"The son of a baker and a pastry chef, Ricardo Arellano has been cooking with staple ingredients of his home state of Oaxaca his entire life. Yet at his restaurant, Crudo, a tiny six-seat bar in Oaxaca City, he’s preparing dishes that add something new. His nightly tasting menu could feature chilacayote ramen, with translucent noodles made out of the Mexican pumpkin and served in a seaweed broth and topped with edible flowers. Or a kampachi fish-belly taco, which, resembling a nori taco but with the taste of al pastor, is marinated in an adobe extract, wrapped in Mexican pepper leaf, and accompanied by an avocado and cactus salad. Or bluefin tuna sashimi, prepared with grasshopper chile paste and a dash of black beans." - Nili Blanck