dare anyone who has jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon (without a doctor’s note) to eat at High Street on Market and still call himself gluten-intolerant. You don’t stand a chance. Know why? Because chef Eli Kulp basically built this restaurant around head baker Alex Bois’s superstar bread program. Let’s start with the breakfast sandwiches, specifically the Forager : seared king oyster mushrooms, braised kale, fried egg, Swiss cheese, and black trumpet mushroom mayo piled on one of Bois’s cloudlike kaiser rolls. Hell, put a tofu burger and vegan “cheese” on one of those things and I would still—greedily!—order it again. The black squid-ink bialy stuffed with smoked whitefish may sound questionable, but I promise it will be something you crave for weeks afterward. Abstinence won’t be any easier at lunch. The “Best Grilled Cheese Ever,” served on house-made roasted potato bread, delivers on its inflated claim. And no dinner here would be complete without more of Bois’s signature loaves: levain with vegetable ash, anadama miche (made with molasses and cracked corn), and buckwheat cherry, to name a few. If, at this point, you are wondering if the No. 2 restaurant on this year’s list got here on its dough alone, the answer is—unequivocally and emphatically—a very carby yes.

Any Way You Slice It, Nothing Beats Alex Bois’s Bread

Arrive by 1 P.M. to score a loaf to take home.

Anadama Miche (far left)

Locally milled flour, cracked corn, and cornmeal lend layers of texture to this molasses-tinged American classic.

Buckwheat Cherry (top right) ____ Buckwheat flour from New York State and toasted buckwheat provide an earthy backdrop for plump cherries.

Ancient Grains (left middle) ____ This seeded loaf is studded with nutty whole grains and boasts a crackly-chewy, almost burnt crust.

New World Rye (right middle) ____ Pennsylvania-grown rye is milled to order; the resulting flour gives this naturally fermented bread unbelievable flavor.

Vegetable Ash Levain (bottom left) ____ High Street’s veggie scraps are charred, then ground to ash and folded into this slightly smoky-tasting sourdough loaf.

Get two High Street on Market recipes:



Forager Sandwich



Roasted Potato Bread