But Annisa is where she has truly come into her own, with an internationalist style that fuses ingredients and ideas from many different cuisines. It’s been a Greenwich Village favorite since it opened.

Who in your life has influenced your cooking the most?

There isn’t really one person who sticks out above the rest. I suppose my parents for exposing me to so many different cuisines and cultures, David Waltuck (of Chanterelle) for balance of flavor, Bouley and Taka for ingredients.

Which book has had the biggest impact?

“The Joy of Cooking”(the old one) was my first cookbook. I remember reading it for the first time and being fascinated that such a staple of Americana contained recipes for things like armadillo and squirrel. I still refer to it for basic pastry recipes and general ingredient information (and will in the future if I ever come across a raw armadillo).

Which foreign country (or region) do you most enjoy eating in?

There is nothing I love better than to experience new cultures and cuisines, so this question is a hard one for me. I guess if pressed, I’d have to pick Japan for its extreme focus on fresh ingredients in season. There is always something new to learn there.

Which restaurant meal from the past lives most vividly in your memory?

I had amazing omakase at a sushi bar in Singapore. We had been craving sake on my year of traveling the globe, and stopped in this little restaurant in a big Japanese department store. As we were drinking, I got glimpses of what the other clients were eating—stuff I’d never seen before. We made a reservation and came back the next day. It was course after course of exciting ingredients—little slimy, white eel-like creatures in a bowl, so fresh they were crunchy; the archetypical fava bean; various mini flower garnishes. The list goes on.

Which three cooking tools or gadgets are your favorites?

My tasting spoon, my adjustable-speed hand blender, and my Japanese mandolin.

What’s your favorite music to play in the kitchen?

Saturday night is 80’s night on the radio. My knowledge of popular music pretty much ended in that era.

Which are the most overrated — and underrated — seasonings?

Overrated: argan oil. While I’d be the first in line to taste an oil that (from what popular opinion says) is made from pre-digested goat feed, I find the flavor underwhelming, especially for that price.

Underrated: lemon zest. It makes everything taste somehow more elegant and complex.

Is there a guilty secret — something canned, something hokey — in your arsenal of ingredients?

I use a fair amount of canned sauces in Asian cooking—Sriracha chili sauce, hoisin. Is that a guilty secret?

Is there a rule of conduct or etiquette in your kitchen that you enforce above all others?

Taste everything, often.

What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done in a restaurant kitchen?

I’m not telling you. But I did step into a five-gallon bucket of chicken stock once.

Which item in your home refrigerator would you least like to cop to?

Diet Coke. Professional chefs shouldn’t drink that stuff. I also have a couple of cans of goose fat from the late 80’s, and some dyed green ketchup someone gave me.

Is there a food you can’t bring yourself to like?

Green bell peppers.

What’s the best New York City restaurant that no one talks that much about? (We’ll trust you not to plug a friend.)

Degustation. Why isn’t Wesley Genovart getting more attention?

You did something awful and are sentenced to die. Dead Chef Walking! What’s your final meal — and we’re not talking five or six courses, though you can have dessert — before you go?

O-toro with freshly grated wasabi, shiso and soy sauce, from a fish that I just caught.