I received this from Esquire today. We reported yesterday that Houston's Voice made the list (with photos and a little tidbit about Michael Kramer's new arrival).

ESQUIRE MAGAZINE NAMES THE BEST NEW RESTAURANTS OF 2008

From American Creative in Houston to Cambodian Street Food in New York City,
John Mariani Once Again Selects the Best New Eateries in America

Four Chefs to Watch and Table of the Year Are Also Highlighted

Esquire, the original men’s magazine and the premier authority on men’s style for 75 years, unveils its annual list of Best New Restaurants in the November issue on newsstands October 14th.  For one-third of the magazine's 75 years, Esquire has been heralding America's best new restaurants and, once again, after eating his way from coast to coast, Esquire's Food and Travel Correspondent John Mariani has narrowed it down to the 20 best new places to eat, as well as selecting "Restaurant of the Year" and "Chef of the Year." 

"It's an amazing time for restaurants," said David Granger, Editor-in-Chief of Esquire.  "Even in a troubled economy, we're seeing the continued flowering of cooking in America.  It's unlike anywhere else in the world.  Spanish cuisine.  Cambodian cuisine.  Cambodian!  An Israeli restaurant.  It's incredible.  And I was particularly happy to see Chicago return to the list.  After an uncharacteristic year in 2007, Chicago is back.  With three of our best new restaurants."

Here is a summary of this year's guide:

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
L2O, Chicago – Chicago has always had an insatiable and open-minded appetite, but the city has never had a great modern seafood house. Now restaurateur Rich Melman and chef Laurent Gras have filled that gap, and they have done so with style.  Gras brings a finely honed precision to every element of seafood cookery and he draws from whatever port he needs to in order to get the best fish.  If you're feeling indulgent and flush and want to fully experience Gras's mastery, go for the $165 twelve-course menu, or try the most intriguing way to end a meal, with the "exotic consommé."

CHEF OF THE YEAR
Dominique Crenn, Luce, San Francisco – Named last year as a "Chef to Watch," Crenn is now taking home the grand title.  If you meet Crenn – and there' a good chance she’ll come out of the kitchen to ask how you enjoyed your evening – you'll realize her refined elegant menu is a reflection of the woman herself.  You'll taste such creations as her lovely "surf and turf carpaccio."  It’s been said that women cook with more wholesomeness than most men, and we doubt that there is a better woman cooking in America right now.

BEST NEW RESTAURANTS (sorted geographically)

Boston, MA
Scampo – At Scampo, located in a former prison transformed into the new Liberty Hotel, Lydia Shire focuses on Boston's rich Italian-American heritage.  Don't miss the hazelnut risotto with sweetbreads and vin santo, the quail with a yellow-raisin sabayon and semolina gnocchi, or the massive black pig chop with a sweet-onion tart.

Chicago, IL
Mercat a la Planxa – Mercat is a new Chicago restaurant specializing in cooking a la plancha, on the grill, and chef de cuisine Michael Fiorello throws plenty on it, from prawns and turbot to rack of lamb and morcillo sausage.  Though what he cooks off it is just as delicious.

Takashi – Chef Takashi Yagihashi taught himself to cook by working his way up through better and better kitchens and now he has his own very personal namesake restaurant.   He's embraced a simple, minimalist style, working out of a tiny kitchen and pouring everything he knows into unforgettable dishes like crispy pork belly with a sweet caramel-soy glaze.

Dallas, TX
Mansion Restaurant at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek – When Mansion on Turtle Creek decided to import veteran New York chef John Tesar, a New York edge was introduced to the typical Texas swagger.  Now, the dining room has been revamped and blue jeans are welcome, especially on the young Dallas women who pack the place nightly for Tesar’s cooking.

Houston, TX
Voice – Chef Michael Kramer does American creative flawlessly: potato gnocchi laden with morels, asparagus, and prosciutto; slowly cooked venison bolstered by a bold sour-cherry sauce.  Splurge an extra six dollars for the french fries dusted with truffles and Parmesan cheese.

Louisville, KY
Corbett's, An American Place – Dean Corbett poured close to $4 million into his new namesake and it shows in this grandly restored mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  His chef de cuisine Chris Howerton presents a menu that straddles Kentucky homey and bold international, which you'll immediately taste in dishes like his hot-and-cold foie gras with plums and Southern Comfort gastrique.

Miami, FL
Pacific Time – Chef Jonathon Eismann originally opened Pacific Time on the beach in 1993, but relocated to the burgeoning Design District.  Now things are still tropically casual, but Eismann's food has gained greater character and stronger inflection of Asian flavors, such as his addictive hot-and-sour popcorn shrimp with Thai vinaigrette. (You will regret agreeing to share this dish.)

New York, NY
Bar Blanc – Set in a former carriage house on one of the loveliest blocks in the West Village, Bar Blanc is a long 60-seat dining room with white brick walls, white leather banquettes, and a 12-stool white stone bar.  But with all its modern chicness, there is something comforting about Bar Blanc, with dishes that are richly satisfying.

