This yellow closet of a space a few blocks east of Grand Concourse in Morrisania excels at classic Jamaican baked goods like hardo bread, bulla cake, and coconut totoes, but its premier product is its patties, probably the best in the Bronx. Laced with scotch bonnet peppers, the spicy beef is a favorite, and many opt to make it a full meal by putting the patty — as is conventional — in a puffy coco bread, like a fastball hitting a catcher’s mitt.

Snappy, all-beef hot dogs and gritty but somehow refreshing fruit drinks are the hallmarks of this Upper West Side old-timer founded by Paul Gray in 1973. It also reflects a distinctive New York City frankfurter that originated a century earlier in Coney Island. Topping choices are limited to mustard, sauerkraut, brown-stewed onions, and ketchup (though true New Yorkers would never use latter condiment).

Plenty of restaurants serve good soup dumplings, but Joe's is the one that kickstarted New York's obsession with this delicacy when it opened in Flushing in 1994. Filled with a scalding broth, these purse-shaped dumplings became an immediate hit. Various branches of Joe’s Shanghai have appeared in Manhattan, still owned by Mei Ping Matsumura, with chef Kiu Sang “Joe” Si.

Keens, one of the oldest steakhouses in the country (it opened in 1885), is most famous for its mutton chop. This massive, flavorful cut, which is actually a saddle of lamb, is well worth a trip to the restaurant, especially when eaten with a wedge salad or a side of the famed prime-rib hash. Part of the fun is the clubby, 19th-century ambiance, from the days when Keens was a meeting place for actors and other theater professionals.

Harlem’s Taco Mix may have popularized al pastor in New York City, but Los Tacos No. 1 perfected it. The small chain of Manhattan taquerias, often just called “número uno,” draws lines of tourists and office workers who often order its carne asada and chicken tacos. But pros know to skip those meats and stick to the adobada. The marinated pork is charred on a twirling spit, then sliced to order and hucked into a flour or corn tortilla (both equally good) with salsa, cilantro, onion, and a wedge of pineapple.

The cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery may have become famous from a cameo in Sex and the City, but locals know to go for the banana pudding instead (the cupcakes are too sweet, with too much frosting). The pudding, by contrast, is packed with banana slices, lush vanilla pudding, and vanilla wafers that crumble and squish — the banana flavor is strong in every bite. Multiple locations.

The city first became aware of khachapuri a dozen years ago via Georgian cafes in Brighton Beach, and the phenomenon quickly spread. Who wouldn’t love a bread boat filled with molten cheese? We eventually learned that several regional varieties of this national bread existed, but the one called adjaruli khachapuri continues to be foremost in our affection and Chito Gravito near Gramercy Park serves one of the best.

John’s of Bleecker Street was founded by John Sasso in 1929, making it one of the city’s oldest pizzerias, and one of the originators of the city’s original coal-oven style. The pies come in two sizes, smoking hot and dappled with char, with modest strews of ingredients that can be ordered individually, like black olives, ricotta, pepperoni, Italian sausage, crushed garlic, and sliced onions, in addition to very fresh mozzarella of pillowy softness.

Pierogi, or as the Ukrainians call them, varenyky, ranked among NYC’s most iconic foods long before the Russian war against Ukraine prompted diners to line up at Veselka. Besides this storied Ukrainian restaurant in the East Village, other Polish and Eastern European establishments have specialized in these stuffed half-moons of dough, which typically enfold ingredients like potatoes, sauerkraut, cheese, ground pork, and even sweet fruit fillings. Veselka has been serving them since 1954.

The Cronut has become quintessentially New York since its 2013 invention by French pastry chef Dominique Ansel in his Soho bakery. Soon after its birth, the croissant-doughnut hybrid became a viral sensation, spawned countless knockoffs, and attracted long lines. The flaky, layered dough comes filled with cream, and the bakery prepares a new flavor every month. Those in the know will order ahead to cut the line.

NYC might have better bagels, but there is no better bagel and lox experience than the one at Russ & Daughters. Four generations of family ownership and over one hundred years of business give this place a certain sense of gravitas, but it's the quality that keeps people coming back.

The “big tray chicken” was introduced to New Yorkers at least a decade ago by Spicy Village. The dish’s origins trace back to the Uyghurs, and was popularized in Henan before it set down here at a restaurant run by Fujianese owners — illustrating the circuitous route by which many iconic dishes often undergo before landing in NYC. Owner Wendy Lian’s version features broad homemade wheat noodles, a fiery red broth laced with Sichuan peppercorns, and nuggets of dark meat chicken — bone-in for extra flavor. Spicy Village’s version is so good it has recently spawned copycats.

Many of Brooklyn’s vintage Italian American restaurants serve classics of the genre — like baked ziti, stuffed clams, lasagna, and pork chops with cherry peppers — but king of these dishes is eggplant rollatini. At Bamonte’s, founded by Pasquale Bamonte in 1900, sauteed eggplant is rolled around a ricotta filling, thickly covers it in marinara. The eggplant rollatini is a combination that’s mellow and pungent at the same time.

Founded in the 1970s by James “JB” Bromell and Johnsie Mitchell, this is one of the few remaining Black-women-run soul food destinations that once dominated Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Prospect Heights. The signature is fried chicken, cooked in the Carolina style, with only a light dusting of flour and a crisp, intact skin.

It wasn’t until the ’90s that New York got real Texas barbecue at Stick to Your Ribs in Long Island City. Since then, Hometown Bar-B-Que has stolen the show. The massive Red Hook restaurant is widely considered to be the city’s best barbecue joint, and fans swear by the fatty brisket. It runs at an eye-popping $40 a pound — we know, we know — but it’s plenty filling with a spice-rubbed crust that’s superior to the other smoked meats here and elsewhere.

Founded by Gavin Hussey (nicknamed Peppa) in the ‘90s, this storefront produces some of the city’s best Jamaican jerk chicken. And while jerk pork was the standard dish back in Jamaica, jerk chicken is more popular in Brooklyn. Finished over flame, Peppa’s rendition has a charred exterior and slight vinegary tang. The jerk sauce adds fiery notes of allspice and scotch bonnet pepper.

Red-sauce restaurant and Gravesend institution L & B Spumoni Gardens comes alive in the summer when staff works the walk-up window selling its namesake spumoni. Chocolate, pistachio, and vanilla (with candied fruit) come together for a colorful, tri-colored treat that’s as photogenic as it is tasty. The spumoni is best enjoyed on a warm evening after a slice of the thick-crusted, rectangular Sicilian pizza.