Troya Restaurant, San Francisco

You don't have to dress up or make up a new holiday to enjoy the kind of thoughtful, expertly prepared food that Troya is known for. The Fillmore location is the second iteration of this Mediterranean mash-up that modernizes traditional recipes. When asked about his food, Chef Chris Borcich told the San Francisco Chronicle's Inside Scoop SF that "I’m really really excited to be sitting where I’m at... in San Francisco where people really like creative food and I get to utilize all these ingredients I’ve had experience with in my career, but in a totally different way."

The majority of his dishes are small plates and include everything from a lentil and bulgur salad to grilled calamari with turkish salsa. There are anatolian flatbreads and kebabs as well, made from organic, locally farmed ingredients whenever possible. The Turkish influence extends to the brunch menu—breakfast potatoes with olives and spicy yogurt, for one—and to a list of wines that hail from the Mediterranean, New Zealand, France, Portugal, and wherever else bottles are grown.