Bar Boulud – Daniel Boulud grew up in Lyon, France, and now, after having established himself as one of America's greatest chefs, he has returned home with Bar Boulud.  Just sit at the counter or the tasting table and point to the compotée de lapin, pâté grand-mère, or andouille de Vire.  None will let you down.  And if steak frites is your measure of a good French bistro, you'll find the textbook version here.

Convivio – It's true that Michael White and Chris Cannon have reconfigured the highly regarded L'Impero into a more casual dining room – but just slightly.  You'll still find white tablecloths and exceptional service since this remains, after all, the place for UN dignitaries (you know, like Bono).  What truly has become far less formal, in a dramatic and delicious way, is the food.

Kampuchea – Chef Ratha Chau pays homage to the street food of Cambodia with dishes you won’t find anywhere in this country. The more adventurous will love the seared monkfish liver with a beef jus, spiced pears, pickled daikons, and bush basil.  But it's the sandwiches that you’ll crave days later.

Scarpetta – Chef and owner Scott Conant has brought back real culinary muscle to the Disneyfied Meatpacking District.  His lusty regional Italian food, like his signature roast capretto (young goat), is revived here in all its succulent goodness.  Meltingly braised beef ribs cuddle next to farro risotto, and his simple spaghetti with tomato sauce elevates a dish you thought you knew.

Philadelphia, PA
Distrito – Distrito is one of the most fun places you’ll ever knock back a few cans of Dos Equis.  No doubt Distrito could get away with serving decent Mexican grub, but Chef Jose Garces is using his new venue to show off his love and knowledge of Mexican street food – from guacamole tossed with lump crabmeat and ceviche of red snapper, olives, capers and tomatoes to huaraches, masa cakes stuffed with carnitas of charred pork, chorizo, ham, potato, and Oaxacan cheese.

Zahav – Zahav means "gold" in Hebrew, which is what chef Michael Solomonov hopes he will strike by offering people the food, flavors and even the wines of Israel and other European countries with their own Jewish food cultures.  God promised the Jews a land of milk and honey; we'll take the leg of lamb with saffron that Zahav serves in Philly.

San Francisco, CA
Spruce – Flavor is in the fat, and chef and partner Mark Sullivan skimps on neither, so that a starter of perfectly sweet tomatoes comes not just with mozzarella, but with burrata, the mozzarella with a belly of pure cream.  His main courses are just as hearty, like a nice chewy bavette steak with bordelaise and potatoes fried in duck fat. 

Saratoga, CA
The Plumed Horse – The new owners poured millions into transforming the Plumed Horse, and it's now one of the most beautiful restaurants to open in northern California in years.  But what drives this place is the cooking of chef and partner Peter Armellino, who serves dishes such as camembert fondue to dip fingerling potatoes fried in duck fat and showered with black truffles.

Glendale, CA
Palate Food + Wine – In a year when it was hard to stifle a yawn over the new restaurants in L.A., Palate Food + Wine makes Glendale worth the trip.  From the greeting and seating to the service and wine list, Palate hits every point of hospitality, and the most expensive thing on the menu, the fabulous wagyu rib eye, is still very reasonable.

Tesuque, NM
Terra – Terra is located in the gorgeous, mesa-studded New Mexican desert, where breathtaking sunsets appear just on time outside the glass-wall dining room.  Chef Charles Dale has opted to take advantage of the region's strengths without forcing his menu to scream "southwestern."  His cooking here is more global, though he still obliges with a few regional elements, like adding a huitlacoche mushroom cream to grouper cooked in a corn papillote and served with fried zucchini blossoms.

ESQUIRE'S NOTEWORTHY SELECTIONS OF THE YEAR

TABLE OF THE YEAR
Table 42, Sixteen Trump International Hotel & Tower, Chicago – Chef Frank Brunacci's menu is overall pretty good, but it's the view that you will remember here.  Any window table gives you a heart-stopping view of this most American city's majestic architecture, but you want table 42, the most central up against the window.  Unless, of course, the Donald is in town.  Then it's all his.

FOUR CHEFS TO WATCH 
Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing, MiLa, New Orleans, LA – At MiLa, located in the Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel, this husband-and-wife team does the most innovative cuisine in New Orleans with dishes like "deconstructed" oysters Rockefeller.

James Campbell Caruso, La Boca, Santa Fe, NM – At La Boca in Santa Fe, Caruso proves that small-plate eating is no fad.  His dishes may be small in serving size but they are big on idea.

Enzo Fargione, Teatro Goldoni, Washington, DC – Having taken over D.C.'s best Italian restaurant, Fargione has transformed it into a highly evolved cucina moderna.

HOSTESS OF THE YEAR
Mina Biaz, Chez Papa Resto, San Francisco, CA – This Paris native has lived in the United States for only four years, and already she's won one of its most prestigious awards.  She – and France – must be very proud.