Recommended dishes: Boudin blanc, smoked bluefish rillettes, curried egg toast, corned beef tongue. Read more.
Flat like a flying saucer, studded with extra sesame seeds for added crunch, and cooked long enough to not be mushy in the middle, Azuri Café's falafel are generally regarded as the best in town. Read more.
In many ways Esca is as good as the four-starred Le Bernardin. If nothing else, it's cheaper, more relaxed and, bonus, also serves Baltali-brand pasta. [Eater 38 Member] Read more.
Ask for some corn-husk- and banana leaf-steamed tamales with your "Blood & Smoke" cocktail: Ilegal mezcal, Cherry Heering, sherry, blood orange. Read more.
Try the green falafel. The crunchy exterior conceals a fluffy core, with a nutty, herbaceous flavor complemented by silky hummus and tahini sauce. It’s one of our #100best dishes and drinks of 2011. Read more.
Try the spicy beef noodle soup ($5.50). The handmade noodles are fantastic, and Zhou's "clean-tasting beef broth, stunned with Sichuan peppercorn, lingers on the tongue with a citrus-accented heat." Read more.
Try the fiery Hellboy: chili pepper-infused honey drizzled over a blistered pie w/ sopressata picante, creamy fior di latte & grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. It’s one of our #100best dishes & drinks 2011. Read more.
Almost all the pizza here is great, but the grandma slice and grandma slice with pickled vegetable are KILLER. Also? BEST MEATBALL SUB in the city. Read more.
"Try the fahsa salta, a fenugreek seed-laced stew of celery, onion, potato, tomato and shredded beef cooked in broth that—so the story goes—has its origins in the Turkish occupation." Read more.
The Hakata Tonkotsu is cooked with pork bones in the broth 'til they release their marrow, giving it a "creamy consistency that rivals milk, melted butter, or gravy." In other words: It's delicious. Read more.
Thick, succulent, juicy chunks of meat grilled to such perfection that chewing almost becomes unnecessary. This is the Kalbi of Mapo BBQ. Read more.
Order the Traditional Greek pork gyros. Each pita gets a mountain of sliced ultra-porky pork and just enough tzatziki, lettuce, and tomato to cut through the fat. This is what a real gyro looks like. Read more.
Saison microbrews are having a moment. Find three of our favorites - Ommegang Hennepin, Saison de Pipaix, and Stillwater Stateside - here. Read more.
A truly funky cocktail list: frozen 'lushies' like the snow groni, a menu of "tight, rich & boozy" drinks a la the crippler, shots made with orange soda and hot sauce; and so on & so forth. Read more.
Can you even get phone reception down here? What you want is the prawn bruschetta, followed by a lamb burger and a glass of big red. Read more.
Go here for tasty, inexpensive hummus. Try Hummus Masabacha for $6.95 and the malabi ($4.25) for dessert. Portions are great for sharing. Read more.
Come here for ultra-cheap Chinese cuisine. Huge portions of hand-pulled noodle soups range from $4 - $6.50. Try fish ball or beef for $5. Read more.
Come to enjoy a slice of the roasted duck, with its succulent meat and crackly, burnished mahogany skin. You can get the bird over rice or congee, but purists should stick to a mere drizzle of hoisin. Read more.
The boiled dumplings are great, but the rice balls with beef ($3) are the real star here. Deliciously soft and sticky, they may remind you of mochi... until you get a bite of that marinated beef. Read more.
The three chefs in the kitchen—Jamison Blankenship, James Sato and David Koon— spent months testing different broths, noodles and toppings to create the three bowls on their opening menu. Read more.
Recommended dishes: Gilly falafel, Mediterranean chicken falafel, eggplant à la Yafa. The falafel at this modest and mostly takeout shop is crisp yet moist, airy yet creamy. Read more.
Marcus Samuelsson’s ode to southern down-home cooking is Harlem’s most ambitious opening in decades. Featured in Where to Eat 2011! Read more.
Soba noodles are made fresh daily, as is the tofu, using soybeans also grown on the owner's farm, situated outside Montreal. Popular dishes include the soba salad, zaru soba, and salmon teriyaki. Read more.
Doro wot ($15) It is a classic dish from my birth country, Ethiopia. It reminds me of my brothers and sisters back there. My wife, Maya, cooks the best version of doro wot. Read more.
While dining at this Southeast Asian restaurant may not be a relaxed experience, one can “take comfort in the fact that the food lives up to the hype.” Read more.
At Meadowsweet Polo, Dobkin treats octopus like a bathing beauty in this hyper-attractive presentation flavored with chorizo, basil oil, and thin strips of glistening red pepper. Read more.
Try the Peter Shelsky. A spin on the bagel-and-lox format with 3 kinds of fish—Eastern Gaspé salmon, soft sable & sweet pickled herring in cream sauce. It’s one of our #100best dishes & drinks of 2011 Read more.
The PDT is the best speakeasy in NYC, making our list of "The Tastes That Make the City: NYC Edition." Read more.
The Birdhaus Bao is juicy and delicious, made with all-natural fried chicken brined overnight. The Chairman Bao, most popular, is served with cilantro, Haus Relish and Taiwanese red sugar. Read more.
If you love charred cow innards, make a beeline for this elegant new Japanese yakiniku grill restaurant where you can cook your own beef heart and chuck flap with uni. Featured in Where to Eat 2011! Read more.
I'm at the Pizza Hut. I'm at the Taco Bell. I'm at the Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell on Jamaica Avenue. Read more.