"Chef-owner Benjamin Sukle made a name for himself at his first restaurant, Birch, where he served thoughtful, labor-intensive, New England-by-way-of-Noma dishes. Then came Oberlin, a decorated restaurant featuring local ingredients like just-caught fish that has cultivated a fanbase of locals and tourists alike. However, it is the group’s latest debut, Gift Horse, that everyone can’t stop talking about. The restaurant’s raw bar is a full-throated celebration of Rhode Island’s outstanding oysters, with a variety of options plucked from specific bays along the state’s coastline. Pair the oysters with an ice-cold martini that means business, then work your way through the rest of the South Korean-meets-New England seafood menu led by James Beard-semifinalist chef Sky Haneul Kim. Highlights include a smoked fish dip with puffed nori chips and preserved Calabrian peppers, a warm buttered and smoked scallop roll with cilantro mayo, a crispy stuffed butterfish tartine, and fried pajeon with mussels, squid, scallion, and kimchi." - Erika Adams, Jenna Pelletier
