Africa Kine has been open in NYC since 1996, run in various locations by founders Kine and Samba Niang, who grew up in Dakar. It moved north a few years ago into a more compact space, with a menu paradoxically larger than the original. Included are such Senegalese mainstays as thiebu djen (stuffed fish and vegetables over rice), mafe (lamb or chicken in a peanut sauce), and yassa (chicken or fish in a lemon and onion confit), mainly available at lunchtime. At dinner, expect shrimp brochettes, roast leg of lamb, grilled lamb chops, and baked fish. For now, the restaurant is only doing takeout and delivery.

The South Bronx neighborhood of Mott Haven is exploding with restaurants lately, and one of the most remarkable is Hudson Smokehouse. It’s remarkable not only because of the range of barbecue styles it presents on its playful menu, but also because of its dedication to extensively smoking the meat using lots of wood. The brisket is a case in point, but so are the spare ribs, chorizo, and pork belly burnt ends. The premises doubles as a spacious beer garden featuring local brews, with indoor and outdoor areas.

NYC’s Vietnamese food scene has drastically changed — for the better, no doubt — over the past five years or so. It’s no longer just about pho and banh mi (though we can never get enough of those staple items). A new wave of restaurants are serving lesser-known dishes (at least to many Americans), such as glutinous banh chung chien (fried, crispy rice cakes) and hearty pha lau (an offal stew served with a baguette) that can be found at this Upper West Side newcomer. There are plenty of classic Vietnamese dishes, including a variety of noodle soups, but the smaller plates steal the show.

Midtown has long been a haven for ambitious and sometimes pricey Chinese restaurants, but few have concentrated on a regional cuisine other than Cantonese, except for the occasional Sichuan spot. Named after a 19th century dinnerware pattern that features Europeanized Chinese motifs, Blue Willow specializes in Hunan cuisine and its catalog of sour-and-spicy flavors, along with utilization of preservation methods like drying and pickling. And imagine this a stone’s throw from Trump Tower, with an interior clad in antique woodwork.

The complex historic moles of Oaxaca have excited much attention in New York City over the past decade, but never have they seen such a comprehensive treatment as at Ruta Oaxaca. Heralded by a hot pink outdoor structure, the Astorian restaurant specializes in moles painted pretty shades of yellow, green, scarlet, and the darkest brown, but also focuses on mezcal, a liquor also associated with Oaxaca. The restaurant provides festive platings that make you feel like you’re on vacation on the beach or in the Sierra Madre del Sur.

Summer may be behind us, but the cauldrons of shrimp and octopus at Mariscos El Submarino are a reminder that ceviche season can be year-round if you know where to look. Couple Amy Hernandez and Alonso Guzman opened this Jackson Heights storefront last summer, where they have become as well known for their hairy, submarine mascot as their ceviches served with ample tostadas and saltines on the side. Order the aguachile negro ($19), a dramatic preparation more than capable of feeding two that brings together shrimp, octopus, cucumbers, and avocado in a molcajete seasoned with a touch of soy sauce.

Birria has long captivated cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, which are closer to the dish’s home state of Jalisco, Mexico. Now New York City is having its own moment, and for many, their first taste of the fat-slicked, brick-red meat was on a disposable plate from cult-favorite taco truck Birria-Landia. Run by brothers José and Jesús Moreno, the Jackson Heights truck is often credited with putting birria on the city’s radar, and vendors slinging versions of the dish made with cheese, oxtail, and lamb have since popped up across the city. Order one of everything on the menu, including a large consomme for dipping.

It’s a fact of life that while New York has some of the country’s best pizza, some of New York’s best pizza happens to be located in New Jersey. Razza is one fine example, another is Rick Easton’s Bread & Salt, which sells Roman-style al taglio slices in Jersey City Heights. Expect tart, umami-rich tomatoes, ultra-milky mozzarella, and bread whose crispness and airiness sometimes bears more resemblance to a good croissant than a typical slice of pizza. Weekend takeout only, but the restaurant does offer nationwide shipping.

