I'm in the midst of working on a feature story for our April issue, and I don't think it's giving away too much to tell you that in the course of researching the piece I've been spending a lot of time with Michael Tusk, the chef/owner of Quince restaurant. I'd even like to think that in the course of these last few weeks, we've forged something of a nascent friendship. Today, in the midst of a spirited discussion about spring's finest ingredients, Mike grabbed my notebook and started sketching out his vision for a tribute to asparagus, a four-part dish that will likely debut on his tasting menu within the next few months.

"I do this to help my cooks understand what I'm talking about," he said by way of explanation. Well, all I can say is that his cooks must know him pretty well, because if they are able to extrapolate a dish—or four tiny dishes that make up the whole—by looking at Mike's renderings (pictured below), then they are just one small step below mind readers.