The People's Best New Chef: Southwest

Southwest Region Winner:

Tim Byres

RestaurantSmoke
City, StateDallas, TX
Why He's AmazingBecause he goes beyond just barbecue, with an in-kitchen wood grill and smoke pit for smoking or curing almost every dish on the menu.
BackgroundStephan Pyles, The Mansion, Standard (Dallas)
Culinary schoolJohnson & Wales, Miami
Must-try dishPimento-cheese croquettes.
What smells so goodByres smokes or cures almost all his dishes over wood, using either the mesquite-fueled wood grill and barbecue pit in the kitchen or a vintage Appalachian cold smoker out back, which uses hickory, pecan wood and charcoal.
Menu inspirationBefore opening Smoke in fall 2009, Byres spent the summer traveling across the South in a rebuilt VW bus, tasting regional barbecue. "Everybody wants to label barbecue styles and areas," he says. "But wherever you go in the rural South, styles developed from availability and necessity. It's just honest cooking."
Local flavorsThe kitchen team planted an herb and vegetable garden behind the Hotel Belmont, where the restaurant is located.
Must-try dishHand-pulled all-natural whole hog, North Carolina style, which is roasted overnight.
smokerestaurant.com
Review

Bowman Brown and Viet Pham

RestaurantForage
City, StateSalt Lake City, UT
Why They're AmazingBecause the two chefs have a passionate collaboration that produces artful combinations of texture and flavor.
Background
Brown: The Dunaway Restaurant (Portsmouth, NH), Spark (Provo, UT), 231 Ellsworth (San Mateo, CA), Gary Danko (San Francisco)
Pham: Spark (Provo, UT), Fifth Floor (San Francisco)
Culinary school
Brown: Atlantic Culinary Academy, Dover NH
Pham: California Culinary Academy
Must-try dishScallop sashimi with Meyer lemon confit, pressed apple and toasted buckwheat.
F&W Best New Chef pedigreeDuring culinary school, Brown worked at The Dunaway Restaurant with Best New Chef 2006 Mary Dumont. Pham worked for Best New Chef 2002 Laurent Gras at San Francisco's Fifth Floor.
Home statesBrown grew up in Arizona; Pham in California.
foragerestaurant.com
Review

Andrew Curren

Restaurant24 Diner
City, StateAustin, TX
Why He's AmazingBecause he's running a 24-hour diner but still grinds his own hamburger meat and whips the cream for milk shakes by hand.
BackgroundBarbuto, Tabla (New York City)
Culinary schoolValedictorian of his class at the Culinary Institute of America.
How he learned the tradeAfter nine months as a line cook for Jonathan Waxman at Barbuto, Curren moved into the position of chef de cuisine, where he changed up to half of the menu every day.
Must-try dishRoasted banana–and–brown sugar milk shake.
How he describes his food"Elevated comfort food"—the menu features classics like meat loaf dressed up with bacon-braised greens and sweet-onion gravy.
The vibeIn the morning it's business executives having breakfast; late-night is dominated by the post-concert crowd.
24diner.com
Review

Chris Curtiss

RestaurantNoca
City, StatePhoenix, AZ
Why He's AmazingBecause, in a strip mall in Phoenix, he's doing exceptional dishes to reclaim and elevate global cuisine.
BackgroundCharles Nob Hill, Masa's, Fifth Floor (San Francisco)
Must-try dishItalian-Asian crudos, like hirame and diver scallops with hazelnuts and poached citrus.
Guests loveDesigner open-face sandwiches, like wagyu pastrami with homemade pickled cabbage and Dijon foam.
Where to sitAt the five-seat counter overlooking the open kitchen, where you can watch Curtiss working the fish station every night.
restaurantnoca.com
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Bryce Gilmore

RestaurantOdd Duck Farm to Trailer, Barley Swine
City, StateAustin, TX
Why He's AmazingBecause he's serving duck eggs and grilled quail from a trailer he built himself.
BackgroundBoulevard (San Francisco); Wink, Moonshine (Austin)
Culinary SchoolCalifornia Culinary Academy, San Francisco
Must-try dishGrilled brussels sprouts with capers and marinated rabbit belly.
Favorite farmsRichardson Farms for pork, Countryside Farm for duck and eggs, Bella Verdi Farms for greens.
Cooking genesBryce worked for his father, Jack Gilmore, at Z'Tejas restaurant in Austin before and after high school. "He's an amazing chef," Gilmore says. He uses his father's new restaurant, Jack Allen's Kitchen, for Odd Duck food prep.
Unusual digs:Gilmore built the orange-and-white trailer that houses his kitchen, which includes a wood-burning grill room and all the trappings of a small restaurant kitchen. Diners enjoy his offerings at metal tables on an outdoor graveled dining area.
oddduckfarmtotrailer.com
Review

