Though owners include one Robert DeNiro, chef Andrew Carmellini's return to the stage, following A Voce, is a rustic neighborhood Italian restaurant at the core. And on … Mondays, home of some of New York's best fried chicken.
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Something of an oddity, at least at first blush, Blau Gans turns out rustic Bavarian food in its stripped-down digs. Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner's casual sequel to his beloved … Wallse is a local standby, with food that far exceeds expectations.
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If any of Chinatown's best dim sum joints are undiscovered, this one is—although the long weekend waits suggest otherwise. Chinatown pros and pro chefs alike … consider it the best of its kind.

Tucked in a small room on a streetcorner in BelDel -- the less trammeled part of the Lower East Side 'Below Delancey' -- Little Giant turns out witty spins on American … cuisine. Seating -- some on pillows along the wide window ledge -- is as chill as the place itself.
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Frank Decarlo's countryside Italian restaurant has long been a staple on the first-date circuit, but nevertheless, the room is impossibly warm and the food, mostly cooked … in clay pots, impossibly comforting.
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Restaurateur Keith McNally's enduring Soho brasserie. The best everyday restaurant in New York City. Period.
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Loud, clubby and crowded—and home of one of the most authentic steak frites downtown. A straight classic.
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After 11pm, it's the best restaurant in the city (and it's open until 4am). But at any hour epic raw bar platters and perfect fondue and the mere 50-odd seats are among … the reasons there's always a wait.[link]

Mario Batali's osteria on Thompson Street maybe be his best effort in New York; it's certainly his most relaxed and consistent. It's cacio e pepe is world class.
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Dude, it's Momofuku Ssam.
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A Japanese chain which has infatuated the foodie set in this spot just north of Astor Place, Ippudo offers several variations on ramen, all of which are, in essence, … Berkshire pork in broth of deep, slutty, piggy flavor.
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Since 1937 and impeccably restored by the one and only Keith McNally, the reborn Minetta is a masterpiece -- an old New York saloon, modern steakhouse and newfangled … celeb haunt all in one. The problem: getting in.
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One might expect owners and regulars like Jay-Z and Bill Clinton to distract from the food, but chef April Bloomfield holds her own and then some at New York's top (wait … for it) gastropub. The best restaurant burger in New York is served here, as anyone who has braved the two-hour wait for a table can tell you.
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Its mere 25 seats are to blame for the impossible proposition of scoring a reservation here, but for those who get in, it's an evening of charm on a leafy dreamlike West … Village corner. Owner/chef Joey Campanaro's meatball sliders are the stuff of legend. Try it for a date: there's a reason regulars call it "the closer."
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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. Chef … Jonathan Waxman, a legend round town since the 1980s, presides.
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It's steaks are excellent, especially the double-cut bone-in rib eye, but Strip House's real achievement is finally putting steak in a sexy setting, which it does in … spades. The deep, aged red leather and dark wood make this the prettiest, and therefore most versatile, steakhouse in the city.
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The lone Spanish baby of Molto Mario’s empire, Casa Mono has been an Irving Place destination since it opened in ’04. Chef Andy Nusser has crafted a menu of … substantial tapas and medium-sized entrées, done mostly “a la plancha” with unmistakably Catalan flavors; get the duck egg with mojama. NB: If you have trouble securing a table, and chances are you will, little sister Bar Jamon is right next door.
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This Chelsea hole-in-the-wall -- yes, expect to wait to share space at the giant communal table that stretches the length of the room -- serves near note-perfect paella. … A solid menu of Spanish starters, too.
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The unofficial official First Restaurant of New York, where Michelle Obama recently dined and service king Danny Meyer presides. Though its formal dining room in back is … a bit too too for 38 contention, the first-come-first-served front room and its seasonal American menu is excellent—and one of the best ongoing deals in town.
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Jim Lahey is a breadmaker at heart, which is what the crust is the emphasis on the pizza here at this new-generation pizzeria. But the room is cool and relaxed and … versatile, making this perhaps the best all-around pizza joint in New York.
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Non-theatre-goers sometimes forget about Esca due to its Siberia-adjacent location, but 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.
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Yasuda regulars know their sushi chefs by name and send them Christmas cards. If you're not getting world-class omakase here, you're not at Yasuda.
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On the family tree of New York high-end Chinese restaurants, Chin Chin, since 1983, is younger than Mr. Chow and Shun Lee, but its anchor status on 49th Street in Midtown … is indisputable. Chin Chin's appeal lies in its versatile menu of, patent pending, "haute couture of Chinese cuisine..." and its always-affable owner, Jimmy Chin
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A bone thrown to Tudor City, which is otherwise quite short on reasonable restaurant options, it turns out that Convivio is a versatile, casual, expert stage for chef … Michael White, one of the city's most talented pasta makers.
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Hating on this comically and unselfconsciously nouveau riche French 25-seater is totally besides the point and will distract you from how much fun it is to get in on … the party here. The cajun chicken is as addictive as dishes come

