1. CUT’s maple-glazed pork belly and Meyer lemon pound cake with huckleberries. Two distinct dishes a robust friend of mine insists were even better on top of one another. You listening, Chef Puck?

2. Black cod miso from Nobu and artichoke black truffle soup from Guy Savoy. Unfair including such seminal dishes? Hey, they’re seminal because they’re good.

3. Jasmine’s seared Kobe beef. Green papaya salad wrapped in Kobe carpaccio—the perfect meld of sweet and meat.

4. Watermelon gazpacho with spicy avocado crab salad from First Food. Extra points for chef Sammy D’s complete farm-to-table presentation.

5. Suckling pig with guanciale (jowl bacon)-wrapped escargot from Valentino. Yep, I said that.