Wherever Chopped judge Marcus Samuelsson cooks, you can be sure his flavors will pull from his past and present. Red Rooster is no exception. Marcus serves modern Harlem comfort foods like Fried Yardbird, Fried Bird Royale and Mac & Greens. As a nod to his Swedish roots, he's added Helga's Meatballs to the menu.

With Executive Chef Dakota Weiss at the helm, Estrella is dishing up new American cuisine in a charmingly folksy space that channels 1960s Los Angeles (think lots of greenery and wood furniture). Don’t let the hippie vibe fool you; Chef Weiss is all business when it comes to the food. One standout is The Rolling Stone, a wake-up-worthy brunch dish featuring a bacon-wrapped avocado stuffed with a perfectly poached egg and perched on a crisp potato pancake.

Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger serve straightforward Mexican food at Border Grill, where dishes range from green corn tamales to Yucatan pork. Try the Skillet Nachos, which feature scratch-made tortilla chips and cheese sauce, organic black beans and tender morsels of carne asada.

Geoffrey Zakarian showcases his mastery of modern American cuisine at Georgie, his restaurant housed in the Montage Beverly Hills hotel. When it comes to the dinner menu, signature cocktails share top billing with the impeccably prepared steaks, seafood dishes and pasta. Be sure to save room for dessert. The Bittersweet Chocolate Moulten Souffle is unbeatable.

Crowds flock to Ink to indulge their appetites and their imaginations. Chef-Owner Michael Voltaggio delights his diners with an innovative, ever-evolving menu that he describes as “modern Los Angeles.” His culinary wizardry shines through in favorites such as an apple dessert. Creme caramel serves as the base of this artful treat, which comes adorned with apples, shortbread bits and buttery fragments of pie dough, along with a scoop of semifreddo that’s infused with the flavor of burnt applewood.

Bacon lovers rejoice. At Animal, the Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar means you can have your dessert and bacon, too. On The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Duff had a "celebacon" for the bar's rich chocolate and bacon crumble. Animal's menu has plenty more bacon with pig tails, pig ear and even crispy pig's head.