Coi, San Francisco

Dish: Inverted Cherry Tomato Tart

At Coi, visionary chef Daniel Patterson (an F&W Best New Chef 1997) idolizes produce in dishes like this upside-down tomatoes tart, in which quickly charred, peeled cherry tomatoes sit on a bed of pesto and are topped with a tomato puree (made in a whipped-cream dispenser) and a crispy olive tart shell.