TRENDS DON’T HOLD much sway with David Nayfeld. This chef cooks to connect on a deeper level. “A dish should sit on your palate,” he said. “So when you’re done, you take bread and wipe the bowl.”
At his restaurant Che Fico, in San Francisco, soulful dishes like this rigatoni with a warming sausage ragù draw crowds. “Before we opened, I thought a lot about what I want to eat again and again,” Mr. Nayfeld said.
The...