Top Chef Alumni Newsletter

Introducing Chef Dakota Weiss: Downtown Restaurant Critic

Weiss wields her pen
Weiss wields her pen Photo: The W Hotel

In a lengthy story, Nine-Thirty and Backyard at The W exec chef Dakota Weiss regales HuffPo with her journey from a Downtown-phobe who admits to once being paranoid about getting “robbed, mugged and lost” on Spring Street to a passionate resident of our city’s center. Who does she have to thank for the conversion? Top Chef of course, as Weiss first re-discovered Downtown when cruising there for her audition. “My whole perspective has turned upside down and I have fallen in love with this incredible neighborhood,” Weiss writes, charmed by the old smells and photos at Cole’s and spiked on Spice Table’s “cutting edge” approach to Southeast Asian cuisine that includes pig tails and beef tripe that captivates her boyfriend. Hmmm, not bad Dakota. If we only knew anyone in need of a new restaurant critic… [HuffPo]

Introducing Chef Dakota Weiss: Downtown Restaurant Critic