One Michigan spot has made the New York Times 50 best restaurants list for 2025.
The new list was released this week, with the NYT naming their best 50 places in America right now. One Michigan restaurant made it, and it’s not in Metro Detroit.
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Modern Bird in Traverse City, which opened in July of 2022 in the city’s downtown area, cracked the list for the first time.
Here’s what NYT’s Sara Bonisteel wrote about Modern Bird:
In Traverse City, where the farm-to-table scene is strong, the chef Andy Elliott plays with textures in ways that leave a lasting impression. He runs this perch with his wife, Emily Stewart; they met while working at Boka in Chicago, and she makes the breads and desserts. Each dish calibrates contrasts, using local produce from the Leelanau Peninsula. Trout roe and genmai add pop and crunch to a plate of fat, grilled asparagus swimming in smoked mushroom sauce. Walleye, a staple of menus up north, is reimagined here as a fried roulade filled with a mousse made of walleye scraps. The fish medallions alone are creamy, crunchy and fresh, but Mr. Elliott layers more, serving them on a housemade red mole and showering them with popcorn, onions, chiles and cilantro. It sounds over the top, but it works. SARA BONISTEEL
NYT’s Sara Bonisteel
Modern Bird is located at 541 W. Front Street in Downtown Traverse City.
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