San Francisco
Formal Tasting Menus, Casual Restaurants
God knows the Bay Area doesn?t dress up (see: hoodies as start-up uniforms), so multicourse menus now come casually.
Try it at: The Mission District?s?Roxy?s Cafe, whose Venezuelan- inspired ten courses ($75) are served with paper napkins (2847 Mission St.; 415-375-1185; entr?es from $10), and at?Commonwealth, which has a fancy-but-cheap six-course menu for $70 (2224 Mission St.; 415-355-1500; entr?es from $15).
London
The (Affordable) Wine Bar
There?s been a London trade in fine wine since at least the time of Henry II, but until recently, it was tough to find an interesting glass that wasn?t a splurge.
Find it at: Bottle shop/bistro hybrids likeChampagne & Fromage?(22 Wellington St.),Dalla Terra?(25 Slingsby Pl.), and the wonderful40 Maltby Street.
New York
Foraged Food
It isn?t enough for some New York chefs to simply buy their ingredients from the best farmers?many head out to the wild (or hire somebody) to search for the freshest mushrooms, the strangest herbs, and the most flavorful roots. Once these chefs get their hands on the ingredients, they transform them into things like burdock-branch liqueur atAska?and black, briny lichen crackers at?Atera.
Find it at:?The Marrow?get the whole roasted hen-of-the-woods mushroom with truffled jus.
Paris
Kale
Thanks to the?Kale Project?a one-woman crusade by an intrepid American expat to introduce the leaf to France, where it had gone more or less undiscovered?this much-loved hipster green is finally showing up on Paris menus.
Find it at:?Bones, where it recently accompanied roasted pigeon, and Abri, where the chef likes to pair it with fish.
Shanghai
Italian Eats
The Shanghainese have long favored Italian food over all other Western cuisines: It?s unintimidating and often served family-style like Chinese food. Their devotion has been amped up by the arrival of pizza- and pasta-focused restaurants.
Find it at:?8? Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Jean-Georges Vongerichten?s?Mercato, and cozy, neighborhoody Scarpetta.
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