Cabbage Salad
Anjin (Best New Restaurant 2026)
Kansas City, MO
There is such a disconnect between the size of Anjin’s cabbage salad and the depths of flavor it contains, I gasp all over again to recall the head-snapping pleasure of my first bite. Arranged in a tight mound set inside a compact glass dish, it balances crisp folds of sweet and crunchy cabbage with a cast of ingredients that are shocking in their complexity. An earthy-sweet black sesame dressing clings to every ruffled leaf, along with tiny fried anchovies, crisp and chewy at once, and shattering shards of kombu salt caramel; it’s all punctuated by furikake, toasted cashews, and fresh mint. This is not a fork and knife salad. It demands the precise use of chopsticks to liberate every bite from the tangled mound, slowing you down just enough to appreciate each element. —C.M.
Chuleta Kan-Kan
Qui Qui
Washington, DC
The chuleta kan-kan at Qui Qui looks and sounds like a party. Appropriate for a Puerto Rican restaurant in D.C.’s Park View, where reggaeton flows through the dining room at full volume. If you’ve got a group of at least three, order this enormous slab of fatty pork chop, loin, and belly, which is accompanied with generous helping of rice, beans, and fluffy, fried tostones, plus salsa verde and pickled onions. Each portion of the chuleta is equally tender and juicy, the fat cap rendered so crispy, a bite yields an audible crack. The meat is front and center, but mingling a toston or a spoonful of rice in the pork juices with the salsa verde steals the show. —K.K.
Swordfish Taco
Amá
Philadelphia, PA
Can one dish sum up an entire restaurant? In the case of Amá in Philadelphia, the swordfish tacos certainly come close. Chef Frankie Ramirez’ broad definition of Mexican cuisine is on full display here, incorporating overt Lebanese flavors in a nod to the origins of al pastor-style cooking. The tacos feature za’atar rubbed swordfish kissed by a wood-burning grill, dabbed with tangy pools of labne and a salsa arabe, similar to harissa. It is a dish that is thrilling in its own right, the meaty swordfish balanced by sharp herbs and the sensory riot of layered tangy, sweet, and savory elements. Eating it inspires an appreciation for the seamless integration of Mexican and Middle Eastern influences, melding to a state of emphatic brilliance in each bite. —C.M.
Fun Guy Pizza
Jules (Best New Restaurant 2026)
San Francisco, CA
At Jules, the pizza is never quite what you’d expect. The spin on a margherita features tangy caciocavallo cheese alongside more traditional mozzarella. The Field Dream is made with corn pudding, a Thai basil pesto, and shrimp dust. Sometimes with such disparate ingredients, it’s hard to imagine exactly how the pizza on its way to your table might taste. Such was the case with the Fun Guy, a mushroom pie with nutty, Alpine hornkuhkäse cheese and loaded with maitakes, honshimejis, and local chanterelles. Funky black garlic hides within that mushroom melange, and the pie arrives dotted with a dramatic, dark tamarind sauce. Each bite is a tumble of salty, sweet, earthy flavors—so much better than whatever pizza you were expecting to eat. —Sam Stone