Beba

WITH THEIR 28-SEAT RESTAURANT in Verdun approaching its fifth anniversary, co-owner brothers Ari and Pablo Schor are doubling down on who they are, making food fuelled by their Argentinian-Jewish history and passions. “We’re celebrating historic foods that don’t need to be made to sound like more than they are,” chef Ari says. “Maybe it’s reductive to say ‘boiled meats,’ but it’s also a pushback against the overly garnished, the overly complicated, the overly worked.” Chefs Gregory Watson and Max Montero — supported by Antoine Fouta at the bar and sommelier Camille Collard — give Beba’s “purposefully unadorned” and unrepentantly meaty dishes all the love and attention required. Bollito misto involves days to prepare. For arroz caldoso, guinea fowl is poached in stock, which, in turn, is used to cook its Ryu no Hitomi rice. There’s gnocchi alla veneta, served with brodo braised meat, beef tongue with chile verde, foie gras and truffle terrine, and Schor’s now-signature golden knish topped with Kaluga Queen caviar. While some might lament the end of Beba’s empanadas, Ari can barely contain his happiness at the chance to refocus his diminutive kitchen on other culinary imperatives. Visit and you’ll appreciate why.

The veal sweetbread a la plancha and the mackerel montadito are the best dishes I’ve eaten! Victor Yu