Zoe Restaurant, New York

Zoë Feigenbaum, the recent winner of an episode of "Chopped", opened this intimate American eatery in 2011 after stints as executive chef at The National. For her space she chose a storefront on a quiet block on the Lower East Side, where the decor channels mid-century America and Denmark with whitewashed brick walls, chalkboard-scrawled menus, and finished hardwood tables. Her ever-changing menus for lunch, brunch, and dinner embrace fine American cuisine and often incorporate Southern and Mediterranean influences, as in the octopus escabeche with homemade labne, praised as one of "100 Dishes to Eat Now" by the Village Voice. Another highlight: the buttery corned-beef reuben that New York magazine declared "might be the best version in town."