Celebrating the people, passion, and stories behind great hospitality with Tock 10.

A wood-burning oven anchors the open kitchen, bringing handcrafted pizzas alive with flavor. Those pizzas start with housemade, naturally fermented dough that gets a perfect blistered charred edge. Many items on the menu feel the fire, from wood-roasted beets to flame-kissed salmon and halibut. Even pasta preparations, like the oven-fired lasagna benefit from the distinctive heat.

Being kosher at Abaita isn’t a limitation—it’s a source of intention. That care begins with house-made ingredients, from pizza dough to pastas like the much-loved black fettuccine with wood ear mushrooms and black truffle. It continues in the respect shown to the kosher community, who find not just a meal here, but a sense of belonging. It’s proof that fire and faith can come together in powerful ways.

Following the runaway success and influence of the New York location, partners David Kaplan and Alex Day have since formed hospitality group Gin & Luck. They’ve opened Death & Co outposts in Denver, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and soon to be Seattle, each location unique while retaining the essential Death & Co DNA. The menu changes twice yearly, cocktails are built with precision, and the dark, intimate atmosphere is welcome in every season. Each city’s location adapts to its context while maintaining the quality and creativity that made the original a destination.

For the consistency across evolution. Death & Co proved a cocktail bar can expand without sacrificing quality, training generations of bartenders while remaining as relevant today as it was nearly two decades ago.

Yoshida’s one-MICHELIN–Starred meal is a thrilling sensual journey—through bites like subtly sweet hairy crab, uni, and caviar followed by a mullet fish roe mochi umami bomb. Viscous sauce is ladled over fried monkfish; a smoky glass dome unveils a lobe of perfectly smoked salmon. It crescendos with the nigiri portion, a dramatic buildup of subtler, leaner bites before the chiaigishi chutoro (fatty tuna belly) mic drop.

One of the most expensive omakases in already pricey NYC concludes with a souvenir befitting of the thoughtful artistry on display here: a napkin designed by the chef every season and hand-dyed in Japan. 

Executive Chef Akiyama’s imaginative, one-MICHELIN–Starred menu shifts with the seasons and typically encompasses around ten courses. Think ayu (aromatic Japanese sweetfish) kissed on the charcoal grill followed by chilled caviar with custardy eggs, silky uni, and potato. Later, blanched snow-white hamo or pike conger eel joined delicate sōmen noodles, okra and baby corn in refreshing chilled broth.

Impeccable, anticipatory, and kind service takes this experience over the top.

The art on display often inspires the tone or details of a dish. For example, a recent When We Bloom exhibition by Mr. Star City features bold florals and vibrant greens, inspiring Sampogna’s use of edible flowers and the integration of ingredients like jalapeño gazpacho and crispy curry leaf with amberjack for visual and flavor harmony. It’s a subtle but intentional exchange between mediums. Sampogna’s creativity results in unexpected riffs, like a pretzel served with smoked tofu—or 36-month aged Comté cheese shaved over honey ice cream with freeze-dried honeycomb.

For the drama. Book the counter, otherwise known as “the main stage” to watch the chefs preparing the menu live in front of you.

Æbleskiver with truffle and Comté cheese is an indulgent opening bite, with a nod to Emborg’s Danish roots. Weird and wonderful combinations might include a corn cappuccino with shrimp broth, heaps of Ibérico ham and saffron mushroom ravioli. Totemic luxury ingredients abound, from foie gras and Wagyu beef to ungodly amounts of caviar atop silky custard with smoked olive oil. Desserts end on a light note, including a trio of doll-sized mignardise.

A lively soundtrack of Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, and Kesha shatters any fine dining pretension.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a soup typically reserved for special occasions, chock-full of rare seafood ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, and dried scallops. Here, the plant-based version features a plethora of mushrooms, baby bok choy, and plump goji berries instead. In fact, mushrooms appear in nearly every course, while the menu continuously evolves. Servers explain the nutritional benefits of each dish, including how it affects your qi and immune system.

For the strong sense of identity. Chef Guo hones in on a truly original vision he has been refining for decades.

A few years after opening, Swahn hired 24-year-old Marcus Samuelsson, who led the restaurant to three New York Times stars, making him the youngest chef ever to achieve that recognition from the paper. As Samuelsson’s fame grew through cookbooks and TV, he eventually departed to open Red Rooster in Harlem. Swedish chef Marcus Jernmark then took over, earning a MICHELIN Star before leaving in 2014. Swedish pastry chef Emma Bengtsson then ascended to head chef, earning Aquavit a second MICHELIN Star and becoming the first female Swedish chef to attain that status and the second woman in the U.S. after Dominique Crenn.

