Restaurants home and away

Three things about some of my favourite restaurants:

• Craft New York: Welcoming, family style, copper pans
• Hix Oyster and Chophouse - London: buzzing, hanger steak with baked bone marrow, sloe gin jelly shot
• Hoa Tuc - Saigon: outdoor terrace, cookery school upstairs, modern twist on vietnamese classics
• Le Gavroche - London: luxury, service perfection, top value 2* michelin star lunch
• The Modern - New York: cool seats at the bar, modern Alsacien, small plates
• Momofuku Ko - New York: 12 chef-facing bar stools, shaved foie gras torchon, surprise 2* menu
• Momofuku Noodle Bar - New York: shared tables, pork buns with chilli sauce, steaming bowls of ramen
• Movida Aqui - sunny terrace, tapas, bold flavours
• Ottolenghi - London: bustling, decadent salads, more decadent cakes
• Momofuku Ma Peche - New York, midtown: cool cocktails, kappa menu (once), family style
• Morimoto - New York: modern Japanese, innovative, wow!
• Zaytinya - Washington DC: buzzing, fantastic mezze, middle eastern wines
• Arbutus - Soho, London: minimalist décor, best cod I ever ate, enough offal on the menu to scare the boss
• The Grainstore - London, Kings Cross: plenty vegetables but not vegetarian, cocktail matching, "have you got anything more expensive" on the wine list
• Quo Vadis - Soho, London: best sweetheart cabbage ever, eel sandwich, fresh seasonal menu
• Juni - New York: Aussie chef's riff on Cherry Ripe, inexplicable, amazing