Critics' choice: Three chefs fulfilling their ambitions

Dogon

Washington, D.C.

"How do you follow up a blockbuster?" asked Ligaya Mishan in The New York Times. Three years ago, Kwame Onwuachi conquered New York City with Tatiana, a celebration of the food of the Black diaspora as he'd known it while growing up in the Bronx. With his grand second act, Dogon (pronounced DOE-gon), "the narrative has shifted," giving D.C. a fine-dining celebration of the diaspora that occasionally showcases local treasures.

The name refers to the Dogon people, the West African ancestors of 18th-century astronomer Benjamin Banneker, who helped draw the boundaries of the nation's capital. Onwuachi's carrot tigua, a peanut stew, pays direct tribute to Banneker's forebears. Meanwhile, his cornbread, made with a berbere-spiced chickpea butter, nods to D.C.'s large Ethiopian population, and he makes a marvelous lamb dish inspired by the founder of Ben's Chili Bowl, a local landmark. "At times it seems Onwuachi wants to grasp the whole world," blurring the menu's focus. But the food is mostly excellent, and Dogon, which is far larger than Tatiana, also seems more replicable. When you dine there, you're "witnessing the birth of an empire." 1330 Maryland Ave. SW.

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RVR

Los Angeles

Travis Lett's previous solo restaurant venture, MTN, was "dripping in hipness," said Bill Addison in the Los Angeles Times. Though trend chasers loved the place, the experimental izakaya didn't survive the pandemic. But Lett, who'd previously redefined modern California cuisine at Gjelina, has retaken control of MTN's former space in Venice and transformed it into RVR, an equally hip but more assured incarnation that "turns out to be shockingly good, thanks especially to the kitchen's brilliance with vegetables."

During summer, apricots step in for cucumbers in a riff on a Japanese salad, and the flavor burst of ripe tomatoes is sharpened by sweet potato vinegar. Even midwinter, the kitchen plates such Technicolor wonders as a pinwheel of Fuyu persimmons under rounds of lilac-purple daikon. Beyond the vegetarian-friendly options, "there's plenty more that entices," from duck meatball tsukune to "smoky-sweet" Monterey Bay squid. As at all izakayas, "the drinking component is critical," and the sakes, wine list, and negronis fully deliver. 1305 Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Minari

Minneapolis

Until recently, chef Jeff Watson had been "one of the unseen forces" propelling Minneapolis' dining scene into the national spotlight, said Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl in MplsStPaul magazine. Now Watson has opened "the most ambitious Korean restaurant we've ever had in Minnesota," and even at this early stage, its "culinary thrills" outweigh its overreaches.

The 180-seat burgundy dining room feels like a favored hangout of "terrifically sexy" 1920s vampires. There's dim sum. There's charcoal barbecue. There's even a world-class crab pasta. And the menu's "cold and raw" section makes Minari "the most innovative sushi-adjacent spot we've had in years." Watson, who's been Dani del Prado's right-hand man in the city's dominant restaurant group, began his kitchen studies under his Korean mom, and his meticulousness shines through in Minari's "jigsaw-tight" gimbap rolls. But Minari doesn't yet get every dish right, which makes me want to advise him to do less. "Except it's terrible and stupid advice." Watson has earned the opposite kind of guidance: Keep reaching, chef. 323 13th Ave. NE.