The Farmhouse Restaurant
The Inn at Serenbe sits on beautiful farmland in the Chattahoochee foothills, and the one-hour drive from downtown Atlanta has some gorgeous bucolic scenery. The restaurant’s formula couldn’t be simpler: Three courses written on a chalkboard greet you upon arrival, and you can bring your own wine. Most of the vegetables are organic and grown on the grounds, and chef Tony Seichrist, all of 24 years old, often gathers his own eggs and herbs before reporting for duty. Beautiful buttons of corn bread, red trout from a nearby pond, and flounder with fennel-and-scallion beurre blanc have begun to lure Atlantans in droves. 10950 Hutcheson Ferry Rd., Palmetto, GA (770-463-2610)
Five & Ten
Chef Hugh Acheson loves vegetables so much that he has a tattoo of a radish on his forearm. His restaurant, located in a former Laundromat in this quintessential university town, is noisy and fun, but don’t let the relaxed atmosphere fool you: The exceptional clarity of the cooking, the sophistication of the local ingredients, and the quirky wine list are consistent with the best this city has to offer. Dishes like Vidalia onion risotto with sweet peas, okra, and country ham; butter lettuce salad with braised bacon and roasted tomatoes; and crisp sweetbreads with Red Mule grits custard and seasonal succotash prove that this upstart definitely knows his stuff. 1653 S. Lumpkin St., Athens, GA (706-546-7300)
Guadalupe Cafe
When you walk into Guadalupe Cafe in the little hamlet of Sylva, North Carolina, the vintage soda-fountain counter and red vinyl stools might make you think you’re in for standard small-town cooking. Think again. When Jen Pearson took over the space that once housed Hooper’s Drug store, almost four years ago, she brought with her a firm commitment to using local resources to create high-quality, Caribbean-inspired food. Today, she works with a network of area farmers, and her dedication shows up in such dishes as a truly spectacular curried-goat taco made with meat sourced from Dark Cove Farm, just down the road. If you needed proof that the fresh-and-local movement has spread throughout the country in very delicious ways, it’s right here. 606 W. Main St., Sylva, NC (828-586-9877)
Journeyman Cafe
All food lovers dream of stumbling upon an undiscovered gem in the middle of nowhere and consuming a magical meal in the most civilized of surroundings. Fennville, a small farming community a few miles inland from the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, isn’t quite nowhere, but it does come close. Here, chef Matthew Millar and a small staff work with local products and a wood-burning oven to make pizzas, roasted meats, and remarkably crusty and flavorful breads. The breakfast eggs are laid by neighborhood chickens, and the pork sausage patties and crunchy granola are made in-house. 114 E. Main St., Fennville, MI (269-561-2269)
Kai
At Kai, the groundbreaking Native American–owned restaurant (Janos Wilder was a consultant) on the Gila River Indian Community lands, a visionary new American cuisine is flowering with the help of the oldest ingredients on the continent. Chefs Michael O’Dowd and Jack Strong—a Siletz from Oregon—make the most of wild foraged greens and crops grown in the community, in addition to native foods produced by tribes in other parts of the West. Here, I’itoi onions, saguaro seeds and flowers, cholla buds, and nopalitos are paired with Sugpia black cod, Cheyenne River buffalo, and Quinault River salmon. Rare and ancient varieties of corn, beans, and squash do star turns in improbably delicious crèmes brûlées. As Native American flute music drifts through the serene, art-filled room, Phoenix could be a world away. Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, 5594 Wild Horse Pass Blvd., Chandler, AZ (602-385-5726)
Harvest Moon Cafe
New, small and casual, Sonoma’s Harvest Moon Cafe offers local food filtered through a Mediterranean sensibility. Chef Nick Demarest worked at Chez Panisse, but he also spent a year cooking for the ambassador to Cyprus, and both have influenced his food. The best seats are inside, at the counter by the kitchen, where you can watch Demarest (and his pastry-chef wife, Jen) while they work their magic. 487 1st St. W., Sonoma, CA (707-933-8160)
Restaurant Tallent
The husband and wife team of David and Kristen Tallent have combined their Culinary Institute of America educations and Hoosier heritage to create a thoughtful restaurant with no pretensions. Here, every day is foie gras day, be it seared, grilled, or in a torchon. Pork belly and elk loin coexist with thyme-crusted tuna and such meatless dishes as a crisp quinoa cake with artichoke, fennel, roasted beets, and porcini marmalade. The mac and cheese may include truffles, the bacon may be lamb, and the desserts should not be skipped. 208 N. Walnut St., Bloomington, IN (812-330-9801)
The Turquoise Room
Inside Winslow’s artfully restored La Posada, chef John Sharpe cooks southwestern food with integrity and soul, exalting local Native American traditions—tissue-thin piki bread, tepary beans, elk, bison, and roasted Hopi corn—as well as seasonal produce from the Flagstaff farmers market that he helped establish. The Painted Desert has never had a restaurant that’s so true to place. La Posada Hotel, 303 E. 2nd St., Winslow, AZ (928-289-2888)