The year’s most extraordinary dishes reflect the biggest restaurant trends of the moment: nose-to-tail-fin eating, live-fire grilling and the quest for elemental flavors.—Kate Krader, Dana Cowin, Kate Heddings, Christine Quinlan, Tina Ujlaki
Foie Gras with Avocado
Foie Gras with Avocado
The Elm, Brooklyn • It takes a talented chef to pair foie gras with avocado. But I knew I could trust Paul Liebrandt to do it. At his new French-leaning spot, The Elm, the chef makes a perfectly smooth foie torchon. Then he serves it with avocado. Crazy, I thought, but together they’re outrageously silky; plus the avocado’s subtle flavor boosts the ultra-buttery foie gras. Liebrandt adds other glorious, unconventional touches: He coats the torchon in smoky kombu gelée, drizzles almond milk next to the avocado slices and spikes the accompanying brioche with Thai long peppers. Trust me: It’s delicious. theelmnyc.com.—KK
Coconut and Cuttlefish
Minibar; Washington, DC • José Andrés’s wit is on full display in this dish of coconut and cuttlefish. At first, I couldn’t tell which ingredient was which, since both were translucent. Of course, they were the opposite of what I expected: José had seared the sweet coconut and turned the cuttlefish into a delicate tartare. And he’d transformed the cuttlefish and its ink into two scrumptious, distinct sauces—a creamy white one and a pitch-black one. minibarbyjoseandres.com.—Dana Cowin
Lamb with Eggplant and Olives
Lamb with Eggplant and Olives
Fork, Philadelphia • Since Eli Kulp arrived at Fork a little over a year ago from Torrisi Italian Specialties in Manhattan, he’s become a huge Pennsylvania ingredient advocate. Take the components of his incredible roast lamb dish: charred eggplant laced with brown butter and honey; hibiscus-infused jus; olive crumble. Almost everything comes from the region. “My cooks are amateur foragers,” he says. forkrestaurant.com.—KK
Pork Blood Stew
Pork Blood Stew
Qui, Austin • When I went to Qui, I got to sit at the fabulous Beyoncé Booth. (Beyoncé hasn’t eaten there yet, but her booth awaits.) Paul Qui’s eclectic menu includes recipes that reflect his Filipino heritage, like dinuguan—a stew made with pork stock, pork blood and confited pork belly, breast and head. The Qui flourish: crisp gnocchi. Beyoncé, don’t miss this dish. quiaustin.com.—Kate Heddings
Cabbage with Miso Crème Fraîche
Cabbage with Miso Crème Fraîche
Vintage Cave, Honolulu • I never expected to find the best cabbage of my life in a Honolulu shopping mall basement. Part of a $295 tasting menu, this dish was sublime. Chris Kajioka chars sweet caraflex cabbage in olive oil so the outer layers get crispy and the inner leaves stay tender. He serves it with crème fraîche spiked with miso, lime and Japanese spices, in white dashi. The result: the most umami-saturated cabbage ever. vintagecave.com.—Christine Quinlan
Grilled Redfish
Pêche, New Orleans • Donald Link is a master of big, delicious food cooked in a wood-fired oven, like the namesake roast pork at the pig-centric Cochon. His latest spot, Pêche, is a paean to Louisiana seafood, and its most dramatic and satisfying dish is the whole fish. The parade of waiters carrying platters aloft with the heads and tails flopping over the side sets the tone for a fun evening. My redfish topped with a vibrant salsa verde was light and flaky but also super-flavorful from being grilled whole. It was so good that I’m sure I ate enough for two—another benefit of going whole hog on a whole fish. pecherestaurant.com.—DC
Tomatoes with Lamb Pancetta and Pasta
Fish & Game; Hudson, NY • Funky, stinky, spicy— these were my (overwhelmingly positive) first impressions of Zakary Pelaccio’s Malaysian cooking at Fatty Crab in Manhattan. At his new tasting-menu-only place, Pelaccio’s cooking is far more subtle, yet full of all-American exuberance. My favorite dish was a soup with local Sun Gold tomatoes he’d smoked to create an indelibly bright broth. Floating in the bowl were squares of perfect, chewy pasta and bits of lamb pancetta. Each spoonful was layered with subtle flavors, proving comfort can be creative, too. fishandgamehudson.com.—DC
Grilled Short Rib with Romaine
Betony, New York City • I was stunned by how deeply beefy the short rib at Betony was—like the best backyard grilled steak I’ve ever had. That’s what chef Bryce Shuman was going for. He coats short ribs with aged beef fat and cooks them sous vide for two days so they’re exactly medium-rare. Then he bastes the meat with more aged fat and sears it over Japanese bincho coals. The grilled romaine was terrific too; Shuman bastes it with the same incredible fat. betony-nyc.com.—Tina Ujlaki
Lobster Chawan Mushi
Yusho, Chicago • Even though Yusho is a yakitori restaurant, the dish I can’t forget is the chawan mushi. Chef-owner Matthias Merges makes 20 versions of this Japanese egg custard—duck, sea urchin, even sardine—but the one that went over-the-top was the lobster. It wasn’t just because of the skewer of seared lobster meat brushed with yakitori sauce; it was also the crispy kale, sesame brittle and lobster oil. yusho-chicago.com.—KH
Source: Foodandwine.com