The Hottest Restaurants in Brooklyn Right Now, June 2016

Does Brooklyn have its own unique culinary identity apart from Manhattan? Are all the young, ambitious chefs and restaurateurs opening in Brooklyn these days? And are any Brooklyn restaurants worth the train/cab/boat/helicopter ride from the Upper East Side? These are all questions that can be debated, endlessly. But one thing's for certain: There are a lot of terrific new restaurants in Brooklyn right now. Here they are, in map form.

Added in June: Olmsted, Carla Hall's Southern Kitchen, Sauvage, Hail Mary

Added in May: Emmy Squared, Barano, Midnights, Freek's Mill

Added in April: Tekoá , Frankel's Delicatessen, Rider

Added in March: Belle Shoals, Sushi Ganso, Bar Omar

Added in February: Lilia, Syndicated

Added in January: Insa, El Atoradero, Look Thai Home Cooking

Added in December: Le Garage, Llama Inn, Zurilee Pizza Bar, Parkside, Take Root

Added in November: Cassette, Cozinha Latina, Black Tree BK, Pizza Moto, Tilda All Day

Added in October: Lorenzo's, Werkstatt

Added in September: Moku Moku, The Food Sermon

Restaurants are listed based on opening/reopening date.

Celebrity chef Carla Hall's long-delayed Nashville hot fried chicken restaurant finally made its debut over Memorial Day weekend. The fast casual restaurant is Hall's first standalone project and offers chicken by the plate and by the piece. Fried chicken is offered at six different spice levels, ranging from a mild honey and spice version to one with "tear-inducing" levels of heat. Sides include mac and cheese, collard greens, candied yams, and coleslaw. Right now the restaurant is operating in "soft opening" mode, so it might be good to call ahead to confirm that day's hours, if you plan to make a special trip.

The team from Maison Premiere recently opened Sauvage, an American restaurant near McCarren Park in the former Lokal space. Chef and part-owner Lisa Giffen runs the kitchen and offers dishes like squid ink garganelli, lobster with crushed potatoes, and stuffed arctic char with beef fat potatoes, for two. Maison Premiere veteran Will Elliott runs the bar program, with cocktails like a Pastis Cobbler, which is a drink made with Argala pastis, cherry, and chamomile. It's only open for dinner for now, but Sauvage will eventually also offer breakfast, lunch, and brunch.

Chef Greg Baxtrom, an alum of fine dining establishments like Alinea, Per Se, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, opened Olmsted with farmer and former Atera horticulturist Ian Rothman. Rothman cares for a garden in the back, and Baxtrom creates meals based on what his friend can grow. The menu, which will change regularly, currently features dishes like crunchy asparagus salad, dry rubbed scallops, and a radish top gazpacho with salmon trout roe. Despite the fine dining pedigree, Baxtrom says he wants to keep it a neighborhood restaurant. All the entrees cost less than $25.

Husband-wife duo and first time restaurateurs Sohla and Ham El-Waylly met while attending the Culinary Institute of America together, and their new neo-diner in Greenpoint reflects both their childhoods (Sohla is Bengali-American; Ham grew up in Qatar) and their kitchen experience (Atera, Del Posto, WD~50). The menu includes dishes like matzo ball soup, grilled duck with Egyptian dirty rice, and pork steak with red eye gravy. Hail Mary also offers an extensive baked goods menu from Sohla, who used to run the pastry program at Dover. Offerings include takes on classics like Snickers bars, ranch Texas toast, and savory XO monkey bread.

Hot off the success of Emily in Clinton Hill, Matt and Emmy Hyland bring Detroit-style pizza — a heretofore unrepresented style in NYC — to Williamsburg. The pizzas ($14 - $19) are cooked in pans and feature topping ranging from classic pepperoni to ham and pineapple. In addition to pizza, Emmy Squared features a menu of Italian-style sandwiches like meatball and chicken parm ($14 each) and appetizers like salads and fried cheese curds. Emmy Squared has a full bar and an extensive wine list, and in the coming weeks the team plans to open a subterranean burger lounge.

Situated in the shadow of the Williamsburg bridge, Barano is an 89-seat Italian restaurant from chef Al Di Meglio, who last plied his trade at Rubirosa. Here the chef explores the cuisine of Ischia, the small island off the coast of Naples where his grandmother grew up. The chef is working with a wood-fired oven, rotisserie, and grill, and he's serving three types of hand-pulled mozzarella, made to order. The menu also includes six types of house-made pastas, several pizzas, grilled whole fish, and a spit-roasted Amish chicken.

Freek’s Mill is the new farm-to-table restaurant from chef Chad Shaner, who previously worked at Union Square Cafe and Gotham Bar and Grill. The menu features New American small plates like cauliflower with romesco ($13) and rabbit in a jar ($15). Mains includes monkfish with fried rice ($20), smoked chicken casserole, and dry-aged duck ($29). The wine list is curated by Hotel Delmano vet Alex Alan with an eye toward sustainable producers. The restaurant is named after an 18th century Gowanus mill.

At their new Cobble Hill cafe, Alex Raij and Eder Montero (La Vara, El Quinto Pino, Txikito) are serving an eclectic menu of hearty breakfast and lunch dishes. The morning menu has house-made pastries, a traditional Turkish breakfast, and an egg-in-a-hole made with a spinach pie instead of toast. The lunch menu includes a porchetta sandwich, a three-bean salad, tomatillo soup, and a "bonito melt." The most expensive dish is $12. Tekoá is currently open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Brothers Alex and Zach Frankel recently opened this deli/appetizing shop as an homage to New York institutions like Russ & Daughters, Katz's, and Barney Greengrass. In addition to Acme smoked fish and Baz bagels, Frankel's offers pastrami sandwiches, matzo ball soup, hot dogs, and roasted brisket. The counter-service restaurant is already very popular with the locals. Don't be surprised if there's a line out the door during lunch.

Rider is the new home of James Beard Award-winner Patrick Connolly, who previously worked at Radius in Boston as well as Bobo in the West Village. Connoly's menu includes lamb shawarma, pork schnitzel, griddled mortadella, chicken wings, steak tartare, and steamed clams with bacon. The restaurant — which is part of the National Sawdust music venue — has a barroom with a handful of tables and a dining counter, plus a second floor space with a long banquette and lots of four-tops. Rider opened with a no-tipping policy.

Lilia is the new casual Italian restaurant from former A Voce chef Missy Robbins. The chef is using a wood-fired oven to do a lot of the cooking. The menu has rustic dishes like grilled clams, rigatoni Diavola, a lamb steak, and ricotta gnocchi with broccoli pesto. In a previous life, this space housed an auto body shop. In his two star review, Ryan Sutton praises the fritelle, the sheep's milk cheese agnolotti, and the rigatoni. Lilia has a small cafe area that's open during the day for coffee and pastries.

El Atoradero Brooklyn is the new restaurant from Denisse Lina Chavez, who previously operated an acclaimed Mexican kitchen in the Bronx called Carnitas El Atoradero. The menu features Chavez's famous carnitas, as well as tacos, burritos, and tortas, plus daily specials. Recently the restaurant was serving mole poblano, pozole rojo, and lengua en salsa verde. Check the restaurant's Instagram account for daily updates on the specials. Sietsema recently gave the restaurant three stars.