Chilte chef gets Food & Wine accolade

NFL player turned restaurant genius Lawrence "LT" Smith made Food & Wine's list of best new chefs after opening Chilte on Grand Avenue last year.

What they're saying: "The food at Chilte is courageous, ambitious, playful and bold. It's Mexican at heart and global in its imagination," the culinary magazine wrote.

Catch up quick: Chilte opened in the Egyptian Motor Hotel in February 2023 to almost instant acclaim.

• It's received high praise from Bon Appetit, Esquire, the New York Times, Yelp — and Axios Phoenix!

If you go: There are no bad menu options. It is one of those rare unicorn restaurants that's as good as people say.

• We were particularly fond of the green chorizo vampiro and birria tacos