Go to https://www.yesweekly.com/foodanddrink/ to see my end of the year column. That is the link to the current issue (12/31/2025), on stands until January 4. If you are seeing this after that week, use this link instead: https://www.yesweekly.com/foodanddrink/a-chow-down-2025-review-with-john-batchelor/article_8c762403-a97e-4dc2-8e5c-8a84fbfbbe0c.html.
Key point: I name two Restaurants of the Year:
Betty
on Burke (1016 Burke
Street, Suite D, Winston-Salem 27101, 336-999-8866, bettyonburke.com) has one
of the prettiest interiors I have ever encountered. And I use the feminine
terminology deliberately. It’s a delicate look, but not frilly, a function of
owner Jennifer Smith’s good taste. Jay Pierce, whose work I have admired for
decades, is Executive Chef-Partner. The name of the restaurant pays tribute to
the owners’ grandmothers, both of whom were named Betty. I think my favorite
dish here was Sweet Potato Gnocchi, puffy-tender, richly flavored in their own
right, plated with shredded duck meat, also cooked soft. Throw in locally grown
mushrooms, and you get a rewarding result.
The Gaslight (126 South
Main Street, Suite G, Kernersville 27284, 336-497-4025, thegaslightonmain.com)
is the creation of chef-proprietor Daniel Zbiegien, in able collaboration with Maja
Popovic. They formerly worked together at Jolo and Rayson wineries. His style
frequently takes on familiar dishes, then adds variations that elevate them to
another level. Everybody else has Shrimp and Grits, for example. The Gaslight
has Shrimp and Polenta, deepened with Parmesan cheese, surrounded by tender,
deveined shrimp, all resting in a smoked bacon jus. Roasted Brussels sprouts
edge one side, a sweet, oven cured Campari tomato glowing bright red in the
center.
