Chef

Jason Hammel

"I had these duck tacos once eight years ago when the sun was shining through the windows on a winter day, and the tortillas were so fresh and hot and the charros so earthy and satisfying that the spell has never been broken."

"Sometimes my daughter orders a plain one and I'll take a bite. The bun and the burger themselves are so good here that they don't need any embellishment, but the fixings don't hurt."

"Owner Darko Arandjelovic draws hearts and flowers in latte foam, but that’s not what makes the drink so artful. His espresso is true culinary work: citrusy, deep, buttery, and complexly layered. Brilliant. It’s a different kind of art."

"This place might be packed, busy, and famous, but the cooking is neither safe nor an attempt at crowd-pleasing. There is creativity and risk here that you just don't find very often."

"Whatever the cold sandwich of the week is, it always features a huge slab of housemade charcuterie and grainy mustard and can be eaten with one hand while shifting with the other in my truck. It makes the trips between restaurants a pleasure. Just make sure not to go on Sunday because it's the only day they don't serve sandwiches."

"Tara Lane, the former pastry chef at Blackbird, turned me on to these. Even though you know they're searing hot, it's too tempting not to bite right down."