Monteverde, Oriole Represent Chicago on Eater's 2016 Best New Restaurants in America

Chicago eateries nabbed two of the 21 spots this year in Eater's second-annual Best New Restaurants in America. Recognition isn't anything new for chef/owner Sarah Grueneberg, whose Monteverde continues to earn awards. The Italian restaurant joins chef/owner Noah Sandoval and his team's fellow West Loop restaurant, Oriole.

Monteverde this month also earned a spot locally on the Eater 38. Eater national critic Bill Addison hailed Monteverde as his favorite Italian restaurant of the "bumper crop" he ate through this year as "America's craving for Italian cooking seemed to grow only more insistent."

"The raised platform behind the bar where cooks twist dough into tortelli and obscure shapes says it all: This place puts pasta first, and Sarah Grueneberg is nailing it," Addison told Eater Chicago while justifying Monteverde's appearance on the list.

Local critics have already gushed about Oriole, Sandoval's follow-up to Senza. Addison raved about the service when he visited this spring as a solo diner. This is a tightly-knit team which provides the unexpected.

"It's definitely part of the post-genre tasting menu universe, where you have no idea exactly what evoked cuisine or flavor combination might arrive from course to course, but the meal came together beautifully," Addison told Eater Chicago. "It's clear the principal trio of chefs know and trust one another implicitly."

This is Eater's second such list. Last year, One Off Hospitality Group's Dove's Luncheonette made the ranking as Chicago's sole representative. Read this year's full list over at Eater National.