Mike Brown of Travail and Pig Ate My Pizza — Young Guns Nominee 2013

When Mike Brown opened Travail Kitchen & Amusements (along with fellow chefs and co-owners James Winberg and Bob Gerken) in 2011, he was only 25. That year, in addition to widespread local acclaim, Travail was also named one of Bon Appétit's Best New Restaurants in America. The restaurant was known for many things: the ambitious food, primarily, but also the innovative approach to service (no one was hired as a server, instead the chefs themselves took orders and brought the food to the table), unbelievable pricing (a 10-course tasting menu for two, for $60), and bold choice of suburban location in Robbinsdale, MN, a 15-minute drive from Minneapolis (to keep those prices down).