Standing sentry on a busy corner, Stubborn Seed is sexy and sleek with an industrial chic décor and glass-fronted display kitchen. Sit at the bar for a cocktail (perhaps a Purple Haze?) and order à la carte (truffle chicken is a must), but Chef Jeremy Ford brings the heat, and his ambitious and brashly creative cooking is best enjoyed by way of the tasting menu. Begin with the tender-delicious, Japanese-style milk bread, with its sticky-sweet honey glaze and sesame seeds, then savor small bites, like a deep-fried alligator bite with fermented habanero hot sauce and hondashi furikake spice, or the beef tartare cannelloni topped with winter truffle. Finish the tasting menu with venison tenderloin with an activated charcoal crust.