David Burke’s Primehouse, Chicago

The steak is dry-aged in a room with a wall made from Himalayan pink salt. This partially brines the meat as it ages, so the texture and flavor are just amazing.

Selected by: Ming Tsai
TV Chef & Owner of Blue Ginger,
Wellesley, Massachusetts

Check out the entire list of Clean Plate Award winners. 

After putting in a hard day’s work, busy digital bees and their BlackBerries need time apart to slow down and recharge—literally. Which is why last January, The Ritz-Carlton Chicago introduced “The Blackberry Break,” allowing meeting attendees to do just that.

“It’s important to refuel our bodies as well as our tech toys,” says the hotel’s director of food & beverage Mohamed El Banna. For $22 per person, BlackBerry devices get checked at the door and are powered up on the hotel’s charger while patrons do the equivalent, with a stimulating blackberry-themed menu that includes blackberry lemon smoothies and blackberry filled donuts.