New York's Hottest Restaurant—for the Next 24 Hours

I go out to eat a lot, sometimes every day, sometimes every meal (no one's counting breakfast, right??). So it's not often that a restaurant renders me speechless. But when Joël Robuchon comes to cook at his Four Seasons Hotel restaurant, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, for a few days, it's absolutely impossible not to be blown away to another planet. Every thing is deceptively simple and amazing, from the tiny baguette basket that they set down after you've ordered to a stellar version of tarte flambé with tender onions, smoky bacon and a tiny salad on top of ridiculously fresh and good langoustines with tarragon vinaigrette. Even those famous half-butter, half-potato mashed potatoes, which you think couldn't possibly get any better—they're somehow better. Here's another measure of Robuchon's greatness—David Chang says he's one of three people that he would let into the impenetrable Momofuku Ko without a reservation (this is a preview of a post from Snack—there, you'll soon find out who the other two people are).

Chef Robuchon is here for the next 24 hours (specifically, his plane leaves at 8 p.m. on Thursday night). So, at the risk of sounding like I'm on the Home Shopping Network with five porcelain dolls left to sell—everyone should head straight for L'Atelier, get a seat at the counter and watch him in action. He's not back again until September.