The cavatelli pasta alone is worth the trip to Carroll Gardens, but, then, so is the rest of the food and scene here.
Warm Italian spot in the Greenwich Hotel from Bobby De Niro. Earthy brown and green color scheme with vintage cookbooks on the shelves. Large varied menu and stunning pastries.
Insane cocktails at mad Austrian scientist's lair in Chinatown. Ridiculous showmanship, jaw-dropping presentation. Look for the crowd begging entry under the "Gold Flower Restaurant" sign. [BlackBook] Read more.
Like finding El Dorado beneath a taco shack. Head downstairs, take the scenic route through the kitchen to find amazing scene of tequila, huitlacoche quesadillas and total hotness.
The legend in the flesh. Mobbed with tourists during the day, but still cool for late-late. Banana donuts from bakery next door worth killing for. [BlackBook] Read more.
Owner/chef Joey Campanaro's meatball sliders are the stuff of legend. Try it for a date: there's a reason the regulars call it the closer.
Their motto, "your favorite place to cheat the fashion system," and they do that by hosting a perpetual sample sale, though of the coolest sort.
Gastropubby goodness. You should be thrown out for ordering a salad here. If you can't do the massive burger, at least do a couple duck eggs. [BlackBook] Read more.
Cozy bistro housed in the cellar of a 19th-century townhouse. Casually romantic with red velvet dining chairs, decades worth of Burgundy, candlelight and jazz.
One of the original New Wave of high-end cocktail bars. Hard to go wrong on the menu, but Whiskey Smash -- go light on the simple syrup -- is perhaps the best mint julep in town. [BlackBook] Read more.
Home of a top-five-caliber roast chicken and gentle prices, this Ital. is especially good in warm weather, when the garage door walls of the restaurant go up.
Their Gallery Bar is open as a café during the day; at night, stop in for a game on their Wii. Read more.
The room is impossibly warm and the food, mostly cooked in clay pots, impossibly comforting.
The reborn Minette is a masterpiece - an old New York saloon, modern steakhouse and newfangled celeb haunt all in one.
Rustic Italian eatery from the makers of 'ino. A good romantic spot set in a magically warm room, decked out in dark woods, slate-blue walls and lit by candles.
Dan Barber's fresh, eco-friendly food is driven by the harvest at his farm upstate. The room located just below street-level on quaint Village block has the same casual grace as the eats.
Forget weekends, but lunch and evenings during the week still one of the best chill times in the hood. [BlackBook] Read more.
A massive, shiny tri-level Meatpacking player that's two parts restaurant, one part basement lounge. Photo-ready clientele and a juicy burger.
This is the temple of Masaharu Morimoto -- don't sit at a table like a chump. Reserve at the sushi bar, order the omakase tasting menu, and let the Iron Chef be your guide. [BlackBook] Read more.
They’re known for their burlesque revues, but go for Seth Herzog’s SWEET comedy show on Tuesdays at 8:30pm. Big name guests. Read more.
Contemporary Art Center: You’ll find artwork up and down each staircase and behind every door. Crucial to think of this not as a museum, but an exhibition space. Read more.
