The scene at the newly opened Icon, set inside the super-sleek W New York, the court hotel, is something else. It is, as Steve Cuozzo wrote in the New York Post, "a strange but delightful new confection from Drew Nieporent's Myriad Restaurant Group." Spare yet swanky, done up in mirrors, chrome, and stainless steel, on a typical night this sexy, modern-age industrial space is packed with gorgeous, high-octane professionals and svelte downtown-model types. Every night feels like a party. The food is fabulous, but who can tell, with all the beautiful people around distracting diners from chef Paul Sale's brightly flavored, luxurious platefuls? In keeping with our pledge to celebrate the culinary arts, we here at The James Beard Foundation consider it our sworn duty to put Sale's food front and center. We know we can do just that in the relatively sedate atmosphere of the Beard House - although the tomato soup-colored walls in the dining room do add a certain je ne sais quoi - and before an audience of knowledgeable, serious eaters.

Sale, who grew up in England, isn't just some club-type who stumbled into the kitchen and began playing with pots and pans. A graduate of Southampton Culinary College in Britain, he landed his first job at the Michelin two-star Connaught Hotel Mayfair in London, where he was fortunate to have chef Michele Bourdin mentor him. In 1989, he moved to New York to join the staff at the elegant Peacock Alley in the Waldorf-Astoria. Within a few years, he'd moved on to New York Times four-star Le Bernardin and then to the executive sous-chef spot at 57 57 in The Four Seasons Hotel. He continued his tour through some of America's best hotel kitchens with a job at The Hilton at Short Hills in New Jersey. Last year, Icon tapped him for the top spot at this "restaurant for the 21st Century," as J. Walman described the place in his Restaurant Report Card.

At Icon, Sales has proved himself a master of "opulent flavors," according to New York Times critic William Grimes, who added, "in a cool English way, he is turning out some very good food." Cuozzo praised the "wonderful" entrÈes and "nicely balanced sauces." And in her "Bone AppÈtit" column in Animal Fair: A Lifestyle Magazine for Animal Lovers and Pet Owners (we couldn't resist quoting this publication), Danielle Duran described Sale's French-inflected contemporary American cuisine as "flawlessly executed."