Bywater American Bistro is One of America’s Best New Restaurants

After criss-crossing the United States, Eater’s restaurant critic, Bill Addison, dropped his annual Best New Restaurants in America list today, including New Orleans’ very own Bywater American Bistro.

The critic used the local Eater Heatmaps to guide his dining adventures, selecting 18 restaurants that define how America is eating right now. (Each restaurant opened between May 2017 and May 2018.)

Compton had already set her bar high with the success of her first restaurant, Compére Lapin (where Raines was sous chef), named one of Eater’s Best Restaurants in America. Compton won a James Beard Award for her work there.

The surprise hit for Addison at Bywater American Bistro was the spaghetti pomodoro, a dish that’s “usually a safety-net choice for an Italian restaurant’s most finicky customers. Not here.” The pomodoro’s “ruddy, buttery, acidic-sweet tangles” even have him predicting that spaghetti might be the next pasta trend.

Last year’s new critical darling was Turkey and the Wolf. Owner Mason Hereford is currently at work on his second restaurant, Molly’s Rise and Shine.

Check out the full list of 18 restaurants that made the list here.

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• The 18 Best New Restaurants in America [E]
• Eater NOLA Heat Map [ENOLA]
• All Bywater American Bistro Coverage [ENOLA]
• All Compére Lapin Coverage [ENOLA]
• Turkey and the Wolf’s Mason Hereford Is Opening a Second Restaurant [ENOLA]
• Here Are New Orleans’ 2018 James Beard Award Winners [ENOLA]
• America’s 38 Essential Restaurants [E]
• All Turkey and the Wolf Coverage [ENOLA]