Dan Dunville

He will emerge from restaurant retirement to open a 72-seat vegetarian-friendly joint named Tinker Street.

The essential order is a heaping plate of fried chicken, piping hot and crunchy atop a mound of mashed potatoes doused in mushroom-studded gravy.

We asked some of Indy’s top chefs, bartenders, and restaurateurs to look into their crystal balls and predict some trends for 2014 that are either on their way or that they dream of seeing in the Circle City.

From The Libertine to Recess and Oakleys to Bluebeard, Korean to Latin and sushi to steak, our critics chose the cream of Indy’s dining crop,. Who’s at the head of the table? Read on to find out.

Dan Dunville, the award-winning chef at Meridian Restaurant (5694 N. Meridian St., 317-466-1111), recently left his post after a dispute with owner Rick Lux of LUX Restaurants. After Dunville’s departure, Lux announced to the staff that sous chef Edsel Chad Secrest (who had been with Meridian since the restaurant’s opening) would be the new executive chef. After this staff announcement, and unbeknownst to Edsel, Lux interviewed other chefs in the city for the executive chef position. Through a text message, Edsel learned that Lux had hired Layton Roberts of Mesh (725 Massachusetts Ave., 317-955-9600) as the executive chef. When Lux was asked why the sudden change, he said he was concerned Edsel was too close to Dunville. Roberts begins his new post on February 29 and is expected to bring his kitchen crew.