New York Times names Austin restaurant one of 50 best in country

Matthew Odam, Austin American-Statesman
·1 min read
"The food is a tangy, spicy, bright, coconutty dreamscape," Priya Krishna writes about Canje for The New York Times. Pictured is the restaurant's jerk chicken.
"The food is a tangy, spicy, bright, coconutty dreamscape," Priya Krishna writes about Canje for The New York Times. Pictured is the restaurant's jerk chicken.

It's been a heck of a week or so for Canje (and for major publications dropping national dining lists). A week after being named one of the 10 best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit, the Caribbean restaurant that opened in East Austin in fall 2021 was named one of the 50 best restaurants in the country by The New York Times.

This is the second consecutive year the Times has made a national list; last year's included Birdie's (also in East Austin). The Times list includes some restaurants that have opened recently and others that have been around for decades. The publication describes its list as "50 places in America we're excited about right now."

RelatedTavel Bristol-Joseph's journey from Guyana to his own Caribbean restaurant in Austin

So, what got them excited about the restaurant from chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph and his Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group partners? "The food is a tangy, spicy, bright, coconutty dreamscape," Priya Krishna writes.

Bristol-Joseph, whose life and career we chronicled in a profile earlier this year, a story that ran the same week as our review of Canje, was named a Food & Wine best new chef in 2020 for his work at Emmer & Rye and Hestia.

Restaurant review:Canje brings Caribbean flavor and soul to East Austin

Only one other Texas restaurant made this year's list: Smoke'N Ash BBQ in Arlington.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: New York Times names Austin's Canje restaurant one of 50 best in US