Chefs on holiday are not so much sightseers as biteseers on a mission, combing the kitchens of Copenhagen or San Sebastian or Tokyo or Paris or – who knows? – Newcastle in search of inspiration, fresh ideas, foreign flavours old and new. That appeared to be Isaac McHale‘s purpose while in New York as a scout with both his future and that of his new employer, Elliot’s Borough Market, in mind. His traveler’s notebook carried  a hand-written list of must-try bars and restaurants in Manhattan and Williamsburg recommended to him by colleagues (see copies below).

So what did I, a food critic who covered the New York dining scene for 15 years with The Daily News, make of McHale’s list? Mainly that if this enormously gifted young chef followed his notes and learned his lessons well, one thing was certain: When Elliot’s opened this autumn you could be sure it would be doing killer margartias, caipirinhas and mojitos.