Details — a men's magazine that probes such searing topics as "Is Anal Sex the New Deal-Breaker?" and "Channing Tatum is Proud of His Package" — has officially declared a revolution. An Asian-food revolution, that is. And what a bloody coup it is! "The result is a heady hi-lo fusion that combines the thrill of street vendors, noodle shops, and pho bars with the refinement of the continent's greatest gourmet cuisines," beams the magazine.
And with that, the XY-bent mag anoints two San Francisco restaurants with the title of Best New Asian Restaurant in America. First up? Mission Chinese Food:
Countless big-name chefs have sat in the dingy dining room of Danny Bowien's newfangled Chinese restaurant, formerly the home of an ancient lo mein joint, to sample his egregiously underpriced fusion fare like kung pao pastrami and wildly creative riffs on staples from various provinces, such as Sichuan(ish) ma po tofu and addictively salty, cuminy Hunan(ish) lamb belly. Plus, the place delivers to just about anywhere in the city—impressively humble for a restaurant voted No. 2 in America by Bon Appetit magazine last year. The much-hyped new NYC location is a thrill, but it can't match the magic of the original.
And then, Benu, a diamond tennis bracelet among the DIY-like culinary clutter, gets a nod:
When Thomas Keller's top lieutenant at the French Laundry stepped down after nearly a decade to open his own place, expectations were sky-high. Corey Lee topped them, crafting a new cuisine that melds intense French technique and Eastern ingredients, producing some unlikely fusions that have been wowing Asian-food nerds—foie gras with eel, pork belly with kimchi crème fraîche, and a faux shark-fin soup with truffle custard.
Hawker Fare and Parallel 37 both get mentions in the Best New Asian Dishes category.
h/t: Eater