Bolivian food is already rare enough in New York, but the Oropeza brothers have achieved an even unlikelier feat during the pandemic: They’ve taken their fast-casual sandwich and salteña concept and transformed it into a proper sit-down restaurant with more ambitious composed dishes. The new Sunnyside flagship, located in the old Mi Bolivia space, offers a stunning picante de pollo (spicy half-chicken with potatoes), silpancho (pounded and fried beef patties), fricase (spicy pork soup), chola pork sandwiches, and a stunner of a vegan jackfruit sandwich. All the classic salteñas — Bolivian soup empanadas — are available here too. Outdoor only, self-service dining. Pickup and delivery available as well.

For nearly two decades, Thiru Kumar has been serving up some of the best dosas New York City has to offer, still attracting lines even during the pandemic. Kumar’s dosas — crepe-like creations made of rice and lentils — are particularly fluffy, compared to some of the crisper options in the city, and it’s nearly impossible to go wrong on the food cart’s tiny menu. The Pondicherry special, stuffed with spicy potatoes and fresh vegetables, is a surefire hit, but equally good are Kumar’s pancake-style uthappams and samosas. Closed Sundays.

Di An Di made a splash when it opened in spring 2018 for its stunning interior design and comforting, yet thrilling Vietnamese fare. During the pandemic, co-owners Dennis Ngo, Kim Hoang, and Tuan Bui have adapted the restaurant’s shareable meal sets and excellent noodle dishes for takeout, delivery, and outdoor dining. There’s no substitute for a meal in Di An Di’s meticulous, plant-filled dining room, which is undergoing a renovation, but its outdoor setup — made up of houseplants and market lights — makes for a comfortable lunch or dinner outdoors.

For more than 130 years, little has changed at Katz’s. It remains one of New York’s — and the country’s — essential Jewish delicatessens, with beef brisket offered in three guises: as smoked pastrami, brined corned beef, and roasted brisket. Sandwiches on rye or club rolls can be made with a combination, and they are massive, best when shared and washed down with a celery soda. Order at the counter, and don’t forget to tip the slicer. Get a hot dog while you wait, and whatever you do, don’t lose your ticket. Indoor and outdoor seating available.

Ann Redding and Matt Danzer stunned New York when they announced that they’d be closing their Michelin-starred Uncle Boons early in the pandemic. The silver lining: Their second full-service restaurant, Thai Diner, now serves a handful of its predecessor’s greatest hits, including fiery rotisserie chicken salad with banana blossoms, as well heaps of buttery crab fried rice. Order the restaurant’s zippy fried chicken larb salad; the stuffed cabbage rolls with coconut milk and makrut lime; and one of the city’s best damn banana puddings. Open for takeout, delivery, and indoor and outdoor dining.

Restaurateur trio Nialls Fallon, Nick Perkins, and Leah Campbell have a dining room for every occasion. Their first joint operation, Hart’s in Bed-Stuy, is an unfussy neighborhood hangout with of-the-moment natural wines. The Fly, located right around the corner, pairs gloriously juicy rotisserie chicken with cocktails that are mostly under $15. And set apart on the Lower East Side is Cervo’s, which technically opened second but remains first in our hearts. From this low-ceilinged, no reservation restaurant, chef and partner Aaron Crowder is slinging crispy shrimp heads and clams bathed in vinho verde. Seafood is the focus, but don’t let that stop you from ordering the excellent piri piri chicken or lamb burger with anchovies.

One of the finest ways to spend an autumn night is to sit outside at chef Ryan Bartlow’s Basque spot in Two Bridges, sipping a gently astringent palo cortado while picking at grilled octopus and pear skewers. The menu changes on a daily basis; highlights might include roasted Caraflex cabbage with garlic sauce, heady crab txangurro, cod cheeks in salsa verde, and a splendidly eggy tortilla. This might just be the city’s most ambitious Basque spot at the moment.

