It’s only April, but Glo Noodle House is vying for 2022’s best new restaurant

Shortly after Glo Noodle House opened last month in Highland — and before visiting it myself — I began noticing chefs and neighbors and seemingly everyone who’d visited proudly rooting for it.

I’ve since learned that the feeling is contagious.

You see, it has to start with the people behind a business and carry over to their staff and service; it moves through the food and drinks, out into the dining room, and spills onto the patio before extending across town, over the car ride home after dinner.

Before you know it, everyone is talking.

While some will recommend a spot based on food, factoring in value, ambiance and service, I’m here to tell you that, in 2022 and beyond, restaurants are first and foremost about people and their livelihoods, and how both connect with diners.

In Glo’s case, the people to know are Ariana and Chris Teigland, husband-and-wife chefs who have partnered on restaurant openings before (and worked from Denver to Chicago and back) but decided to branch out together for this first solo project.

Since they are both chefs by training, Chris Teigland says Ariana stepped up to run the new restaurant’s dining room and bar program, rather than co-managing the kitchen. That means they’re both present on any given night, conveying their passion for the project.

Her cooking chops still show in the house cocktails that balance sweet and savory flavors the way food dishes do. She adapted the Seven Samurai from a dessert, combining bourbon with vermouth, passionfruit, green peppercorn and egg white ($13). And her hospitality shines when recommending sakes, like the bold Cowboy Yamahai ($22) for a big ramen bowl pairing.

Chris, meanwhile, is filleting fresh fish daily to stock his raw bar with chewy-fatty aburi salmon ($14) and melt-in-your-mouth hamachi ($16).

His small kitchen’s stovetop is constantly simmering 48-hour ramen broth in miso, shio, shoyu and tantanmen varieties. (You can’t go wrong with any of these for $15-$19.)

Starters of umami-packed veggies and meat skewers round out his food options. They combine well for a meal of progressive small plates. But if you’re just going in for a filling snack and a drink, be sure to try Teigland’s indulgent fried karaage chicken with chile glaze and yuzu aioli ($10).

And now for the secrets to whatever you order tasting just a little bit better: Sit at the casual chef’s counter, where you can see Teigland and his team preparing pretty sashimi and charring pork sausage for skewers.

Ask questions, including about the name “Glo’s” origin story, and hear how the red-headed, half-Norwegian Teigland became obsessed, as a kid, with Japanese cooking.