Staplehouse and Miller Union Make Eater’s List of 38 Essential Restaurants in America

To find the 38 best restaurants in America, Eater’s roving critic Bill Addison criss-crossed the country this past year. That’s 32 weeks of travel and over 500 meals in 36 cities, to be exact.

Of all those meals, two restaurants from Atlanta earned a place in Eater’s America’s 38 Essential Restaurants list for 2017: Miller Union and Staplehouse. It’s the latest honor for these acclaimed restaurants.

Miller Union made the National 38 list last year as well, and in 2017, its executive chef and co-owner Steven Satterfield won the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef: Southeast” award. Addison writes: “South Georgia native Steven Satterfield bares the heart of his region in dishes like field pea and peanut salad or pan-roasted chicken with creamed rice.”

Meanwhile, Staplehouse is a new addition to the list but it made an impression right from the start. When Staplehouse opened in 2016, Addison named it as one of 21 best new restaurants in America. “Chef Ryan Smith’s genius has been obvious from the moment Staplehouse opened in October 2015,” Addison writes this year. “It’s easily Atlanta’s most accomplished cooking.”

As for the restaurant of the year, Savannah’s The Grey from chef Mashama Bailey took home that top honor. “The cooking bursts with utter humanity. Bailey’s food — curried roast chicken, melting leeks with country ham and curls of grassy tomme, lamb shoulder braised with Senegalese spices — speaks to love of the region and devotion to the craft,” Addison writes. Road trip, anyone?

• The Best Restaurants in America [E]
• The South's 38 Essential Restaurants [E]
• All Staplehouse Coverage [EATL]
• All Miller Union Coverage [EATL]