Retromania: New Restaurants that Serve Updated Classics

Nostalgic new spots, from upscale diners to haute seafood shacks.

By Emily Kaiser Thelin

Hip Burgers

Star Atlanta chef (and former Top Chef contestant) Richard Blais (left) brings his love of high-tech cooking to Flip Burger Boutique. One of his liquid-nitrogen milk shakes would be fabulous with any of the burgers, from the classic all-American Flip Burger to the Bun Mi: seared pork sausage with pickled ginger and Asian-spiced slaw.

slideshow Plus: 10 Favorite Burgers

Finer Diner

Courtesy of Bullfrog & Baum

The pierogies are made in-house and the roast chicken is organic at Teplitzky’s coffee shop in the Chelsea, Atlantic City’s new boardwalk hotel. The owner is top restaurateur Stephen Starr.

slideshow Plus: Roast Chicken Recipes

Locavore General Store

Courtesy of Cherith Valley Gardens

Oak Street Local Market in Mountain Brook, Alabama, sells fresh produce and canned goods from near and only slightly far, like this spicy pickled okra from Cherith Valley Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas.

Plus: Local Food Resources

A Chef’s Seafood Shack

Courtesy of Nancy Uber/Nu PR

At Nettie’s Crab Shack in San Francisco, owner Annette Yang and chef Brian Leitner draw on traditions across the U.S., from a Bay Area Dungeness crab feast to a crayfish boil featuring their own version of the mid-Atlantic spice mix Old Bay.

slideshow Plus: Sensational Crab Recipes

Meat Loaf Makeover

Courtesy of The Meatloaf Bakery

At Chicago’s Meatloaf Bakery, Cynthia Kallile rethinks the comfort-food classic with recipes like her chorizo-spiked El Loafo del Fuego. Using mashed potatoes and other sides as icing, she turns loaves into layer cakes (perfect for parties) and cupcakes (single servings).

slideshow Plus: Perfect Comfort Food Recipes