This Cantonese favorite holds court on a stretch of East Broadway that’s now home to a handful of hip restaurants with trendy menus of natural wine and small plates where diners are surrounded by plants. But Wu’s Wonton King adheres to a different formula that’s more common in Chinatown: glistening roast ducks line the front window and there’s often a crisp suckling pig ready to be carved for one table. Whether it’s a Lunar New Year gathering or a weekend lunch, Wu’s seems to cater to any occasion. The Dungeness crabs are popular but orders of wonton noodle soup, congee, snow-pea leaves, and a selection of barbecue, from ribs to steamed chicken, are also popular. If you want to bring along a bottle of that natty wine, Wu’s is also popular for it’s BYO policy.

Here in Bushwick, near the border of Ridgewood, chefs Chetkangwan Thipruetree and Sunisa Nitmai send out nightly feasts of kub klaem, breathtakingly delicious drinking snacks from across Thailand. Chef’s Thipruetree laces his beef tartare with culantro, toasted rice, and enough chiles to cause a proper brow sweat; scoop up the tender flesh with taro chips. The Issan-born Nitmai, known for her work at Pata Cafe in Elmhurst, serves stunning wok fried noodles; consider the kee mao gai, a drunken rice noodle with garlic and basil. Really, choose just about anything from the long selection of small plates, though keep in mind that Tong claims to be the only New York spot for mum, a minerally Issan beef and beef liver sausage.

Bushwick has emerged as one of Brooklyn’s premier dining destinations in recent years, a neighborhood where up-and-coming chefs can test inventive restaurant concepts at a fraction of the cost in rent. Anchoring the local dining scene is Falansai, a Vietnamese restaurant that changed its owner — but not its name — amid the pandemic. Chef Eric Tran, an alum of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, is now helming the kitchen. He serves a style of Vietnamese fare with distinct American and Mexican touches, stuffing avocado into spring rolls and pairing rice crackers with chicken liver brûlée. Dishes rotate regularly, but standbys include barbecued duck necks, fiery seafood curries, and tasting menus $45 or $83. Drop by on Sundays for pork tacos.

One of NYC’s best vegan restaurants is also one of its best purveyors of Ethiopian food. Started as a pop-up by owners Sam Saverance and Liyuw Ayalew in 2011, Bunna Cafe has since become a brick-and-mortar staple in Bushwick. The restaurant is known for its warm, welcoming vibes as diners chat with abandon over shared plates of lentil and vegetable preparations served atop the thin injera, a savory sourdough pancake-like bread. Bunna has also been serving these meals in pizza boxes to allow for sharing at home. With indoor dining now back, the restaurant has resumed service indoors and has temporarily suspended its outdoor seating. Don’t skip out on the Ethiopian coffee and the selection of cocktails here, either. 

The long coming revival of Brooklyn institution Gage & Tollner — from restaurateurs Sohui Kim, Ben Schneider, and St. John Frizell — has been well worth the wait. Grab a martini from the bar and settle in for a parade of nostalgic New York fine dining staples including shrimp cocktails, juicy ribeye steaks, and pork pot pies. Cap off the meal with a photogenic baked Alaska, from star pastry chef Caroline Schiff.

Find both the best of modern Brooklyn neighborhood dining conventions and genuinely inspired Middle Eastern food at Miss Ada, a Fort Greene restaurant from Israel-born chef and owner Tomer Blechman. Start with an order of fluffy pita bread and a selection of shareable plates, like its fall-apart short rib skewers, housemade labne, or a deep bowl of hummus, which can — and should — be topped with lamb shawarma. The whipped ricotta is non-negotiable, a small-but-mighty, bowl of butter, sage, cracked pepper, and honey. Indoor and outdoor dining is available.