Upper East Side pubs don't come more old school, and some have the Mellon's burger as the best in the city. It's not, but along with Mellon's crispy waffle-cut fries and … ice-ice cold beer, it is a damn good show.
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Anyone who lives anywhere close to East 86th Street is a regular here -- and no one minds the high kitsch factor. Fajita plates and margaritas are massive and immensely … satisfying.
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The front room at four-star eatery Jean Georges is a more casual but no less exacting display of the chef's impeccable skill and style. Because one can order a la carte … and escape the formality and prices of the back room, it edges out Jean Georges proper for 38 listing.
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An Upper West Sider's secret, Gennaro is no reservations, no cash and no frills. But its straightforward pastas and main proteins never disappoint in a neighborhood still … massively lacking in good off-the-cuff dining options.

Along with Daisy May's, Dinosaur tops the category of Best BBQ in New York. Tucked under the West Side Highway, waits are epic, as are the ribs. Tip: outside tables are … first-come first-served.
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One of the Brooklyn new school of locavore-crazy, market-driven ingredients, Roberta's is in many ways what happens when hipster chefs get it right. See especially the … Heritage Radio Network, which broadcasts from the dining room on Sundays.
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Once a trendsetter, now a member of the Williamsburg establishment, Fette Sau serves up a rotating menu of pork and beef ribs that leads some to tag it as the best BBQ in Brooklyn, if not New York.
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As advertised, Diner is an aluminum-sided greasy spoon; as you might not expect, the food is excellent, the vibe is pitch-perfect Williamsburg, and while supplies last, … their rib-eye steak is as good as anything they're serving up the street at Peter Luger.
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Named after its quirky neighborhood (jammed between Dumbo and the Brooklyn Navy Yard), the New American eclectic restaurant has owners with bonafide Manhattan hipster … cred (Freemans) and sits on a tree-lined block in a sea of industrial lots. If there's a perfect template for the new-age Brooklyn restaurant, this is it.
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The cavatelli pasta alone is worth the trip to Carroll Gardens, but, then, so is the rest of the food and scene here, which is quintessentially Aging Hipster in the best … possible way. On Monday nights, the owners, "The Franks," throw an anything goes party into the wee hours.
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No resy, total mob scene, noisy, and absolutely delicious describe the decade-plus-old Brooklyn Italian that predates the Park Slope stroller mafia but caters to it … anyway. Try to hate it: we dare you. NB, there's a more accessible wine bar attached.[link]

In Woodside, Queens, this highly remote beer-and-wine only joint is as far out as the Eater 38 ventures. But it's worth the trip, given that this Thai food is considered … to be perhaps the best in the five boroughs. If you don't know, now you know: see-PRA-pie.
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Italian wholesale market by day and rustic Italian by night, the show at this genuinely quirky spot are the opera singers who roam on weekend nights. The real show comes … with the delivery of pastas, cheesy toppings for which are carved out of a wheel of cheese tableside. Tap water lovers beware: none is offered here.
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