Best Chef: Northeast
Tim Cushman of O Ya in Boston
Best Reason to Visit: Premium sake. O Ya is also very reasonably priced for an upscale Japanese joint. Broaden your palate in “Bawstin.”
Best Chef: Northwest
Matt Dillon of Sitka & Spruce in Seattle
Best Reason to Visit: Dillon raises his own chickens, which are the source of his eggs. We are guessing they are seriously fresh.
Best Chef: Pacific
Matt Molina of Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles
Best Reason to Visit: You want to sample the culinary delicacies of Italy at an affordable—relatively speaking—price. And you trust the guy on the right (Molina) to bring it to you.
Best Chef: South
Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama
Best Reason to Visit: You want an Iron Chef winner to fry you up some fan-freakin’-tastic fish.
Best Chef: Southeast (tie)
Hugh Acheson (left) of Five and Ten in Athens, Georgia
Linton Hopkins (right) of Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta
Best Reason to Visit: You want to eat at a world-class restaurant so unpretentious it has a menu section called “snackies” (Five and Ten) or you want a place so perfectionist that it makes its own mayonnaise by hand (Restaurant Eugene).
