Secret Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurants That Famous Chefs Love

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant you've ever been to?
Arnold's Country Kitchen in Nashville, Tennessee.
—Carla Hall, co-host, ABC's "The Chew," Cooking with Love

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant you've ever been to?
It's called The Place, in Guilford, Connecticut.
—Claudine Pepin, author, Kids Cook French

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant you've ever been to?
In Singapore there's this restaurant called No SignBoard Seafood; it's basically a pop-up tent in a parking lot. I went there late one night with David Chang and Paul Bartolotta after shooting Top Chef, and we're sitting in this parking lot, and everything is in tanks and cages!

There were flipper lobster tails, and they coat them in cornflakes and fry them—they're salty and delicious. Also, classic Singapore chili crab, and white pepper crab. They made it all for us right there, a la minute.
—Gail Simmons, "Top Chef," author, Talking With My Mouth Full

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant you go to?
Most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant that I go to is the Commons Chelsea, in NYC. I had a killer brunch sandwich recently; it was an egg, bacon, tomato, and avocado sandwich on brioche.
—George Mendes, Aldea, New York City

What's your favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and where is it?
My favorite hole-in-the-wall is either Mak's Noodle in Hong Kong, where the beef brisket with curry noodle is to die for. Or Egosari, this awesome pintxo bar in Old Town San Sebastian, where they do foie gras with potatoes poached with foie gras fat, idiazabal cheese and mushrooms.
—Jamie Bissonnette, Toro, Boston and New York City

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant you've ever been to?
Cecilia's Kitchen in Asheville, North Carolina. Cecilia is the queen of empanadas and crepes. I discovered her food when she was operating a food truck at the North Asheville Tailgate Market, and used to get a breakfast crepe with eggs, spinach, and potato frequently. Now I frequent her small restaurant, Cecilia's Kitchen, for great savory crepes and dessert crepes, like dulce de leche.
—Katie Button, Curate, Asheville, NC

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant you've ever been to?
I'd probably have to say a restaurant called The Hartwood, in Tulum, Mexico. The whole restaurant is outside, and they have no electricity. There are wood ovens outside. There are wood grills outside. All the seats are outside. Everything is on generators. And the chef is a guy from Brooklyn who went out there. While it's not a hole-in-the wall, to have a restaurant with no electricity, running on generators without any walls or any ceiling—the place is super, super special to me.
—Ken Oringer, Toro, Boston and New York City

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant you've ever been to?
Most hole-in-the-wall joints I go to, I typically get drunk and things become blurry—ha! So anywhere with cheap High Lifes or PBRs. Also, Christmas lights all year round score major points.
—Kristen Kish, co-host, 36 Hours

Do you have a favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant that you go to?
There's a guy who makes seafood on the street in Harlem. I call him Crab Man Mike. He moves around. He can be on 125th Street. He can be on 132nd. He cooks it right there on the street in this pot that he calls the magic pot. And every time I'm with him, I want to see what he puts in the pot, but he makes me turn around because he won't give me the secret recipe. Sometimes he does a pot in my restaurant (Red Rooster). And even when he cooks in my restaurant, we're not allowed to see what he puts in. So, if you want to come up to Harlem and catch Magic Mike and his magic pots, it's going to be good seafood. It's so weird. It's so good.

Then, Charles Gabriel's Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken, also in Harlem—pan fried chicken is great, too. You get the chicken. You go to Rutgers Park. Watch a basketball game. And you sit and you just think, 'life is good.' Either one, you're not going to spend more than $12. Everything else is about what's happening around you.
—Marcus Samuelsson, author, Yes, Chef; Red Rooster, New York City

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant you've ever been to?
Sunset Taverna by Paraskevas in Santorini.
—Zoi Antonitsas, , Top Chef

Is there a memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant that you go to?
It's called the S & S Dugout in Southport, Connecticut. It's right off of Exit 19 on Route 95. The guy cooks everything on one small griddle. And he saves his mashed potatoes from lunch for the next morning. So, in his hash browns are mashed potatoes put on the grill with whole butter, and then he turns them over and they get really dark and crispy brown. And he breaks the crispy brown on the top-side, while the bottom side is cooking and puts a pat of cold butter in it and lets it melt into it. That's the breakfast potato for your eggs.
—Michel Nischan, CEO, Wholesome Wave

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant you've ever been to?
Every street restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.
—Michelle Bernstein, Michy's, Miami

What's your most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant?
Kai Kee Noodle in Hong Kong for bamboo noodles.
—Paul Qui, Qui Restaurant and East Side King, Austin

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall you go to?
In Los Angeles there's a place called 101 Noodle Express, and there's a dish there called the beef roll. The beef roll is from a region in China call Shandong. It looks like a burrito with brisket in it, and it's the best $7 you could spend on anything in your life.
—Sang Yoon, Lukshon & Father's Office, California

What's the most memorable hole-in-the-wall restaurant you've ever been to?
That's a good one for me. I've been to a lot. There's a place called Duomo in Florence. It was in a basement, with a curved brick dome ceiling, and I was turned on to it by a guy's uncle's cousin's brother who was working the front desk at this hotel that I was staying at when my wife Emilie and I got married. And we ended up partying with these guys, literally, until a day and a half later. We never stopped. And we danced the night away in the restaurant. We pushed all the chairs back. It may be one of the most spectacular dining experiences I've ever had.
—Tim Love, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Fort Worth