Chef Jean-François Piège is—in my humble opinion—the most exciting chef in France right now. His ultramodern take on traditional “bourgeois” cuisine is playful, delicious, and wholly unlike anything you’ll taste anywhere else. Book ahead for a table in his swank, gray dining room (decked in concrete walls and geometric ceiling panels that wouldn’t look amiss in Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”), then sit back for a roller-coaster ride of haute cuisine: shellfish-stuffed potato with caviar, Parmesan-infused spaghetti with truffles and fall-off-your-fork pork, and a delightful bergamot-flavored custard cream to finish. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the descriptions; Piège’s cooking is as complex as it is satisfying. His place is near the Élysée palace, so you might spot politicians out for a business meal—though Piège’s devoted fans are never far away.