Comments (1) Best New Restaurant - 2009

At Last Café

There are gems we'd rather keep to ourselves, simply because these Best Of lists tend to make seats scant and reservations impossible. This is especially true of At Last Café, which only has enough room to seat about 20 people, tops. And trust us when we say you want one of these seats. Chef/owner John McLaughlin is nigh-legendary for being able to produce five-star food at diner prices. As of presstime, his most expensive dish—a complete steak dinner with mashed spuds and sautéed veggies—peaks at $12.25. Others are priced even lower. And in his brick chicken, you'll never eat such a revelatory meal for less than 10 bucks. Seriously, after you read this entry, please erase it from your memory. It's already hard enough for us to snag a table.