From Forbes Magazine Power Couples Behind Today’s Hottest Restaurants (June 2012)…

Lenoir: Austin, Texas

The couple: Owners and chefs Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher

The staff locker room for David Bouley’s New York restaurants set the scene of these two chefs first meeting—she worked at the Four-Star Bouley and he at the now-shuttered Danube. “He was super-scruffy and focused on cooking, but he would reveal his sense of humor from time to time, and I was just smitten,” Maher says. “Plus, he is a fantastic cook and would sneak me food, [like oxtail consume with bone marrow dumplings].” The couple later settled in Austin, Texas, where Duplechan worked at Four Seasons Hotel Austin’s Trio restaurant and Maher ran a catering business. At Lenoir, the two collaborate on everything, from menu planning to bill paying, although he is officially the chef and she’s the pastry chef.

The food: There’s only one order at Lenoir: a three-course menu that changes seasonally and revolves around local products—guests choose any three items from a list categorized by field (vegetables), sea (seafood), land (meat), and dream (dessert). Maher describes the restaurant’s style as French ethnic—classic techniques are infused with spice and acidity.