Alan Richman and GQ come up with their 2012 list of the Ten Best New Restaurants in America and Chestnut Hill’s Mica makes the list. Richman says it is all about the food at Chip Roman’s follow-up to Black Fish.

We had Barnegat scallops with white chocolate sprinkled on top, enough to add a smidgen of sweetness, exquisitely done. We had Lancaster County chicken, rolled, fried, and stood upright. So much work. With it was bacon, pearl onions, fingerling potatoes, slashes of sour-cherry puree. Shows Roman’s training, a stint at Le Bec-Fin.

We had foie gras terrine, short ribs with celery-root puree, rockfish with sweet potatoes, black bass in brown butter. All came to the table lavished with accoutrements appropriate to the dish. Nothing showed up twice. Not a sauce. Not a drizzle.

In the article, Roman was able to give a shout out to another Philadelphia restaurant, The Farm & Fisherman. Roman says chef Joshua Lawler ”just nails it.”

Richman named Bibou to his 2010 list, and we know how things have turned out for them.

The Ten Best New Restaurants in America [GQ]
Mica [Official Site]