By Kevin Coughlin
Restaurateur Chris Cannon can add another feather to his cap.
His Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen has put Morristown on the dining map — specifically, Esquire’s map. The magazine has named the South Street dining venue to its annual list of Best New Restaurants.
“In truth, it’s totally nuts, yeah, and it’s wonderful. Jockey Hollow transmutes crazy into magic because Chris Cannon—dapper, fierce, and manic—has the balls to match his dream,” writes the magazine, which describes Jockey Hollow as “excess (in moderation).”
It’s the only New Jersey restaurant among the 15 places on the list.
Video: Chris Cannon shares his story with MorristownGreen.com
Cannon, who lives in Mountain Lakes, had five three-star restaurants in New York but soured on the experience over partnership troubles. When he refurbished Morristown’s Vail Mansion to create Jockey Hollow last year, he told the magazine, some in the dining world viewed him as a carpetbagger.
He’s confident of proving naysayers wrong:
“When you open a restaurant, the customer finds you—but you also find the right customer. And when we find the right customer, they’re our friends. Within a couple of years, this place is gonna be a restaurant full of the people that love us and that we love,” Cannon told Esquire.
The full list:
Shaya, New Orleans
Townsman, Boston
The Progress, San Francisco
Muscadine, Portland, Oregon
The Grey, Savannah
Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen, Morristown, New Jersey
B.S. Taqueria and Broken Spanish, Los Angeles
Momotaro, Chicago
Dolo Restaurant and Bar, Chicago
The Duck Inn, Chicago
Little Park, New York
Shuko, New York
Santina, New York
Mountain Bird, New York
READ MORE ABOUT THE JOCKEY HOLLOW BAR & KITCHEN
Video: Chris Cannon makes his stand in Morristown