Mid-Atlantic Chefs

Mike Isabella

RESTAURANT Graffiato (Read a review)

LOCATION Washington, DC

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he’s translating the simple Italian-American flavors of his childhood into a refined, well-edited Mediterranean menu.

CULINARY SCHOOL The New York Restaurant School, now the Art Institute of New York City

BACKGROUND Zaytinya (Washington, DC), Kyma (Atlanta), El Vez (Philadelphia)

MUST-TRY DISH Hand-cut spaghetti with olive oil-poached cherry tomatoes.

BEST KNOWN FOR The knockout chicken in pepperoni sauce that he served in the final episode of Top Chef All Stars.

READ ALL ABOUT IT Isabella’s first cookbook, Flavors from a Jersey Italian, will hit bookstores in fall of 2012.

Photo © Greg Powers.
 

Pierre Calmels

RESTAURANT Bibou (Read a review)

LOCATION Philadelphia, PA

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because of his uncompromisingly authentic French cooking, which does not make concessions to the American palate.

BACKGROUND Le Bec-Fin (Philadelphia), Daniel (New York City)

MUST-TRY DISH Braised pig foot stuffed with foie gras on a bed of French lentils.

WINE PROGRAM BYOB.

ON SCHOOLING YOUNG CHEFS “Younger chefs, they don’t know how to break down whole ingredients anymore. You put a rack of veal in front of them, and they look at it like it’s from a whole different world. But I teach them.”

ON THE FOIE GRAS CONTROVERSY “Foie gras is something I have to have on the menu. It’s a frustrating issue.”

Christopher Edwards

RESTAURANT The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm (Read a review)

LOCATION Lovettsville, VA

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he’s putting Virginia wine country on the foodie map with his impeccable pedigree and precision.

CULINARY SCHOOL Johnson & Wales University (Charleston, SC)

BACKGROUND McCrady’s (Charleston, SC), internship at El Bulli (Roses, Spain), El Raco de Can Fabes (Sant Celoni, Spain), Fiamma (now closed; New York City)

MUST-TRY DISH Hay-smoked potato gnocchi with potato-skin consommé.

FARM FRESH Patowmack Farm has been doing field-side dinners since 1998, using on-site produce like radishes, elderberries and turkey.

EL BULLI LESSONS “I took away a love of woodland foraging. I’ve found a wealth of Patowmack’s wild purple nettle, which has a sweet, minty flavor.”

Sonja Finn

RESTAURANT Dinette (Read a review)

LOCATION Pittsburgh, PA

WHY SHE’S AMAZING Because she has an intuitive and simple approach to cooking that results in a small but focused menu.

CULINARY SCHOOL The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY)

BACKGROUND Bistro Poplar (Cambridge, MD); The Rotunda, Zuni Café (San Francisco); Magnolia Grill (Durham, NC)

MUST-TRY DISH Pizza with radicchio, portobello mushrooms and hazelnuts.*

SURPRISE INGREDIENTS Seasonal toppings like sweet corn, Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes on her signature pizzas.

BEST KNOWN FOR Her crunchy, flavorful breadsticks. She makes 1,500 sticks a week for her 50-seat restaurant.

ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SAN FRANCISCO AND PITTSBURGH DINING CULTURES “It’s almost too easy in San Francisco to get things locally.”

David Guas

RESTAURANT Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar and Eatery (Read a review)

LOCATION Arlington, VA

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he’s evolved beyond his pastry roots to revamp the authentic New Orleans dishes he grew up with, using refined flavors and fresh ingredients.

BACKGROUND Windsor Court Hotel (New Orleans); Acadiana, Ceiba, DC Coast (Washington, DC)

MUST-TRY DISH The Bitter Pig sandwich, with slow-roasted pork, broccoli rapini and aged provolone.

WORST SUMMER JOB Cooking on an oil rig the summer after finishing high school. “It sounded cool in theory and then I got out there and I was miserable.”

BACK TO HIS ROOTS Although Guas first trained at a small trade school in New Orleans to cook savory food, he spent most of his career in pastry kitchens. Bayou Bakery is his first project designing both sweet and savory menus.

FAVORITE NONWORK ACTIVITIES Hunting or fishing with fellow chefs, or taking long rides on his eggplant-colored Harley-Davidson.

SWEET SIDE His 2009 cookbook, DamGoodSweet: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth New Orleans Style, was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Dessert Cookbooks of the year.

