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June’s, the all-day neighborhood cafe from McGuire Moorman Hospitality, nabbed a spot on Food & Wine’s ten best restaurants of the year list for 2017. The food publication pointed to the South Congress wine bar’s fun approach to drinks and diner food, courtesy of beverage director, master sommelier, and namesake June Rodil. It wrote:
It’s a completely new take on the wine bar — a finer diner where you can indeed drink all day, and where, for once, the food supports the wine and not the other way around.
The writer picked out the matzo ball soup paired with a South African rose and fried chicken sandwich with orange wine as highlights.
June’s is a good choice, and makes sense coming from that particular publication: the casual atmosphere of the restaurant paired with slightly higher-end dishes and the very curated yet extensive wine list. Ramen Tatsu-ya’s new izakaya Kemuri is probably considered too new for the round-up, but it’s safe to predict its inclusion in next year’s list.
The rest of the restaurant list included Turkey and the Wolf in New Orleans, Olmsted in Brooklyn, Roister in Chicago, Tartine Manufactory in San Francisco, Le Coucou in Manhattan, Here's Looking at You in Los Angeles, Tusk in Portland, Rooster Soup Co. in Philadelphia, and Waypoint in Cambridge.
Holly restaurant Launderette from Rene Ortiz and Laura Sawicki made Food & Wine’s list last year. Earlier, Otoko sushi wizard Yoshi Okai was named one of the magazine’s best new chefs for 2017.
Rodil, Larry McGuire, and Tom Moorman opened June’s last summer. Under the McGuire Moorman Hospitality group’s umbrella are Lamberts Downtown Barbecue, Perla's, Elizabeth Street Cafe, Clark's, Josephine House, and Jeffrey's. It’s also working on all food and drink options for the upcoming hotel and apartment building Austin Proper project.
- Food & Wine Restaurants of the Year 2017 [Food & Wine]
- All Coverage of June’s [EATX]