Arpège

Chef Passard still cooks here most days, more than three decades after buying the place from his mentor — which already sets it apart from most rooms at this level. Vegetables arrive each morning from his three kitchen gardens in the French countryside and get turned into some of the most precise, beautiful plates in the city; he's the rare three-star chef who'd rather talk about fruit and flowers than foie gras. There's still meat and fish on the menu, but the garden is unmistakably the star. Three Michelin stars held since 1996, and a leap into the World's 50 Best top ten. Not cheap, and not trying to be.