U.S. Open food highlights include Masaharu Morimoto, David Burke restaurants, more

The U.S. Open may be the quintessential New York sporting event, but the culinary highlight of this year's tennis tournament is straight out of Texas: barbecue.

Hill Country, the Texas-style restaurant on West 26th Street, will be transporting pit-smoked meats from its Manhattan smoker to the open-air Food Village at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing. On the menu: brisket, turkey and sausages. Executive chef Elizabeth Karmel said Thursday at a preview at the stadium that Hill Country will also offer her signature chocolate-pecan pies.

Other places to eat at the Food Village include Fresca Mexicana, with Mexican specialties, and Village Market, serving up salads, some from Satur Farms in Cutchogue and Latham Farms in Orient.

Those looking for a sit-down meal can get a little celebrity on the side. Chicago-based Levy Restaurants, which operates all food-service venues at the tennis center, has teamed up with three chefs familiar to anyone who watches a modicum of television cooking shows. Masaharu Morimoto, an Iron Chef on both American and Japanese TV, runs a number of Japanese restaurants, including Morimoto in Manhattan. For the U.S. Open, he is running the sushi service at ACES in the club level of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Morimoto said that the option of brown rice is new this year.

Across the way from ACES, David Burke, a contestant on "Top Chef Masters" and the chef-owner of four eponymous Manhattan restaurants, is featured at Champions Bar & Grill. Dry-aged rib-eye steak, portobello mushroom burgers, and cheesecake lollipops with bubble gum whipped cream are among his menu items.

Tony Mantuano, a "Top Chef Masters" winner and chef-owner of Chicago's Spiaggia Italian restaurant, is running Wine Bar Food serving Mediterranean fare such as flaming ouzo shrimp, fresh burrata cheese and hot sopressata.

The U.S. Open begins Monday and runs through Sept. 9.