Karen Nicolas

RESTAURANT Equinox (Read a review)

LOCATION Washington, DC

WHY SHE’S AMAZING Because she’s shaking up one of DC’s iconic power restaurants by infusing the menu with unique, creative touches.

CULINARY SCHOOL Johnson & Wales University (Providence, RI)

BACKGROUND Simon Pearce (West Chester, PA), Gramercy Tavern (New York City), Dry Creek Kitchen (Healdsburg, CA), Aureole (Las Vegas)

MUST-TRY DISH Savory chestnut flan with roasted porcini mushrooms, coffee syrup and coffee soil.

ON WORKING IN DC “With Equinox and Todd [Gray], he has so many regulars and high-profile government people that have been coming here since he opened 12 years ago, and sometimes they just want you to cook for them. They don’t want what’s on the menu. There’s a lot of catering to that here, which, you know, I never really experienced in New York or Chicago.”

ALTERNATE CAREER “Before I decided to cook, I dreamed of being a professional tennis player. I was obsessed with tennis. I lived and breathed it.”

Kevin Sousa

RESTAURANT Salt of the Earth (Read a review)

LOCATION Pittsburgh, PA

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he’s bringing ambitious molecular gastronomy and New Nordic ideals to Pittsburgh.

CULINARY SCHOOL Pennsylvania School of Culinary Arts (Lancaster, PA)

BACKGROUND Bigelow Grille (Pittsburgh)

MUST-TRY DISH Roasted rabbit loin with quince essence.

BEYOND HOGS The restaurant’s space was once a Harley-Davidson showroom; now it serves dishes like pork loin with farro and pears.

CURRENT OBSESSION Taking a page from New Nordic cuisine, Sousa wants to experiment with underappreciated Native American produce like papaws, elderberries, birch nuts and acorns.

Brad Spence

RESTAURANT Amis (Read a review)

LOCATION Philadelphia, PA

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he’s using his training from F&W Best New Chef 1999 Marc Vetri to make rustic Roman comfort food.

CULINARY SCHOOL The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY)

BACKGROUND Vetri (Philadelphia); Craft, Casa Mono (New York City)

MUST-TRY DISH Guinea hen saltimbocca with trumpet mushrooms.

OBSESSION Curing meat: Spence helped construct the curing room that both Amis and Vetri use for their charcuterie. For a chef event he once made a mortadella so long—4 1/2 feet—that it had to be cooked in a repurposed bathtub.

BEST KNOWN FOR Winning Iron Chef America with his mentor, Marc Vetri.

Nicholas Stefanelli

RESTAURANT Bibiana (Read a review)

LOCATION Washington, DC

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he adds clever flourishes to his terrific, elegant Italian menu.

CULINARY SCHOOL L’Academie de Cuisine (Gaithersburg, MD)

BACKGROUND Mio, Galileo (Washington, DC); Maestro (McLean, VA); Fiamma (now closed; New York City); the French Laundry (Yountville, CA)

MUST-TRY DISH Squid ink spaghetti with jumbo lump crab and red chile.

FAVORITE INGREDIENTS Dill, pork fat, sweetbreads.

AFTER-WORK INDULGENCE Crispy fried pork chop at New Big Wong.

“AH HA!” MOMENT “When I ate a tomato out of my grandparents’ garden at age two.”

Lee Styer

RESTAURANT Fond (Read a review)

LOCATION Philadelphia, PA

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he’s taking his formidable pedigree and using it to make accessible and delightful food at a BYOB.

CULINARY SCHOOL The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY)

BACKGROUND Le Bec-Fin, Lacroix (Philadelphia)

MUST-TRY DISH Cured and braised pork belly with Okinawan sweet potatoes.

HOW HE GOT INTO THE FOOD BUSINESS As a child Styer would go to his grandfather’s restaurant, Styer’s Arbor Inn in Exeter, Pennsylvania, where he would help with chores like ripping lettuce and picking through crab meat.

CROSSOVER In 2010 Styer hosted fellow People’s Best New Chef nominee and Le Bec-Fin alum Pierre Calmels in his kitchen, where the pair collaborated with two other chefs to prepare a five-course dinner for guests.

BREAKING WITH TRADITION “We don’t want to be stuffy. Though we all come from well-rounded French backgrounds, we don’t want a stigma of [people thinking] this’ll be the same thing as where we came from.”