Chef’s Counter at Burnt Hill in Clarksburg has been named one of The New York Times’ 50 favorite restaurants in America for 2026, and it was the only restaurant in Maryland to make this year’s list. A video of the experience can be seen below.
The New York Times released its annual list of “Our 50 Favorite Places in America Right Now,” featuring restaurants selected by a team of 16 writers who traveled across the country. The restaurants are not ranked, and establishments that appeared on previous editions of the list were not eligible to appear again this year.
Chef’s Counter at Burnt Hill is an intimate, 12-seat dining experience located on Burnt Hill Farm and vineyard in Clarksburg. The restaurant is led by Chef-Partner Tae Strain and features a tasting menu centered around seasonal ingredients, many sourced directly from the farm, with influences from Strain’s perspective on Asian American cuisine.
New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov described the experience as one of the few restaurants that manages to feel both “exhilarating and calming,” highlighting the setting, locally sourced ingredients and Burnt Hill wines served throughout the meal.
Among the dishes highlighted by Asimov were asparagus and cucumbers with pickled radish, peanuts and sambal; scallops and rockfish in miso broth; and dry-aged duck served with soy-glazed maitake and local mandarin.
The national recognition comes just months after the Chef’s Counter made its debut this spring. The MoCoShow’s own “Mr. MoCo” Alex Tsironis was invited to preview the Chef’s Counter ahead of its opening and called it the best meal he had ever eaten.
The experience offers guests a front-row seat as Strain prepares and presents a multi-course tasting menu inspired by Burnt Hill Farm and the broader Chesapeake Bay foodshed. During the preview, dishes included shokupan with sesame honey, carrots with sambal, striped bass with kani miso, dry-aged duck with mandarinquat, Mangalitsa pork shoulder ssam, the ggoma snowball and sweet potato toffee cake.
Strain, a Maryland native and 16-year veteran of the culinary industry, previously worked at Michelin-starred restaurants including Momofuku in Washington, D.C., The Progress in San Francisco and PUBLIC in New York City. He later founded the ggoma Supper Club, a tasting-menu pop-up focused on Mid-Atlantic farmers and artisans.
Burnt Hill itself opened its tasting room in September 2025 and is operated by the team behind Old Westminster Winery. The property is led by siblings Lisa Hinton, Ashli Johnson and Drew Baker and previously received national recognition when Food & Wine named it among America’s most beautiful vineyards.
Two Washington, D.C. restaurants, Rye Bunny and Albi, also made The New York Times’ 2026 list. No restaurants in Virginia were selected this year.
View this post on Instagram
