"In 2023, Johnny and Sarah Courtney took over the Wallingford house that used to be home to feted organic restaurant Tilth and immediately started building their own legacy. (It is a 2025 James Beard finalist for Best New Restaurant.) The menu rotates with the seasons, but you’re bound to find a lot of unexpected twists on what’s become known as “PNW cuisine.” The radish cake topped with delicate slices of geoduck, for instance, is a sophisticated and unexpected way to serve the Northwest’s most famous bivalve. The baked Alaska is maybe the best showcase of the team’s talents: It takes ingredients like corn silk or cheddar and somehow manages to combine those flavors into something beautiful. Must-try dish: The savory rosette cookies with cheese and onion jam are so famous that the New York Times wrote about them. If you come here, you might as well order them and see what the fuss is about." - Harry Cheadle