As if it weren't already tough to get a weekend reservation at the 38-seat Komi. This month's issue of Food & Wine magazine named its chef, 27-year-old Johnny Monis, one of its 10 best new chefs, and the phone hasn't stopped ringing since. "We've had phone calls coming from all over the country," Monis said. Since the magazine hit the stands, the Dupont Circle restaurant is almost fully booked a month in advance.
Named for a beach on the Greek island of Chios, where Monis used to summer with his parents, Komi caught the editors' attention for an ever-changing menu of Greek-inspired fare, such as spit-roasted goat and fava bean ravioli with lamb's tongue and mint, that Monis turns out from a tiny 400-square-foot kitchen. Monis joins past winners including Restaurant Eve's Cathal Armstrong and CityZen's Eric Ziebold. "This is great because it raises people's expectations," Monis said. "It makes us work that much harder to impress them."
