re: Turkey & Wolf in tChannel is Bon Appétit Mag's '2017 best new rest in America'

I live between T&W and District. We probably go to District more often because my toddler loves to watch the donuts being made. If I lived away and had to commute to the neighborhood then the only places I'd go out of my way are Steins (obviously the sandwiches but also beer) and Little Korea (not great, but how many Korean options are there in NOLA?). I still love District and T&W as places to go, but they do not transcend to a level that'd I'd be okay waiting at peak times.

But best new restaurant? That's tough. For a lot of people, dining is an experience that people want to feel like they are some place special, and T&W will never give that feeling to me. So much goes into a great restaurant and obviously the food is most important, but also important the space itself, the bar program, welcoming service, knowledgeable staff, etc. The cocktails are pretty good but short of great. There is no table service other than bringing out your food, ut they are driendly and able to answer any questions. And then there is the space. The food is really well done comfort food in a setting that reminds me of what I used to imagine a hypothetical restaurant run by my grandmother out of her sun room would have looked like. Its not, it certainly matches what they're going for with comfort.

Are the shortcomings enough to make it best new restaurant? Not for me, no, but that's from me projecting my own opinions of what makes a great restaurant. The non food things are, for me, what separate a great whole dining experience from just damn good food. That said, I can see how people with a different set of restaurant values might project their own looser or more casual standards to find T&W a better experience for them. But for now, I'm just happy to take the food to go.