New U.S. Restaurants Sizzle for Spring

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (MainStreet) -- Spring 2012 is proving to be a busy season for U.S. restaurateurs, including some much-anticipated openings and debuts that have already made headlines nationwide. The roster has no shortage of starry names, from three-star Michelin chefs such as Daniel Humm and Gordon Ramsay to Top Chef alums and culinary elite debuting in cities across the U.S.

In New York, the developers behind the highly-success Ace Hotel New York recently opened the NoMad Hotel, a grandiose and moody hotel sibling designed by Jacques Garcia (the man behind such properties as Hotel Costes in Paris). The hotel mixes turn-of-the-century glamour and a high-fashion edge that extends to its in-house eatery, helmed by Humm of Eleven Madison Park and restaurateur Will Guidara. A series of connected parlor rooms include a grand atrium space where designer Garcia mixes ruby red decor with shiny woodwork and walls strewn in Audubon-style prints. The menu continues Humm's culinary narrative of Eleven Madison Park with dishes inspired by time spent in Switzerland and California for an all-day dining room menu that's already giving The Breslin a run for its foodie money.

In South Florida, the much-anticipated St. Regis Bal Harbour opened its doors this year with a showy installment of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's J&G Grill.