One Hot Joint
San Antonio barbecue truck smokes onto Bon Appetit's prestigious best new restaurants list
Texas restaurants are well-represented on Bon Appetit’s list of America’s 50 Best New Restaurants for 2022. Seven Lone Star State establishments earned the magazine's approval, including one in San Antonio.
Reese Bros. Barbecue, a food truck that pairs classic Texas barbecue with Mexican-inspired sides, represents Alamo City on the list.
The other six Texas standouts are:
- Birdie’s, a counter service restaurant in Austin known for its seasonal menu and well-chosen list of natural wines
- Canje, the Caribbean restaurant in Austin from star chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph
- El Rincon del Maiz, a taqueria in Garland that serves vegan tacos on seven different types of corn tortillas
- La Onda, chef Victor Villarreal’s Latin-inspired seafood restaurant in Fort Worth that includes dry-aged fish among its offerings
- March, the Houston fine dining restaurant dedicated to tasting menus inspired by different regions of the Mediterranean
- The Nicolett, a Lubbock restaurant that serves “High Plains Cuisine” in the form of dishes such as elk tartare and house-made pappardelle stuffed with avocado.
The strong showing represents an improvement over 2019, when only four Texas restaurants made the list. Instead of awarding Best New Restaurants in 2021, Bon Appetit recognized restaurants that showed leadership during the pandemic with its Head of the Table awards.
Once again traveling the country to select this year's honorees, the magazine's editors express optimism about the state of dining in America. They note that a broader range of immigrant culinary traditions has spread across the country, writing that it means “more Guyanese and South Indian and Palestinian and Indigenous Mexican food for all of us.” They also praise restaurants that are “putting their staff first” by offering improved working environments.
“I hope this list, divided by region and filled with our thoughts on what to order and what to know, acts as an invitation to shake off any skepticism as to whether going out is ‘worth it’ these days,” restaurant editor Elazar Sontag adds.
Each restaurant on the list receives a brief profile along with a list of recommended dishes. Started by sibling founders Elliott and Nick Reese (formerly at Brick Vault Brewing and Barbecue in Marathon, Texas), the Reese Bros Barbecue menu brings unique creations to the San Antonio barbecue scene. Bon Appetit highlights a few, including "fall-apart brisket oak-smoked to barky perfection, juicy-spicy sausages stuffed with queso fundido, and a slew of excellent Mexican-inspired sides from chefs Jorge Flores and Gabriel Perez."
From this long list of 50 restaurants, Bon Appetit will reveal its ranked top 10 list on September 14.
