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At his high-ceilinged, blond-wood-paneled space — with three dozen seats at expansively spaced, white-topped tables, plus more at the counter — Ramirez’s hyper-perfectionist brand of cooking takes the form of a 13-course tasting menu, a thrill ride of precisely executed, luxurious morsels kicking off with a single gossamer tuille thinner than a cigarette and filled with rich fish rillette. Between that opening dazzler and the chef’s signature frozen soufflé in seasonal flavors, diners are treated to Ramirez’ famed uni toast — an impossibly voluptuous bite featuring blobs of sweet, ocean-fresh sea urchin perched on a fluffy round of brioche, imbued with a depth of flavors from house-aged soy sauce and truffles. The menu might also involve a gorgeous tartlet of buttery diced Faroe Island salmon, a single delicate kisi (Japanese whiting) improbably laminated onto a crispy potato chip, a jewel-like flower-strewn dish of pristine Norwegian langoustine frosted with caviar, and Dover sole in a frothy Vin Jaune sauce. Working with stellar ingredients — mainly fish and seafood sourced directly from Japan or Europe — and treating them with a Japanese reverence coupled with avant-garde European techniques, the chef makes a convincing case that his kind of hyper-exquisite fine dining deserves to survive.

Born in a small town in central Mexico, Ramirez grew up in Chicago and cooked at some of the Windy City’s top restaurants before moving to New York City to work with the legendary David Bouley, who passed away earlier this year. Having earned three Michelin stars at his previous restaurant, a high-end dining counter that first opened in Brooklyn in 2009, Ramirez is excited to be finally striking out on his own. His eponymous, César, represents a “longtime dream,” he says. “It’s a place where I can do my own thing and make people happy.”

Resy recently caught up with Ramirez to talk about the fate of  fine dining, his creative process, and his downtown restaurant that was just awarded two Michelin stars.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The post César’s Approach to the Perfect Progression Just Won It Two Michelin Stars appeared first on Resy | Right This Way.