The 50 places in America we are most excited about right now.

”The vibes at Communion are warm and welcoming, and it’s not unusual to strike up a conversation with the table next to yours while snacking on some grilled okra, or to be invited to an art opening by a stranger at the bar. But the neck-bone stew will, at least for a few minutes, make chatting impossible. It’s so delicious, it requires all your attention — the crisp-edged strands of smoky meat, the big tender lima beans and the deeply flavored broth. But every dish has a certain pull, from the catfish and grits to the local clams and mussels in coconut milk. Kristi Brown, who ran a catering company before opening her own restaurant, doesn’t miss.” — TEJAL RAO

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The Best New Restaurants in the World: 2021 Hot List

“For the 25th edition of the Hot List—Condé Nast Traveler’s picks of the year's top hotel and industry openings—we highlight the innovative new spots that are changing the way we dine.”

“The roots run deep at chef Kristi Brown’s Central District restaurant, from her decades of catering in Seattle to the physical location in the city’s historically Black neighborhood, on the site of the Pacific Northwest’s first Black-owned bank. Brown established herself on the city’s food scene as a soul food master long before chef Edouardo Jordan’s JuneBaby arrived; now her first restaurant is bringing her signature black-eyed-pea hummus to the masses. The menu also nods to Seattle’s Asian and East African communities with dishes like the fried catfish po’mi—po boy meets banh mi. Even though Brown and her co-owner, son Damon Bomar, opened during a pandemic, the duo dared to build an eatery around a communal table—a sign of their confidence in their mixing-pot ethos.” — Allison Williams

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Emerging Chef (Presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water )

Kristi Brown, Communion, Seattle

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THESE 21 WOMEN ARE READY TO GROW THEIR BUSINESSES

Kristi Brown-Wokoma

Communion Restaurant & Bar and That Brown Girl Cooks!, Seattle

Chef Kristi Brown officially spooned her way into the culinary world almost 31 years ago at a small café in downtown Seattle. A graduate of the Seattle Culinary Academy, Kristi founded That Brown Girl Catering in the Central District of Seattle in the mid-1990s. At the beginning of COVID-19, she launched a community kitchen named after her mantra, “Everybody Gotta Eat.” Recently, she opened COMMUNION Restaurant & Bar in Seattle.

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Chef Kristi Brown brings Seattle together—and expands its definition of soul food.

“ONE NIGHT AT COMMUNION, chef Kristi Brown was pinch-hitting on busser duty when a nearby table received their order of neck bone stew. She leaned over to offer these diners, a multigenerational Asian family, some conspiratorial advice: “Don’t forget, when you eat neck bones, you’ve got to suck it.” - Allecia Vermillion

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Seattle’s 2021 Eater Awards Winners

Best New Restaurant

Communion Restaurant & Bar

It’s been a year since chef Kristi Brown and her son and business partner Damon Bomar opened Communion in the Liberty Bank Building, a mixed-use affordable housing, retail, and resource hub for the Black community in the Central District. Brown has been working in the restaurant industry since the 1990s, perfecting her “Seattle Soul” dishes, a style that reflects the close proximity of the Chinatown International District to the historically Black Central District in Seattle. Catfish po'boys, “Hood Sushi,” and smokey berbere chicken are stand-outs on the menu, as well as comfort favorites like catfish and grits, mac and cheese, and local greens. – Mark Van S.

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