Birmingham Restaurant Named One Of Esquire's Best In 2021

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A new Birmingham restaurant has made national news, listed among Esquire magazine's 40 Best New Restaurants In America list released Thursday. Helen, located at 2013 2nd Avenue North, opened in August of 2020 and is the only Alabama eatery that made the Esquire list.

The restaurant is owned by husband-and-wife team, Rob and Emily McDaniel, and was praised by the magazine for its ambiance, but also for "the twenty-two-ounce, dry-aged Kansas City strip, drizzled with beef-and-herb-infused duck fat, and the fennely porchetta with a crackling skin."

The 40 Best New Restaurants in America list was compiled by four food writers: Omar Mamoon. Joshua David Stein, Jeff Gordinier and Kevin Sintumuang.

The restaurant celebrated its inclusion in the list on Facebook Thursday:

"Helen was a real woman who wore pearls and had a grill inside her house. Her facility with coals lives on in her grandson Rob McDaniel’s restaurant," the Esquire article says. The chef describes the place as not a steakhouse. 'But,' he says, 'I want them to know we’re here.' They will. If not for the meat, then for the sides, like corn ribs, eighths of a cob served elote-style, that curl up like a rib, or a smile, when eaten under the benevolent gaze of the portrait of Helen hanging from the wall."

"We could not have achieved this recognition without our incredible team and the dedication they have shown to this restaurant over the past year," the restaurant's Facebook page read in a post sharing the news of Helen's inclusion on the list. "Our hearts are filled with gratitude, and we look forward to continuing the legacy of Helen for many years to come."