ATLANTA, Aug 17 ― It would be no stretch to call Staplehouse in Atlanta the darling of the American food world, after being named America's best new restaurant by Bon Appetit magazine -- the third arbiter of good taste to do so this year.

The food magazine released their list of the 10 best new restaurants in America yesterday, giving Atlanta's newest dining hotspot the No. 1 place for what editor Andrew Knowlton calls "smart, innovative cooking,” the team's "unwavering hospitality,” and the best dining experience he's had all year.

After opening in September 2015, it didn't take long for the restaurant to generate buzz among both the foodie intelligentsia and regular food-loving locals.

Before Bon Appetit made its bold proclamation, Staplehouse had already been named America's best new restaurant by GQ magazine, and was included in Eater's list of America's 21 best new restaurants, both of which were also published this summer.

Opened in a freestanding, turn-of-the-century brick building, Staplehouse is led by chef Ryan Smith who previously worked at another Atlanta hotspot, Empire State South, run by celebrity chef Hugh Acheson.

Though menus are always changing, a sample Staplehouse dish might include chicken confit with Charleston gold rice, sunflower, cucumber and tomatoes, or beef cheek with potato, hazelnut, burnt garlic and okra.

It's not just Smith's take on modern, southern cooking, however, that can be credited with making Staplehouse a favorite dining destination in the community.

The restaurant was the dream of Ryan Hidinger, who died of gallbladder cancer about a year after being diagnosed, at the age of 36.

Hidinger's wife Jen, along with his brother-in-law, Smith, steamrolled ahead with the restaurant plans to help Hidinger's vision come to life. Family and friends in the restaurant industry also launched fundraising campaigns to help pay for Hidinger's medical care, raising $275,000, and birthing the idea for The Giving Kitchen, created to provide emergency grants to Atlanta-area restaurant workers who face unexpected hardship.

All after-tax profits from the restaurant go to fund The Giving Kitchen, making it a community dining destination.

Chicken liver tart with peach and fennel at Staplehouse restaurant in Atlanta.

But before you think the restaurant was named America's best new restaurant because editors had a bleeding heart for the owners, Knowlton stresses it's the Michelin-grade cooking and warm, homey ambience that gave Staplehouse the edge in this year's ranking.

"Let me make one thing clear: Staplehouse didn't become my restaurant of the year because of a heart-wrenching story,” he wrote.

"In every way imaginable, it floored me. It's the best restaurant experience I had this year. Hands down.”

Here are Bon Appetit's picks for the best new restaurants in America 2016:

1. Staplehouse, Atlanta

2. Bad Saint, Washington DC

3. Lord Stanley, San Francisco

4. Morcilla, Pittsburgh

5. Baroo, Los Angeles

6. South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia

7. Oberlin, Providence, Rhode Island

8. Wildair, New York City

9. Buxton Hall, Asheville, North Carolina

10. N7, New Orleans ― AFP-Relaxnews