky nod to the croquier madame sandwich, naturallement. —J.H.
Grilled Berkshire Pork Collar
Banshee
Philadelphia, PA
Banshee’s menu sometimes sets my culinary mind spinning. As someone who analyzes food most of my days, the restaurant’s flavor and ingredient combinations can shock, at least on paper. Boquerones and Comte cheese working in tandem to finish braised leeks? Passionfruit on hamachi crudo? Yet each time, my faith is rewarded, as it was when I ordered the Berkshire pork collar with Tarbais beans and bearnaise sauce. Based on the ingredient list alone it should be heavy, unbalanced, and overly rich. Yet the buttery-tender pork collar was tempered by blistered cabbage, while the plump beans melded with the peppery bearnaise, bringing sauciness to every bite. It manages to be both unabashedly meaty yet restrained, with the tangle of cabbage and taut beans holding their own against a slab of sous-vided, grilled, and balsamic agrodolce-lacquered meat—it is essentially the best pork chop you have ever had. Oh and by the way, if you happen to be at Banshee and they have the guava panna cotta with grilled and pickled pineapple on the menu, don’t think too hard before ordering it. I promise it’s great. —Chris Morocco
Moronga
Lugya’h by Ponchos Tlayudas
Los Angeles, CA
You know a dish is going to be good when it comes with a hefty side of lore. Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison shared with me that chef Alfonso Martinez received the recipe for his renowned moronga, a type of blood sausage, on his wedding day from his future father-in-law. His hope was that the family recipe could bestow some success onto his daughter and Martinez. And sure enough, success followed. Ponchos Tlayudas has been a local favorite for years, starting from when it was a pop-up serving crackly, meat-topped tlayudas once a week in South LA. It has since graduated to a brick-and-mortar in the shiny new Maydan Market in West Adams. The moronga is truly marvelous, eye-opening, so good it’ll make you groan. Deep red, speckled with pork fat, smoky from chile, and balanced with an undertone of mint. One bite converts you for life; it’s no surprise why the moronga has been passed down from generation to generation. —J.K.
Foie Gras Eclairs
Cassis
Milwaukee, WI
There is something truly diabolical about these petite eclairs, which come in sets of four at Cassis, a dreamy French brasserie and wine bar conjured alongside a riverbank in Milwaukee’s artsy Third Ward. Roughly the length of a toddler’s forefinger and shot through with velvety foie gras pate, they are startlingly easy to pop into one’s mouth in rapid succession–little sighs of pleasure in hors d’oeuvre form. The pastry is a light and airy conveyance to the unctuous, creamy foie within, while the crackly layer of flour, sugar, and butter that crowns each treat lands a contrasting crunch. Such a superlative snacking experience unquestionably benefits from the space’s warm Parisian-like atmosphere, achieved by James Beard-nominated chef-owner Kyle Knall and wife Meghan through glowy, vintage-inspired light fixtures, mismatched wooden cafe chairs, soaring double-height ceilings, and bone-white tiled walls that gleam as they catch the dying sunlight filtering in through large arched windows. One could linger in this room for hours alongside a crisp glass of Crémant de Loire. And, potentially, another foursome of foie gras eclairs for dessert. —Rachel Tepper Paley