We know the list does not include Daniel and Le Bernardin, but these are our four favorite Michelin-three-star restaurants in the Big Apple. We also had two memorable lunches at Sigiri (Sri Lankan spicy noodle, rice and curry dishes) and Momofuko Ssäm Bar (duck dumpling soup and rotisserie duck in chive pancakes).

Masa
So many memorable bites including blowfish (liver, skin, intestines and roasted on the bone), Kobe beef with white truffles, shabu shabu with Japanese grouper and monkfish liver, 20 sushis including Toro belly and cooked sinew from the belly and the rare golden eye snapper plus an amazing Santa Barbara sea urchin roll. The Zen atmosphere of sitting at the beautiful wooden sushi bar (sanded nightly), our wonderful sushi chef, and the perfect, unobtrusive service is difficult to replicate any where in the States. masanyc.com, 10 Columbus Circle, Time Warner Center, 4/F, 212.823.9800

11 Madison Park
Chef Daniel Humm’s new tasting menus offer many interesting choices. We enjoyed heirloom beets with goat cheese nage, crab salad wrapped in avocado slices, sherry and butter poached lobster with matsutaki mushroom foam, and a special fontina cheese stuffed tortellini with white truffle shavings and chestnut puree and foam. The venison and guinea fowl main courses were delicious, and the chocolate and hazelnut desserts were excellent. This newest three star is well deserving of its recent recognition, and the high ceilings and understated elegance make every diner feel this is a special experience.  www.elevenmadisonpark.com, 11 Madison Avenue, 212.889.0905

Jean Georges
Long one of our favorites we ordered a la carte while dining with our friends Robert and Susan. Among the many highlights were the scallop sashimi with crispy rice and chipotle mayonnaise, the Comte cheese risotto with white truffles, the classic garlic and parsley soup with frog legs, a wonderful complimentary offering of arctic char, turbot, sea bass and cod, a crunchy rabbit with citrus chili paste, and Colorado lamb chops with a Thai red pepper sauce. Jean George is using more Asian spices to accent his French cooking, which he understands better than many other chefs because of his early experience with Vong. jean-georges.com, 1 Central Park West, 212.299.3900

Per Se
Sharing another meal with our chef son Todd, we enjoyed both the regular chef’s tasting menu and the tasting menu of vegetables. The many highlights included a Hudson Valley foie gras torchon with a coffee-chocolate financier, Spanish mackerel, Snake River Farms wagu beef, a salsify veloute with black walnut puree, a Yukon gold potato mille-feuille with tarragon custard, and chestnut agnolotti with chestnut crumbles. A special course offered to us to sample,risotto with Castlemagno cheese and black truffles, gnudi with duck gizzards and hazelnuts and polenta with smoked ricotta cheese and black truffles were an accent point for the meal. The desserts were numerous and delicious as usual, and the view of Central Park on a bright Sunday afternoon is always special. This is one of the greatest kitchens in the United States. perseny.com, Ten Columbus Circle 4/F, 212.823.9335

Chicago

Graham Elliott
Over Thanksgiving in Chicago we dined at Chef Graham Elliott Bowles’ restaurant where his recently revamped 19-course tasting menu revisits his successful run at Avenues. Among the special offerings were a delicious lobster risotto with sea urchin, pig jowl with date and Iranian pistachios, a perfectly cooked guinea hen with matsutake mushrooms and maple and pine accents, wagu beef with bone marrow and quail egg, and several flavorful desserts.The atmosphere is comfortably casual, but the food is to be taken seriously. www.grahamelliot.com, 217 West Huron St., 312.624.9975

Thanksgiving Dinner
Our family dinner was awesome with the best fresh turkey ever which was brined and then stuffed by Todd with none other than White Castle hamburgers, no pickles, ketchup or mustard, which he dried out on the counter, coarsely chopped, and tossed it with butter and sage. Yes, yum!