Illustration by Jesse Lenz

Ai Fiori
The room is soulless, but Michael White produces some of the best haute Italian cooking in town (400 Fifth Ave.; 212-613-8660).

Boulud Sud
Daniel’s homage to Mediterranean cuisine is the great Frenchman’s most vibrant new establishment in years (20 W. 64th St.; 212-595-1313).

Brushstroke
The omakase setup may leave some cold, but there’s no doubting the quality of Isao Yamada’s nouveau kaiseki menu (30 Hudson St.; 212-791-3771).

Ciano
Shea Gallante’s nouveau rustico Italian cooking is stylish without being pretentious (45 E. 22nd St.; 212-982-8422).

The Dutch
Andrew Carmellini brings the fashionable retro trends of the past decade under one roof (131 Sullivan St.; 212-677-6200).

Empellón
Alex Stupak does for the lowly taco what he did for cutting-edge desserts at wd~50 (230 W. 4th St.; 212-367-0999).

Fedora
Gabe Stulman brings raffish, outer-borough cooking to the heart of the West Village (239 W. 4th St.; 646-449-9336).

Junoon
The Mughal-style dining room is over-the-top, but there’s no better place in town for classical Indian cooking (27 W. 24th St.; 212-490-2100).

Red Rooster
Marcus Samuelsson had been adrift, but at this pleasing, handsome Harlem brasserie, he’s found a home (310 Lenox Ave.; 212-792-9001).

Tertulia
Seamus Mullen reinvents Spanish cooking in New York the way April Bloomfield reimagined pub food (359 Sixth Ave.; 646-559-9909).

Related:

• Archive: “Cover Story”
• Articles by Adam Platt