10 Great Places to Sample the Latest Dining Trends

Aug. 18, 2012— -- Tablecloths and dining reservations are out. Fixed-price menus and kale are in. Those are some of the trends emerging at the top new restaurants featured in September's Bon Appetit. Dining at these places is like going to a dinner party, says Andrew Knowlton, the magazine's restaurants editor. "The barrier between the kitchen and the customer is gone." He shares his top 2012 choices with Larry Bleiberg for USA TODAY.

State Bird Provisions

San Francisco

Diners chose small-plate "provisions" from a dim-sum-style cart carrying dishes like green garlic bread and kimchi pork belly tofu. "If you ever had table envy, you can say: 'What are they eating? I'll have the same thing,' " Knowlton says. But most guests leave room for the restaurant's namesake dish: California valley quail, the state bird. It's dipped in spicy flour with pumpkin seeds, deep-fried and served on caramelized stewed onions. 415-795-1272; statebirdsf.com

Blanca

Brooklyn, N.Y.

This 12-seat restaurant has no menu. Instead customers get a 28-course meal, although some dishes are literally just a nibble. And with counter-top seating, diners can watch the chefs at work - you might see one wearing a headlamp, illuminating a plate as he removes tiny bones from fish. The food is unexpected too. "It's a little bit Italian, a little bit Japanese, a little bit steakhouse-y," Knowlton says. "It's Brooklyn Modern." 646-703-2715; blancanyc.com

Battersby

Brooklyn, N.Y.

This 20-seat restaurant presents artful plates, but Knowlton says it stands out because of one ingredient: kale. Salads made with the Tuscan green are popping up everywhere, but it's best here. "They fry and serve it with Asian-inspired fish sauce. It sounds so lame, but we're calling it the dish of the year." 718-852-8321; battersbybrooklyn.com

Luce

Portland, Ore.

Dishes have very few ingredients at this combination market-restaurant. Pasta might be tossed with just olive oil and dried chiles, or a steak may come sliced and topped with a basic green sauce. "While so many people are gilding the lily, they're taking it down to Italian at the core." 503-236-7195; luceevents.blogspot.com

The Catbird Seat

Nashville, Tenn.

Diners sit around a U-shaped counter and watch chefs work their magic on the fixed-price menu -- $100 for seven courses. Some dishes are whimsical, like the chicken skin dusted with pepper and topped with a Wonder Bread puree -- a version of the city's take-out hot chicken. For dessert, you might get hay-fused caramelized yogurt. "They want to re-create nature on the plate in a way that stimulates the mind as well as the appetite," Knowlton says. 615-810-8200; thecatbirdseatrestaurant.com

The Bachelor Farmer/Marvel Bar

Minneapolis

Scandinavian cooking is hot, Knowlton says. And here you'll find light Swedish meatballs that taste nothing like the offerings at Ikea's cafeteria. But it's the downstairs bar that makes the restaurant a national stand out. It hand-chips ice for cocktails such as the Lincoln County - a Negroni made with whiskey that has been poured over charcoal and aged for a week. "You get these lovely smoky notes." 612-206-3920; thebachelorfarmer.com

Little Serow

Washington D.C.

Knowlton says the most authentic Thai food in the country may come out of a former Dunkin' Donuts in the nation's capital. "It pulls no punches in the level of spiciness." Ordering is simple: $45 for seven courses, no substitutions. It doesn't have a phone number or take reservations, either. littleserow.com

Oxheart

Houston

Tucked beneath Interstate 10, this little spot offers just three fixed-price options. And guests set their own table between courses with silverware - a way to save on costs. The menus are largely vegetable-driven with some Creole influences. But Knowlton particularly likes its use of so-called trash fish -- various Gulf Coast species usually discarded because they're not what fishermen seek. 832-830-8592; oxhearthouston.com

Bäco Mercat

Los Angeles

This downtown eatery takes its name from a bäco, a made-up dish that Knowlton calls a hybrid pizza, taco and gyro. One version is made with Indian naan bread topped with almond-tomato sauce, green sauce, fried pork belly and carnitas. But that's just the start. "It's a globetrotting menu that draws from Mexico to South America to the Mediterranean to Spain." 213-687-8808; bacomercat.com

Cakes & Ale Restaurant

Decatur, Ga.

While this restaurant is a few years old, Knowlton says it qualifies as new because it changed locations and menus, adding incredible pastries. "If a bake sale died and went to heaven, that's what this place looks like." He cites its chewy, gooey brownies, layer cakes and lemon bars. "They're what any true-blooded American would recognize, but it tastes better than anything else they've had." 404-377-7994; cakesandalerestaurant.com