"From the outside, Chez Ma Tante doesn’t really give you a reason to look up from your phone. Look in the window too, and all you’ll see is a Brooklyn neighborhood spot that looks mostly like every other Brooklyn neighborhood spot - maybe even more nondescript. Which makes the experience even better when your food starts arriving: at brunch, mind-blowing pancakes, and at dinner, stuff like a perfect caesar salad and one of the better roast chickens you’ll remember eating. Nothing here is overly complicated, but even the simplest food is impressive. This is our sleeper pick of 2017." - bryan kim, katherine lewin, hillary reinsberg, chris stang