English is coming! English is coming! The city of Boston is no stranger to revolutions, but if Paul Revere were riding today, we would have to side with Todd English, the 1994 Beard Foundation winner of American Express Best Chef: Northeast. English is winning diners with his outstanding interpretive Mediterranean cuisine in Las Vegas, Israel, and, now, in Connecticut at Miramar. And believe it or not, the revolution has just begun.

English and his wife, Olivia, opened Olives in Boston in 1989, but they outgrew the 49-seat, charming, historic storefront restaurant almost overnight. A no-reservation policy resulted in a one-to-two hour wait that devoted patrons wore as a badge of honor. Todd English was worth waiting for and, the trendsetters knew, worth watching. Olives expanded to a larger place, allowing Figs, a bistro-version of the English experience, to take the cozy space. English's self-described "contemporary version of rustic food" was earning a national, even international following. Olives was voted one of the "Top Ten Restaurants" by Esquire, "Top Food" by Gourmet,and is consistently named Boston's number one favorite by Zagat.

Even with such auspicious beginnings, his subsequent success is astonishing. English now oversees a culinary empire that includes four separate Figs casual pizzerias, two Olives (with a third on the way in Washington, D.C.), two cookbooks, a line of retail pastas, a PBS television show, and two new restaurants, including Onda in Las Vegas and Miramar. (Inside sources know that a New York outpost isn't far off.) Patricia Brooks of The New York Times raved about Miramar, writing that "each dish seemed to surpass the last." Bill Daley ofThe Hartford Courant gave Miramar his top ranking of four stars, declaring that "Miramar pleases from the first bite of focaccia bread brought warm to the table to the last spoonful of luscious crème brûlée."

Accompanying English will be Rich Gencarelli, chef de cuisine at Miramar. Gencarelli, a graduate of the CIA, has been a fan of English ever since his first dinner at Olives in Charlestown, Massachusetts, a sentiment many fellow foodies share. He spent time in the kitchens of Aqua and Rubicon in San Francisco, and four years at the Olives in Boston, before Miramar.

For English's dinner, we'll have the lantern lit in one of the top windows-don't miss culinary history in the making.