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14 DECEMBER 2020
Last Call Our tribute to some
of the incredible restaurants
forced to shutter in 2020
By the editors of Food & WineKEEP UP WITH F&W PRO
Sign up for our newsletter, tune in to Kat Kinsman’s Communal Table
podcast, and read more stories like this at foodandwine.com/fwpro.I MOVED TO NEW YORK in 1996, and it took me a while to
get my bearings. Thank goodness for NYC Restaurant Week,
which allowed a change-scrimping 20-something like me
to indulge in a multicourse menu at a schmancy restaurant
for just under $20. When I met a friend at the legendary
Gotham Bar & Grill, every server treated me like I belonged,
and I still think about how that meal opened the world to
me. Lately, it can feel as if the industry has been swallowed
whole. In fact, nearly one in six restaurants has shuttered
due to the pandemic. But as we hunger for what will come
next (and it will: Longtime Gotham general manager Bret
Csencsitz is working on plans to revive the restaurant, and
others may yet return) we can savor the memories of the
restaurants we have loved, and lost, this year. KAT KINSMANBROKEN SPANISH
(LOS ANGELES)
“No trip to L.A. was complete with-
out swinging by chef Ray Garcia’s
Broken Spanish. It was one of my
favorite places for a solo meal,
ideally composed of at least one
tostada. I can’t quite put my finger
on what made it so special. Maybe
it was the energy of the room, or
the fact that the food was always a
million times better than it needed
to be.” KHUSHBU SHAH,
RESTAURANT EDITORNEW ORLEANS
CAKE CAFÉ & BAKERY
(NEW ORLEANS)
“I’m not a New Orleanian, but twice
a year or so I pretend to be one.
Before a long day of wandering
around the French Quarter, I’d have
a late breakfast at the Cake Café.
The biscuits and gravy could right
most excesses of the previous eve-
ning. I’ll especially miss the apple
and goat cheese king cake served
at Carnival time.” MARGARET EBY,
SENIOR EDITORCANTAB LOUNGE
(CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS)
“Cantab Lounge was located six
minutes from my apartment in
Cambridge’s Central Square; there
were mediocre drinks and a lot of
Dropkick Murphys. Every time I
went, I was so grateful to be there
with dear friends who made me
feel more at home than I’d ever felt
anywhere else.” OSET BABÜR,
ASSOCIATE RESTAURANT EDITORBLACKBIRD
(CHICAGO)
“Paul Kahan’s pioneering minimal-
ist jewel box felt like a love letter
from the future when it material-
ized back in the late 1990s. Even
as the city’s restaurant scene
exploded, this ahead-of-the-curve
gem stayed relevant, winning a
Michelin star each year since 2011.”
DAVID LANDSEL, SENIOR
EDITORHERE’S LOOKING AT YOU
(LOS ANGELES)
“I’d never eaten so many butts in one
night. Smoked turkey butts, you
sicko! We were at Here’s Looking
at You in L.A.’s Koreatown, and it
would be my only visit. The spicy
frog legs were perfect. The owner,
Lien Ta, was so generous; it was
like the staff were determined to
make every meal one of those
best-of-all-time dinners you never
forget.” RYAN GRIM, E X E C U T I V E
DIGITAL EDITORLALO
(PHILADELPHIA)
“Though Lalo opened its brick-and-
mortar location in 2018, the lunch
cart from which it incarnated has
been beloved in Philly for decades.
They served spectacular Filipino
food inspired by family recipes,
and I will never stop dreaming
about their laing—spicy greens
braised in coconut milk, typically
made with pork, but Lalo did it
vegan.” MARIA YAGODA,
RESTAURANT EDITOR,
FOODANDWINE.COMMAISON PREMIERE
(BROOKLYN)
“Maison Premiere was not only the
first place I actually ate (and loved)
an oyster but was also home to the
best oyster happy hour in the city.
I’ll miss meeting friends and sitting
down at the bar to order ‘one of
each’ of about 40 oysters, paired
with a delicious absinthe cock-
tail.” ELSA SÄÄTELÄ, DIGITAL
OPERATIONS EDITORIL CORVO
(SEATTLE)
“Pasta wizard Mike Easton brought
an artisan’s approach to each plate
at his Pioneer Square lunch holy
grail. Perhaps the most surprising
thing about the closure was the
reminder that it had only been
nine years because it felt like so
much longer.” DAVID LANDSEL,
SENIOR EDITORThe perfect rib eye and bar at Here’s Looking at
You in Los Angeles, which closed this JulyPHOTOGRAPHY: DYLAN + JENI