Stephan Pyles' Samar, which this weekend celebrated its first anniversary with cheap drinks and belly dancing, was today named to Esquire's list of best new restaurants.
Samar is the only Dallas entry on the list, compiled annually by culinary gadfly John Mariani. Haven in Houston also got a nod: The full list is posted at Eater.com.
If nothing else, the list of 20 restaurants demonstrates the single-name trend is far from over: In addition to Samara and Haven, the roster includes Culina, Epic, Frances, Gather and Menton. Mariani also selected Red O, O-Ku, SD26 and WP24.