"He puts a hanger steak on the menu — and, gratuitously, a sunny-side-up egg over the beef. I say gratuitously because the beef is also paired with 'bone marrow-onion marmalade' and a potato and oxtail terrine."

"But the dish everyone at my table went slightly nuts over was the arroz de pato, a kind of newfangled trencherman’s paella made with nickels of chorizo and olives mingled with salty wafers of duck crackling and pieces of soft pulled-duck confit."

"Mendes has a line on some exceptional seafood. The sea scallops he serves in an entrée with farro risotto are among the most enormous in town. The sweet, meaty bivalves—cooked just through beneath a perfect golden crust—are an inspired match for the nutty, creamy grains (tossed with mild pickled cucumbers) that are spread underneath."

"Pig ears can be as chewy as a dog bone. Here they’re just barely toothsome and fried, flanked by a spicy cumin yogurt. The sea urchin, a slimy briny creature that's improbably in vogue these days, is tamed via mustard oil and cauliflower cream."