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Unlike most chefs, Ryan Skeen is not out to charm you. He’s a talented toque by anyone’s account — Adam Platt once called him a “master of meathead cuisine”; Frank Bruni praised his “nimble internationalism”; and the Underground Gourmet applauded his rise to “burger stardom” — but he’s also bolted or been bolt-locked out of at least ten restaurants in ten years. In the process, he’s made food-world headlines again and again, and earned his reputation as the foremost enfant terrible of the New York restaurant scene.

Skeen is young and handsome, like a delinquent Chris O’Donnell, but he was all business — no fist-bumps, no flirting — when he sat down with Grub Street over a slow-nursed beer at Marshall Stack to talk through his career, from the early days with DiSpirito, Pelaccio, and Jean-Georges through the “pure evil” that was Allen & Delancey, up to his most recent departure after three months at Pera in Soho.

He took a while to loosen up, but eventually, a piercing stare gave way to boyish stories about old-time kitchen pals Chang and Carbone at Café Boulud; he laughed at an infamously snarky food blogger who “cries like a little baby”; and politely offered more time to talk if needed.

When asked if anyone gets to see his softer side, Skeen cracked a smile and said, “My girlfriend. She keeps a picture of me cuddling with her cats to show people that I’m sweet.” But just when you think he’s almost endearing, Skeen will quickly admit: “I’m an asshole,” a declaration he made at least twice, while also explaining that he “developed a thick skin at a very young age” thanks to a “very intimidating” mother.

Skeen is currently mulling his next project, which he says will be “a passion restaurant,” something he’s “psyched and cautious” about. So what really happened at those other kitchens? Skeen pointed to his own perfectionism —

Realness can be thrilling. And fortunately, radical authenticity is surging in the world of American dining. Perhaps chefs are becoming braver and more willing to put their personal stories on the plate. Or maybe there’s an unconscious impulse afoot to fend off the existential threat of artificial intelligence and virtual worlds. Whatever the reason, we’re all the beneficiaries of a culinary moment that revels in raw honesty. The collective dining experience right now is visceral, vulnerable, downright weird at times—and so very human.

Nothing is more real than a whole fish, a dish that makes an appearance, in various forms, on many of the menus featured in the forty-first edition of our Best New Restaurants—reported, as always, by real humans: Jeff Gordinier, Joshua David Stein, Omar Mamoon, and yours truly. Over the past year, we crisscrossed the nation, sampling some two hundred new dining establishments that serve almost every conceivable type of cuisine. After a series of spirited debates, we settled on fifty restaurants that stood out from the rest, below, in alphabetical order by state.

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At our Restaurant of the Year, Ilis in Brooklyn, which kicks off our list below, they prepared the fish as it would have been done centuries ago, wrapped in bark and cooked over flames. Across the country at Poltergeist in Los Angeles, they gave us a wild, experimental take on the fish taco, which was dipped in masa and fried. Both felt genuine, and each was delicious.

Honest innovation doesn’t always work in the kitchen, but when it does, it’s like rocket fuel for the soul. You leave not just full, not just filled with delight, but with a spark. It’s a rare thing, but it’s worth chasing. Consider this your map. —Kevin Sintumuang

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

ILIS

Brooklyn, New York

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