Released in November, Esquire's "Best New Restaurants in America" issue honors eateries throughout the country. This year, Chicago's Epic was included on the list, and was the location for a "Best New Restaurants" celebration on Wednesday night. John Mariani, the magazine's food and travel correspondent, co-hosted the cocktail bash with Epic executive chef Stephen Wambach.
"The goal is to create a celebratory event in the regional markets that have been chosen by Esquire as 'the best,'" said the magazine's New York-based director of marketing, Scott Lehmann. In addition to the Chicago iteration, the six-year-old event takes place in cities including San Francisco, Miami, and Dallas. Lehmann said that logistical challenges are few: "The restaurants are thrilled to be asked to host this sort of celebratory event, so usually the most challenging aspect is to find a suitable date."
Some 300 guests made it to Chicago's event. "The target audience is a combination of Esquire readers, Esquire advertising clients in the Chicago market, V.I.P. guests of the owners of Epic, and Chicago media," said Lehmann.
In addition to brief speeches from Mariani and Wambach, the evening offered passed snacks from the restaurant's menu and bars devoted to beer and wine. Yes Vodka hosted the cocktail bar, conjuring up specialty quaffs such as strawberry-basil martinis and tangerine mules spiked with ginger beer.
