2 Brooklyn Eateries Named Among Best New Restaurants In America

BROOKLYN, NY — Though the last two years claimed many of the borough's restaurants, it also sparked a long list of new eateries to try.

And in at least two of those recently-opened spots, stopping by means a enjoying one of the best new dining experiences in the country, according to Esquire.

Two Brooklyn eateries have landed on the magazine's list of the Best New Restaurants in America, 2021. The list, twice as long as last year's ranking, includes 10 New York City restaurants total.

It was put together by four food and drink experts from the magazine, who dined at hundreds of restaurants across the nation to find the best eats.

Unsurprisingly, in Brooklyn, one of the top spots was the long-awaited revival of historic Gage and Tollner. Perhaps more of a dark horse, a vegan spot in East Flatbush was ranked among the favorites.

Here's what the experts had to say about each Brooklyn spot:

Gage & Tollner at 372 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, New York

"A resurrected restaurant can be a Dr. Frankenstein mess or something Christlike. Chef Sohui Kim’s glimmering second coming of Brooklyn’s historic steakhouse is, praise be, the latter. Walk through the door and the mirrored, fabric-walled dining room opens before you much as it did in 1879, when the restaurant first opened. (It closed in 2004.) The team has inhaled much of what made G&T so beloved, including favorites from the eighties, when culinary giant Edna Lewis was head chef, like the she-crab soup (above), creamy as ever and laced with roe. But this isn’t just historic-steakhouse cosplay. Kim’s major twist is grass-fed steaks that, under their handsome darkened swirls of char, reveal great tenderness."

Aunts et Uncles at 1407 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, New York

"The bookshelves are crowded with works by Ellison and Baldwin, and the few tables with vegans, not-vegans, family, and friends. Aunts et Uncles, the vegan cafe opened by Mike and Nicole Nicholas in October 2020, is the kind of place you want to spend all day doing whatever at. Mostly eating, though. It’s relatively rare that Caribbean food goes through the vegan ringer at all, let alone as skillfully as it’s done here. Saltfish and bake—the bake fluffy, the saltfish creamy—is made with hearts of palm (and a neon orange, blazingly hot peppa sauce). Those same hearts are used to great effect in a lobster roll that not so much imitates lobster as shows it up. The burger is Beyond and the cauliflower, called Cryin Ryan, is roasted in a sweet peanut sauce. You'll want to bring along everyone you know. Including, of course, your aunts and uncles."

Find the full Esquire list here.