Five new restaurants and the signature ingredients that have found their ideal form.

1. Avocado
If only every fruit were as lucky as an avocado to find a form as fitting as guacamole. And if only every guacamole were as flavorful and fresh as that at Distrito, the newest restaurant by Philadelphia’s wonder boy Jose Garces. Even among the humble Distrito Federal street food fare and the restaurant’s very loud decor, Garces’s guacamole genius is arresting. 2945 Chestnut St., Philadelphia; (215) 222-1657; DistritoRestaurant.com

2. Fish
The John Dory is at home in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean, but, roasted, its ancestral home is at Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield’s new Meatpacking District restaurant, the John Dory. The whole roasted fish comes with a rich entourage of butter and juices and is accompanied by a salsa verde that combines brine and sweetness. 85 10th Ave., New York City; (212) 929-4948; TheJohnDory.com

3. Peanut
If George Washington Carver were alive, he’d hang at Sepia, the new Chicago restaurant where the peanut—Carver’s obsession—is transmuted in wonderful ways. Their playful deconstruction of a Reese’s cup consists of malted milk chocolate mousse on peanut butter crunch with maple peanut sauce and pretzel bark, besting any of Carver’s 300 uses.
123 N. Jefferson St., Chicago; (312) 441-1920; SepiaChicago.com

4. Egg
If you are lucky enough to score one of the 12 seats at Momofuku Ko, David Chang’s haute cuisine hot spot, quail and cavil your way through the shaved foie gras and the pork belly courses to save room for the egg. The small, tender, soft-cooked hen’s egg arrives spilling out caviar, onion soubise, fingerling potato, fine herbs, and purple sweet potato vinegar.
163 1st Ave., New York City; (212) 475-7899; Momofuku.com/Ko

5. Beet
Like sacrificial virgins, only the youngest and most succulent beets are served at Santa Monica’s newest locavore mecca, Fig. Chef Ray Garcia scours the farms and markets of L.A. et environs for these rubies of the field (and all of his produce), which come roasted alongside Santa Barbara pistachios. Who knew L.A. had so much culture, albeit agriculture?
101 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 319-3111; FigSantaMonica.com

Photography by Joshua Scott