Taste of Innovation | NYC Dining Experiences at the Fast Company Innovation Festival

At Ci Siamo, recently ranked a top-100 restaurant in New York City by The New York Times, you’ll hear from Union Square Hospitality Group’s (USHG) chief brand officer, Rachel Kornafel, and its VP of digital innovation, Morgan Wiley Howland, on how Danny Meyer’s famed restaurant group is harnessing AI to make the hospitality experience feel more human, not less—focused on better understanding, connecting with, and delighting guests. 

What happens when a restaurateur starts thinking like a world-builder? Simon Kim’s Cote 550 has had one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in New York City this year—and the wait has been worth it. Six years in the making, Cote 550’s sprawling three-level concept reimagines what a restaurant can be: part culinary destination, part hospitality laboratory, part cultural experience.

Fine dining has largely been shaped by a staid canon of European techniques and cuisines. But at Bar Kabawa, whose sister restaurant, Kabawa, was recently named the best restaurant in New York City by The New York Times.