Popular food news and review website Eater just released their highly anticipated "Best New Restaurants" in America for 2024 -- and one Chicago spot made the coveted list.
The short list, which contains only 14 restaurants, was released by Eater Tuesday, with editors exploring spots that opened between Sept. 2023 and Sept. 2024 to find a "crop of stellar new restaurants," the list said.
The final picks spanned 14 cities, with restaurants in New Orleans, Seattle, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Alameda, Burlington, Asheville, Houston, New York, Portland, Washington D.C., Brooklyn, Minneapolis and Chicago.
"This year’s list of the country’s best new restaurants is the result of a collection of restaurant folk — including chefs, hosts, line cooks, and servers — who are doing exactly what they want to be doing, because hell, it’s now or never," editors wrote.
The Chicago restuarant on the list, Mirra, a Mexican restaurant at 1954 W. Armitage Ave., in the city's Bucktown neighborhood, opened in August.
"Chicago has a well-earned reputation as one of the country’s best cities for Mexican food," editors wrote. "Here, chefs showcase locally grown Mexican ingredients and heirloom masa processed by Mexican immigrants. The most exciting new entry into the genre, Mirra, takes this formula and maps it onto the blueprint pioneered by Masala y Maiz, the landmark Mexico City restaurant that blends Mexican and Indian flavors without gimmickry."
Mirra's co-chefs, Rishi Manoj Kumar and Zubair Mohajir, are Indian from different backgrounds, Eater said.
"They bring both North and South Indian flavors together in a restaurant that already defies straightforward labels," Eater said. "The result is Indian Amul in Mirra’s roti quesadillas, and a smattering of fenugreek in the crispy roti shell of its scallop taco. Papads provide the vessel for the silkiest sikil pak in town."
In an Instagram post, Mirra said the chef collaboration "all started five years ago as a simple DM."
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"As the food and beverage scene in Chicago continues to grow and expand, there has been a call and demand for unique and different dining experiences," Mirra says on its website. "In a post-pandemic world, diners and patrons are seeking hospitality spaces that provide warmth, authentic hospitality, and undeniably delicious food and beverages."
On Yelp, Mirra's ratings are glowing, with an average of 4.5 stars.
"Mirra is where Mexico and India meet for a night out--and trust me, it's a match made in culinary heaven," one review says. "The fusion menu is a daring blend of flavors you'd never imagine working together, but somehow, they do."