Jesse Griffiths

RestaurantDai Due Supper Club
City, StateAustin, TX
Why He's AmazingBecause his series of DIY foodie classes and pop-up restaurants—in farms, hotels, wherever—sell out immediately.
BackgroundVespaio (Austin)
Must-try dishGulf fish soup.
Why he appreciates farmersGriffiths has spent time farming in France and Spain through the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms program.
Where you can find the restaurantDai Due has no brick-and-mortar home: It pops up periodically at farms, hotels and other venues in and around Austin. Griffiths and his wife, Tamara Mayfield, also operate the Dai Due Butcher Shop every Saturday at the Austin Farmers' Market.
How he shares his knowledgeDai Due offers frequent classes in topics like hog butchery and deer hunting and dressing. At Griffiths's fly-fishing seminar, students learn to use feathers and other materials sourced from the environment to tie flies to catch their own fish.
Why prosciutto doesn't belong in a Texas butcher shop"We didn't have the mountain caves to hang it in," he says, "but our German and Alsatian heritage leads to bratwurst and liverwurst, our Mexican heritage to chorizo, and our proximity to Cajun life yields chaurice and boudin sausage."
daidueaustin.net
Review

James Holmes

RestaurantOlivia
City, StateAustin, TX
Why He's AmazingBecause he's drawing crowds for Texas ingredients and offal like a pickled pig's ear sandwich.
BackgroundCatering for Willie Nelson; Craft, Picholine (New York City)
Culinary SchoolPeter Kump's New York Cooking School (now the Institute of Culinary Education), New York City.
Must-try dishLamb's tongue fricassee with apricot mostarda.
Culinary inspirationHis backyard vegetable garden.
Why he cooks farm-to-table food"You can grow year-round in Austin," he says. "It's almost a sin not to cook fresh and local."
olivia-austin.com
Review

Max MacKissock

RestaurantThe Squeaky Bean
City, StateDenver, CO
Why He's AmazingFor putting out ambitious, delicious bar food using just two convection electric ovens, a panini press and some camping equipment. (But the kitchen will soon be updated.)
BackgroundVita (Denver); Great Northern Tavern (Keystone, CO)
Must-try dishShake 'N Bake veal sweetbreads with poached pineapple and basil.
Humor on the menuDishes and cocktails reference kitschy TV trivia and pop culture—the cured-meats platter is named for Green Acres swine hero Arnold Ziffel.
Bar programThe drink list features a rotating list of local beers and cocktails.
Hyper-local sourcingMacKissock grows many of the vegetables he uses in the alley next to the restaurant.
thesqueakybean.net
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Michael Richey

RestaurantPago
City, StateSalt Lake City, UT
Why He's Amazing
BackgroundTree Room at Sundance (Sundance, UT), Foreign Cinema (San Francisco)
Culinary schoolSelf-taught.
Must-try dishMoroccan-spiced lamb, sourced from Morgan Valley Lamb. It often sells out.
The namePago is the Spanish designation for a single vineyard; Pago's wine list is short but well-curated by its owner, Scott Evans, with picks like the Bedrock Heirloom Red from Sonoma.
pagoslc.com
Review

Courtesy of Brownstone

Casey Thompson

RestaurantBrownstone
City, StateFort Worth, TX
Why She's AmazingBecause her cooking toes the lines between bold flavors and beautiful, feminine touches.
BackgroundMansion on Turtle Creek, Shinsei Restaurant (Dallas)
Best known forBeing a finalist on Top Chef Season 3.
Must-try dishSmoked beet and chickpea puree.
Culinary inspirationSouthern cooking and good produce.
Mixology programInnovative twists on classic cocktails, like the Serrano-Celery Caipirinha, which blends cachaça, celery and lime juice, orange bitters and a hint of spicy serrano chile.
MultitaskingAs Brownstone's pastry chef and executive chef, Thompson makes all her own ice creams and sorbets, as well as creamy cheese curds.
On using farm-fresh vegetables on Top Chef"We really enjoyed these opportunities. We could pick through specialty produce so fresh the dirt remained on the roots."
brownstonerestaurants.com
Review

Chef finalists in other regions

Voting starts on 2/15/11 and ends 3/1/11 at foodandwine.com/peoples-bnc. One vote per computer per region. Votes from any automated means or intended to disrupt the voting process (in American Express Publishing Corporation's sole discretion) will be void. Chefs with the highest eligible votes per region will become finalists (10 total). The People's Best New Chef title will be determined based on highest number of eligible votes received during the voting period. All votes subject to verification. The People's Best New Chef is a trademark of American Express Publishing Corporation.