With its brown and white walls, and sparse décor, CoCopelli Chocolatier is tidy, but it feels a little one-dimensional, common. Only when I talk to the owner, Lauren Roybal, does it open up, revealing hidden chambers like a set of matryoshka dolls.

Food is a widespread cultural obsession concerned with a return to place, transforming the locavores’ demand for regionally derived ingredients into experimental, sociohistorical experiences on the plate.