Though owners include one Robert DeNiro, chef Andrew Carmellini is the real star here. After three years, this rustic neighborhood Italian restaurant is still one of the hottest tickets in town.[Krieger]

Restaurateur Keith McNally's enduring Soho brasserie is the best every day restaurant in New York City. Period. [Krieger]

Danny Bowien's Orchard Street hot spot serves super-charged Chinese food in a loose, fun setting. Right now, the menu is full of "greatest hit" dishes like the Kung Pao pastrami and the salt cod fried rice, as well as brand new Bowien creations. You're going to want to try a lot of things on the menu, so bring a few friends.

In the morning, Il Buco Alimentari is a casual cafe offering homemade breads, fresh Italian pastries, and light breakfast dishes. In the middle of the day, it's an Italian delicatessen that also serves pasta, charcuterie, sandwiches, and small plates in the back. And at night, it's a bustling bar and dining room serving a big menu of rustic, inventive Italian fare. Il Buco Alimentari is an ambitious restaurant, but restaurateur Donna Lennard and chef Justin Smillie make it work on every level.

Perla is the Greenwich Village Italian restaurant from young gun chef Michael Toscano and restaurateur Gabe Stulman. Toscano has a knack for cooking pasta dishes and monster pieces of meat. If you're in a large group, do consider the dry-aged porterhouse for two, or the veal head for three. Like all Gabe Stulman restaurants, Perla offers terrific food and charming service in a bustling, yet intimate dining room.

Joe Ng and Eddie Schoenfeld's charming contemporary Chinese restaurant is one of the hottest tickets in New York right now. The best things on the menu here are chef Ng's playful dim sum creations, like the 'Pac man' dumplings, The Katz's pastrami egg roll, and the pan-fried lamb dumplings. The mains are great too — especially the grilled Creekstone rib steak with asparagus and the black cod. Head here for brunch if you want to avoid the crowds. [Photo]

Takashi is a meat-lover's paradise. The menu features a long list of top-quality raw beef which you cook at your table on little electric grills. Offal-freaks will want to try the stomachs, intestines, and tongues, but there are a few steaks on the menu for less adventuresome diners, too. [Krieger]

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. One of the best restaurant burgers in New York is served here, as anyone who has braved the two-hour wait for a table can tell you.[Krieger]

David Chang's first restaurant is still turning out inventive, deeply satisfying, affordable food, and the buns and ramen are just as good as you remember. [Kalina]

Hearth only gets better with age. Marco Canora's East Village restaurant still serves one of the best ragus in the city, and the menu always includes a few terrific vegetables dishes, monster meat entrees, and gracefully prepared fish courses. If you really want to see what the kitchen is up to these days, consider the seven-course tasting for $80.[Krieger]

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. [Photo]

The food at April Bloomfield and Ken Friendman's fish restaurant is a mix of English/Italian/Mediterranean cuisine that's completely original. If it's not too busy, The Dory is a cool place to pop in for oysters and cocktails. For a special occasion, ask about the chef's table tasting in the kitchen.[Photo]

This generic-looking Chelsea Chinese restaurant serves some of the best Sichuan food in New York City. The chef here, Ding Gen Wang, is something of a star in his native China. Although everything here is very good, the best dishes are off-the-menu. Make sure to ask about the vegetable specials, and if you're in a large party, get the incredible fish soup. [Photo]

Alain Ducasse's casual French restaurant serves faithful versions of all your bistro favorites like coq au vin, cassoulet, and escargots. The bar room is a cool place for after-work cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and on the weekends, Benoit serves one of the best brunches in Midtown (it includes a dessert buffet). [Photo]

Gabriel Kreuther cooks French-American food that looks great and tastes even better. You can have a fine light meal mixing and matching the small plates from the first two pages of the menu, but the restaurant is also a great pick for a serious three-course meal. Pro tip: the tarte flambee is one of the best bar snacks in NYC. [Photo]

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.

Daniel Boulud's foray into Mediterranean cuisine is a solid choice for date night on the UWS, or a meal before a show at Lincoln Center. Even the most exotic dishes like the zaatar baked cod have that signature Boulud touch. [Photo]

This Upper West Side New American restaurant is one of the best places for brunch in the neighborhood (try the patty melt), as well as a solid choice for a leisurely meal during the week. Chef Bill Telepan has a gift for cooking greenmarket vegetables, but his menu also includes a few great splurge dishes like the lobster bolognese and the grass-fed ribeye for two. Telepan also offers a steal of a five-course tasting for $69.

The original location of Masatoshi “Gari” Sugio's chainlet is still one of the best sushi restaurants in NYC. Start with an omakase tasting, finish with the tempura-fried ice cream. Photo]

One of the best places in the neighborhood for Japanese food. You won't find any sushi rolls on the menu at Donguri, but there are a few excellent soba and udon dishes, and a number of lightly-composed fish and vegetable items. The lobster miso soup is a must-try dish. [Photo]

Marcus Samuelsson's hot Harlem global soul food joint is luring the food lovers and critics from across the city uptown. A gamechanger for the neighborhood and totally worth the trip. [Krieger]

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 also the Heritage Radio Network, which broadcasts from the dining room.

The specials are the dishes to order at Diner (and yes, the servers still write them down on the table). Right now, chef de cuisine Ken Wiss is turning out inventive plates of Italian-influenced American fare, but you can always get the excellent burger and a serious steak, too. In terms of atmosphere, food, and value, Diner is one of North Brooklyn's best restaurants.

This critically-acclaimed Williamsburg restaurant serves modern American fare in a relaxed neighborhood setting. Chef Owen Clark's dishes are tightly composed, but they all pack a lot of flavor. Head to Gwynnett St. if you want to taste what's exciting about Brooklyn cuisine these days.

Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli have opened several great restaurants in the past few years, but their original is still a total classic. 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.

At Pok Pok NY, Portland chef Andy Ricker serves what many consider to be some of the finest Thai cuisine in New York City. Standout dishes include the grilled Chiang Mai sausage with chili paste, the charcoal-grilled hen, the clay pot-baked white prawns, and the roast-catfish laap If you go on a weekend night, or basically any night when the weather is nice, be prepared to wait.

The menu at this homey Red Hook restaurant has a little something for everyone: you can get a textbook roasted chicken, a serious pub burger, homemade pork dumplings, Korean-style steak and eggs, or a Peking duck leg, if you like. The Good Fork just launched a $25 three-course prix fixe menu that's serve Tuesday-Thursday.

Head to this Elmhurst Thai restaurant for fiery curries, perfectly composed salads, and awesome whole fish dishes. No meal is complete without an order of the fried bananas and the mango over sticky rice, when it's in season. Ayada is one of New York's best Thai restaurants, and you'll never have to fight monster crowds to snag a table. (Photo)