Geoffrey Zakarian

All the different textures make this meal vibrant and unique. —Zakarian

At the Lambs Club in New York, chef Geoffrey Zakarian dusts the chicken with flour and lets it cook skin side down--keys to a juicy cutlet under a super thin, crackly layer of skin. If you can find boneless, skin-on chicken breasts, they'll save you a step.

Virginia Flesher of Charleston, West Virginia, writes: "Last spring I attended my oldest grandson's college graduation in New York. The evening before the ceremony, the entire family dined at Town in the Chambers Hotel. I can still remember chef Geoffrey Zakarian's superb lentil soup."