New York Best New Restaurants 2019

Here are the 10 best new places to eat in America right now.

1. Cadence, Philadelphia

Why it won: Simple pleasures and serious food—for once, you don’t have to choose between them.
Where did the feel-good restaurants go? The ones that restore the spirit, the ones that make us feel fed in ways that transcend the obvious, the ones where the hospitality isn’t an algorithmic triple axel but human, heartfelt—“How’s the family?”. You know the type: Hearth in New York City; Rustic Canyon in Los Angeles. To that list, add Cadence in Philadelphia.
Before chefs Jon Nodler, Samantha Kincaid, and Michael Fry opened their South Kensington charmer, they all worked in various kitchens of beloved Philadelphia restaurant group High Street Hospitality for about six years—a lifetime as far as kitchen tenures go. It speaks to a sense of loyalty and basic goodness that carries through in every exchange at Cadence. You might get a call the morning of your reservation to remind you that the restaurant is BYOB—they’ll direct you to a bottle shop down the street where they’ve curated a small list of retail wines that pair especially well with their live-fire cooking. You might inquire about an especially vivid Concord grape soda you see on its way to a table and moments later be handed a tiny glass of the tangy, perfect flotsam on the house.
Lest you think all of this sweetness and light also means a no-brainer menu, consider the herb dumplings, like the creamiest gnocchi, with mustard butter, and a lamb ragù in a tractor-pull contest of brightness and funk. Both savory and sweet are handled with a masterful command of acid here—charred tomatillo with rings of grilled squid one night, huckleberries with bison tartare, buttermilk with pink slices of bavette, or a sundae of cider shaved ice, with sesame seeds where sprinkles might have been.