Ugly Baby Makes Bon Appétit's 'Hot 10' Best New Restaurant List

CARROLL GARDENS, BROOKLYN — Bon Appétit named a celebrated Smith Street restaurant the third best new eatery in the United States.

Ugly Baby, which serves up northern Thai nosh at 407 Smith Street, was the only New York restaurant to make it on to the foodie magazine's "hot 10" list released Tuesday.

Bon Appetit restaurant editor Andrew Knowlton narrowed the field from the magazine's July 31 list of the nation's top 50 new restaurants after he embarked on a week of road trips to the foodie destinations. The final ten were chosen for their unrivaled ability to take a classic concept and breath originality into it, explained Knowlton.

"What sets these ten establishments apart from this year’s bazillion openings? The ability to take a timeless concept and turn it on its head," wrote Knowlton. "To cook the dishes your parents grew up on but make them your own. To serve the food you believe in without compromise."

Knowlton named Ugly Baby "quite literally the hottest" restaurant in New York for chef Sirichai Sreparplarn's mastery of fiery dishes that will leave food lovers crying in equal parts pain and pleasure.

“I believe heat is like a drug,” Sreparplarn told the magazine. “It’s painful, but you want more, more, more.”

The 28-year-old chef grew up in Bangkok, Sreparplarn where his mother worked as a chef at a hotel and his father would spend hours at home simmering dishes. Sreparplarn moved to New York to study journalism and help his aunt with her Thai restaurant in the East Village, the magazine reported.

He went on to lead the kitchen at Red Hook's now closed Kao Soy and then at a pop-up down the block called Chiang Mai where his goal was showcase what he told Bon Appétit is "real Thai cooking."

Ripe red Thai peppers are used in the dishes and the curry paste is painstakingly made with a mortar and pestle for hours of methodical grinding.

“Thai food is not about doing it fast,” he says. “It’s about low heat and spending time stirring and stirring, sometimes for hours.”

Visit Ugly Baby at 407 Smith Street Monday through Friday from 5-10:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3:30 p.m. and 5-10:30 p.m.

Lead photo courtesy of Shutterstock