Their rotating celebratory cocktail tasting menus are extraordinary. The latest “I Love NY Cocktail Tasting” ($125) reimagines New York favorites—bagel and lox, a bodega BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese) sandwich, pastrami on rye, a black and white cookie—with luxurious Swedish twists, each paired with savory cocktails. Aquavit previously honored Chicago through a cocktail tasting menu, demonstrating its continued innovation in both cuisine and hospitality.

To emphasize the importance of culinary sustainability and guardianship, Dan Barber has delivered TED talks, served on President Obama’s health and nutrition council, and was once named one of Time’s 100 most influential people. Blue Hill’s impact reaches wide, but not far. The team works with dozens of local farms, procuring a third of winter menus in fall for storage, preservation, and fermentation, while sourcing 80% of seafood from Long Island day boat fishermen. This has earned the restaurant numerous accolades including two MICHELIN Stars and a MICHELIN Green Star as a four-season working farm, educational center, and restaurant.

Here, there are no written menus. Guests enjoy multi-course feasts highlighting the best of the day’s bounty. Imagine 30 dishes over four hours, sampling on-site peppers, berries, rye, and root crops. Panna cotta made with milk from a retired dairy cow. This elegant, experimental meal keeps one foot firmly in the field, reminding diners that great food starts from the earth beneath our feet.

While only 500 steps from views of the Manhattan skyline, entering 49th Street’s Little Banchan Shop feels worlds away. Browse shelves stocked with milk bread, kimchi, crispy skin fish chips, and make a mental note to return for a bottle of bibimbap sauce. Finally, it’s time to enter yet another world: the minimalist Meju, located behind the shop. Here, those same ingredients are transformed into dazzling renditions of Korean food—a showcase of wild fermentation, plated on handmade clay service pieces—that will forever change your brain chemistry.

As an homage to his family’s traditions, Kim prepares the all-natural jangs, along with jeotgal and kimchi—a true culmination of his personal and professional history, as well as his culinary prowess.

Chef Odo strictly adheres to kaiseki ryori standards at his eponymous restaurant, with each course showcasing a different cooking method, from otsukuri sashimi and owan (warm soup) to yakimono (grilled) and takiawase (simmered). Odo previously received a MICHELIN star at Kajitsu for his vegan Buddhist cooking, so he knows how to let the delicate flavors of vegetables shine. Chef Odo also enjoys introducing ingredients from his hometown in the Kyushu region, like horse mackerel and sardines.

For the zen vibes. This is the closest approximation you’ll find to traditional Japanese kaiseki in the United States and the carefully orchestrated meal is a meditative atmosphere with quietly attentive service. With no music, your attention is squarely on the food.

Pristine seasonal Japanese seafood plays a starring role, from Hokkaido uni served in its shell to firefly squid, while classical French sauces, including vin blanc, bring Shimano’s food to life. The one dish that never leaves the menu? Canard en croûte—layers of 45-day dry-aged duck breast, foie gras, minced duck leg, mushroom, and spinach wrapped and cooked in artfully adorned puff pastry. After such a rich crescendo, desserts are light and ethereal.

For the dramatic presentation. Courses like veal, baked with thyme and sage, and Shimano’s signature duck en croûte are proudly presented before they are sliced and plated. Shimano and his team happily answer questions and explain the method of preparation to curious diners.

Each course arrives with a beautifully designed card detailing the dish’s ingredients, inspiration, and even the ceramics used, fostering meaningful conversation between staff and guests. The attention to detail extends to personal touches like letting diners select their own chopsticks after enjoying welcome drinks in the subterranean lounge. These elements helped Atomix earn the number six spot on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and number four on The New York Times’ 100 Best Restaurants list. Quite a gift.

Top critics have described Atomix as seamless, perfect, moving, beautiful, and joyous—and we couldn’t agree more. The Park’s vision of presenting stunning food in unpretentious ways delivers “ato” each night.

Now approaching their tenth anniversary, OSAKANA, which translates to ‘honor your fish’ remains committed to the highest-quality seafood and the Japanese practice of mottainai, or no-waste. Haraguchi has devoted his career to changing the American perception of the ocean’s bounty. Through his “Fish Bone Revolution” he has been able to upcycle fish bones and reenvision waste in the seafood supply.

For the immersive classes. Where else can you learn to shuck live uni, flown in that day from the coast of Maine, to make fresh temaki?