Esquire's Best New Restaurants in America, 2022
For our 40th edition of this list, we’re celebrating the 40 mightiest new establishments—from Maine to California—that represent what it means to dine well in the U.S. right now.
Supperland - Charlotte, NC
I sat at the counter, where I could watch sparks fly from the wood fires, and it didn’t take long before two women were sharing food with me—and I with them. Supperland’s that kind of joint. It’s a former church that owners Jamie Brown and Jeff Tonidandel have converted into a celebration of tender steak, onion dip, potato chips, and fellowship. I ate dishes that seemed blessed by some kind of spirit. A cazuela full of blackened onions arrived hissing steam. As a guy poured hot butter onto my platter of roasted oysters, a glowing- orange remnant of firewood dropped right on top of one of the bivalves. “Don’t eat the ember,” a server advised. Lord, have mercy. —J. G.