Get Todd Hauptli talking about memorable dining experiences and you’ll quickly discover that the 49-year-old lobbyist’s first passion is food. Shortly thereafter, you’ll learn that when it comes to epicurean delicacies, truffles rank highest on his list. "It’s like nature’s perfume to me," he says. "When they’re paired with the right thing they really kick it into a whole other part of the universe."

Hauptli recently experienced that type of combination in his native Washington, D.C., at CityZen restaurant (www.mandarinoriental.com), where chef Eric Ziebold prepared a dish of creamy grits punctuated by a sous vide egg yolk and covered with a generous serving of shaved black truffles. "He blitzed us with some special dishes," Hauptli recalls, "but this one stuck out with me for a holy-mother-of-God moment. Temporary loss of speech ensued."

Perhaps Hauptli’s greatest encounter with truffles, however, came a week before Christmas at New York City’s Per Se (www.perseny.com) in 2010, when chef Thomas Keller served up a loosely scrambled hen egg that was dusted with shaved white winter truffles, garnished with a mousse made of Castelmagno (a semihard Italian cheese), and topped with a piece of veal sweetbread. "It was one of the top four or five dishes that I’ve had in a lifetime of great eating," he says.

The most common truffles preparation—a risotto with truffle shavings—can be delicious, though often predictable. For an inspired take on that classic dish, Rachel Nichols—a Maine native now living in Beverly Hills, Calif.—recommends Il Buco (www.ilbuco.com), an unassuming eatery on Bond Street in Manhattan. The Mediterranean restaurant dedicates its menu to local ingredients and a simple, straightforward approach to cooking that chef Ignacio Mattos first learned in his grandmother’s kitchen in Uruguay. "It was the perfect consistency and that warm, buttery, mushroomy taste that melts in your mouth," Nichols says of a white truffle risotto that Mattos prepares. "It’s so hard to describe, but it was so memorable."

If you’re looking for a less conventional approach, Nichols would lead you to Sushi House Unico (www.shusushi.com) in Bel Air, Calif. As a self-described creature of habit, Nichols has picked up a pair of chopsticks at SHU more than 50 times in the past year and more often than not, she’ll order a sashimi dish consisting of snapper, sea salt, and shaved black truffles. "If you’re eating truffles in a dish that’s warm, they become one with whatever you’re eating," she says. "Sushi certainly isn’t helping the truffles to melt, but you have an opportunity to taste both the fish and the truffles."

Jean Sebastien Richer, the sommelier at the Regent Palms in the Turks and Caicos, approaches fragrant, complex foods much the same way he does full-bodied wines—as a gateway to a dish’s complementary or contrasting flavors. According to Richer, executive chef Denis Girard at Baccara (www.casinosduquebec.com/lacleamy) in Gatineau, Canada, has mastered this art. "You have to show that you understand how the truffle dances with other ingredients," Richer says, "and he does it very well."

At Baccara, Richer experienced a truffle-tasting journey, including a bison tartare complemented by sheep’s milk cheese, quail egg tempura, truffles, and a raspberry vinaigrette; as well as a seared scallop and scampi with black truffles; roasted wild boar flank, and buttery fingerling potatoes. According to Richer, the aggressive truffle flavor drew out the bison’s subtleties, while the scallop dish spotlighted the truffle’s buttery undertones and allowed the freshness of the seafood to shine. "The truffle will force your palate to focus on other aspects," he says. "It’s funny how something so bold can help you appreciate the subtleties in a piece of seafood."

NOTE: We’ll be going vegetarian in our April issue, and we welcome your suggestions. Have you had a memorable vegetarian dish in recent years? Tell us about it and where you ordered it. You may just see the dish on this page in our next issue. Send comments to our editor at shaunt@robbreport.com or give him a call at 978.264.7565.