Ssäm Bar best exemplifies Dave Chang’s deliciousness-without-borders style of menu eclecticism: kimchi salad with apples, bacon, and maple labneh; a whole pork butt to be shared with friends.
The fois gras and truffle stuffed chicken is probably the best chicken dish I have had in my life!
The multitalented Jean-Georges Vongerichten picks up the farm-to-table locavore zeitgeist and runs with it, resulting in a menu to make Californians envious.
English chef April Bloomfield conjures the spirit of a rumpled, lively London gastropub in this cramped, cozy, altogether charming mess of a space in the far West Village.
Keith McNally of Balthazar and Pastis fame preserves the memory of the space (a 1930s saloon) while making the food—well-aged steaks and muscular French fare—better than it ever was.
In the front: a café, a bakery, and a provisions shop for house-cured salumi or casual lingering. At the back, a dining area with a perfect little menu of Italian classics.
Zak Pelaccio is a pork-loving genius whose food takes elements of laid-back locavorism, the slow-smoke traditions of southern BBQ, and the goodness of Southeast Asia.
