Chef

Pichet Ong

"Eggplant in a dessert is only something I trust in the hands of the right pastry chef. Brooks Headley's version at Del Posto is utterly delicious. It's a Neopolitan dessert made of chocolate and eggplant cooked in a panini press and served with sheep’s milk ricotta stracciatella gelato, salt, and olive oil. It's simple and to the point."

"This is one dessert that delivered far beyond its hype. The name means 'frozen grapefruit,' and it consists of a grapefruit shell filled and layered with sesame halvah crumble, rose loukoum, and different preparations of grapefruit, including jam, compote, and a tart sorbet. It is refreshing, delightful, and scrumptious with a crazy, fantastical presentation of halvah hair on top of it! It's definitely a perfect ending to any meal."

"Chef Hooni Kim says this dish, inspired by the traditional Korean golbaengi muchim, is a summer dish, but I can have it any time of the year—or in any meal, for that matter! Soba noodles are tossed with cucumber, aromatics, and steamed whelk (a type of sea snail) in a sweet and savory dressing made of kochujang, rice vinegar, garlic, and johakuto sugar from Japan. Go at lunch time for the bigger portion sizes."

"My ideal salad is a super-sized portion of hearty bitter greens with a rich, creamy, flavorful emulsion. Such it is at Lincoln, where escarole is dressed with white anchovy fillets, Pecorino pepato, and a Caesar-like dressing that's peppery and tangy. It's almost big enough to share, but I am admittedly unwillingly to do so."

"This place boasts more Facebook and Foursquare check-ins than any restaurant in the city. I can have sushi for any meal, and with the omakase sushi or sashimi by Kazuo Yoshida, no hour is too early. My favorite pieces are the chopped horse mackarel with ginger and scallion, seared fatty toro, and when in season, the sharaku (cod sperm) marinated in dashi and soy, and topped with yuzu cochon and grated daikon."

"One of the great Chinese restaurants I reminisce about in NYC was the original 456, which was located where Dim Sum Go Go is today. This is a more casual version with some of the same dishes. The dish I always order is the tiny juicy buns (yep, that is the name), which are like a mash-up of steamed buns, soup dumplings, and pot stickers. Eat them while they're hot, but be careful when biting them (do it slowly!)—the soup that gushes out is super hot."