Chef Eric McCarthy, a veteran of Tamarind and Tulsi, reconfigured Cobble Hill restaurant Indian Table seven months ago, wiping out its rather conventional menu and substituting one rich in regional dishes from the northern and southern regions of the subcontinent, and featuring some dishes that were pure inventions. Many of the regional recipes hail from Goa, his home state, including Goan shrimp in a creamy, coconut-milk gravy tinted purplish with mangosteen, and caldo verde, an adapted Portuguese soup. The chicken vindaloo seems mild in comparison with a fiery chicken chettinad, and an invented dish of compressed cubes of paneer arrives veined with basil and topped with cranberry chutney. The interior will remind you of the hold of a merchant ship.

The chef credited with helping expand the city’s idea of Korean food brought her cooking to Park Slope in December 2018, this time executing thrilling fusion options alongside homey Korean classics. Chef Jenny Kwak’s must-orders at Haenyeo include a gochujang-infused bouillabaisse and a chorizo tteokbokki made with milky, stretchy white cheese. More traditional Korean fare like kimchi chigae and grilled fish are just as satisfying, as is the beignet dessert, a nod to her husband and owner Terrence Segura’s New Orleans childhood. The core of the drink menu is cocktails, such as the mizu lemongrass shochu-based the Squid and the Whale.

It takes a very special bakery to end up on a list of restaurants, but chef Daniel Eddy has shown his Park Slope spot is more than up to the task. The former Rebelle chef opened Winner a week before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and the bakery found early fans in the neighborhood’s work-from-homers, who lined up for its loaves of sourdough bread in half-hour queues. As its menu has expanded with weekly pop-up dinners and “perfect” rotisserie chickens, so too has its following. Get there early or prepare to be greeted by two of the most common words on its chalkboard menu: Sold out.

Some of the city’s best jerk chicken can be found in Prospect Lefferts Gardens at take-out spot Peppa’s Jerk Chicken. Owner Gavin Hussey has perfected his own recipe over the last two decades and started slinging the perfectly spiced, perfectly charred bird at Peppa’s on Flatbush Avenue in 2004. Add a few fried festivals to an order, ask for an extra side of oxtail gravy, and make it a picnic at nearby Prospect Park, weather permitting. Peppa’s has additional locations in Crown Heights, Flatbush, East Flatbush, and most recently, the Lower East Side.

This Mexican restaurant in Bay Ridge successfully channels the vibe of San Miguel de Allende, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Guanajuato, Mexico, famous for being an arts center. The menu includes the town’s signature enchiladas Sanmiguelense, stuffed with cheese and smothered in more cheese. Other dishes worth ordering include traditional turkey tamales and sopa de panza, a tripe soup renowned as a hangover remedy. With its carved wood folk motifs, the decor makes you feel like you’re in a northern Mexican mountain village.

Staten Island has the city’s most vigorous pizza culture with the possible exception of Brooklyn, and Denino’s is one of its brilliant mainstays. It was founded in 1937 as a longshoreman’s bar (the tugboat dock is just down the hill), and eventually added a pizzeria in back, where the pies resemble those of New Haven in some ways. The delightful clam pie, for example, with many deshelled bivalves and lots of garlic and olive oil and no tomato sauce, with a crust thicker than most neighborhood Neapolitan pies. Lots of other southern Italian and Sicilian dishes, including the city’s best conch (scungilli) salads.

Ayat is one of only a handful of Palestinian restaurants in the city. Owned and operated by Abdul Elenani and Ayat Masoud, the storefront is open and the interior features striking murals cloning the vibe of Middle Eastern walk-in snack shops. In addition to Levantine standards like babaganoush and shawarma, Ayat offers home-style casseroles that layer such ingredients as rice, chickpeas, toasted almonds, and flatbreads. The mansaf — perching giant hunks of lamb marinated in a fermented and dried yogurt solution, with more of the marinade provided for pouring and dipping — is one of Bay Ridge’s most delicious dishes.