The old style of ‘trompe bouche,’ where food looked like one thing but tasted like another — has given way to a compelling, ultra-refined naturalism. ★★★★
Le Coucou is the beating, albeit transplanted, heart of grand old French cuisine in New York right now. ★★★
Sometimes Contra's food is visually precise. Slivers of white squid with black ink puree and yuzukosho greens would fit right in at the two Michelin-starred Aquavit. ★★★
Jean-Georges Vongerichten, one of the original gangsters of global French fusion, should be jealous as it's the type of dish that wouldn't be out of place at his three-Michelin-starred flagship. ★★★
Chef Sean Gray and his team have transformed this gem of the Momofuku empire into a smarter, more nuanced, more comfortable place to eat. ★★★★
What makes Nakazawa a satisfyingly uniform experience is that the head chef personally serves everyone at the bar. ★★★
The "Variety Burger" is a medium-rare patty made from a coarse grind of brisket, chuck, heart, and liver. It's served with sweet potato wedge fries (heresy!) and without a bun (hiss!). ★★★
Shuko often only serves about two pieces of the meaty delicacy as part of the menu, which Kim grills over the binchotan and places in a hammock of nori. The texture is pure foie gras. ★★★
The ubiquitous Levantine empanada is elevated with perfect execution and clarity of flavor. ★★★
Olvera brings out just the opposite, a corn mousse with a vegetal sting. Only a sugary husk meringue on top provides the sweet relief this brilliant dish needs. Call it a Mexican pavlova. ★★★
A slickly designed restaurant split into bench-tables up front and cushier booths in the back and a standing table that bisects the space, one of the city’s most exhilarating places to eat beef. ★★★
Clocktower belongs to a small collection of restaurants that find inspiration not from predicting the lean future of food but rather by tipping a hat to its indulgent past. ★★★
British-accented pub fare, however rustic, can feel just as refined and boundary pushing as the American avant-garde. ★★★
Ramirez tops sweet hokkaido uni with the earthy funk of black truffle in August, or the more ethereal musk of white truffle in December. ★★★★
Feels like pre-crash Manhattan all over again at Gabriel Kreuther, the namesake Alsatian joint by the chef who spent nearly a decade at The Modern slinging tarte flambées. ★★★
A theme restaurant for the wealthy, but one that puts everyone under a spell that they belong here, on this stage, where it’s always 1950s Manhattan, rain or shine. ★★★★
Stupak is pursuing a grown-up’s version of that childhood wonderment: He’s making diners experience something new and surprising all over again. ★★★
So while you might be tempted to order a la carte here, you shouldn't. Whenever chicken is involved, Tori Shin gets it right. ★★★
Twenty-seven years after it opened, Hakan Swahn's Manhattan establishment still kicks ass, with a new chef, Emma Bengtsson, who turns out to be a serious gastronomic force to be reckoned with. ★★★
The bi-level space, a restored 1860s warehouse and garden, gives the 37-year-old Berselius a chance to prove to New York that he deserves to be taken as seriously as the city's best chefs.”★★★★
