Turkish kebab, shawarma, and falafel shop with some nice yogurt and vegetable spreads. Falafel are crisp and full of herbs; shawarma can get dry but is well-seasoned.
I haven't eaten better meatballs anywhere and I'm Turkish. Better than anything I ate in Turkey, including my mom's (shhhh). What's the recipe?!
My favorite jerk chicken spot on Flatbush. The festival is a fried bread, can be too heavy at some places but perfect here. Close to the park for a picnic lunch.
For you newcomers to Brooklyn and Flatbush, particularly, Taste of the Tropics is like no other.
Of the rotis, our fave is conch: a plenitude of tender gastropod vying with potato for gravy domination. Or pick from curries of shrimp, goat, oxtail, and beef, which can be poured over peas and rice. Read more.
This is one of the largest producers of smoked fish in the US, and you can find many of their products in stores. But for real deals, stop in Fridays, 8am-1pm, when they open up for retail sales.
This is an obscure Williamsburg old-timer, one of Brooklyn's great repositories of Italian-American cuisine. Read more.
sometimes you're in for something a little...kitsch. And russian! This place will satisfy you, adding also the fact that the food is good and is right in front of the sea!
As classic as a scoop shop/soda fountain gets. Great milkshakes and ice cream sundaes that load on the toppings; don't skip the hot fudge or homemade whipped cream.
Eat like an Egyptian with Kabab Café’s Mezza that’s a typical Middle Eastern appetizer. “It’s a large selection of different vegetables cooked raw in a healthy preparation,” notes Chef Michael Ginor.
Far and away the best hummus in NYC; try it with ground beef on top (trust us). And don't miss their excellent vegetable side dishes, either.
Roast beef w onions and extra gravy! Steak sandwhich! Sweet potato fries with cheeze! Buffalo wings! Corn fritters, even the pizza is good. RnR is one of the best places in Brooklyn.
Roast Beef: Try the dipped version w/o cheese to get the unadulterated flavor of the beefy stock. The flavor was fantastic and the beef was sliced paper-thin and very tender. Read more.
Destination-worthy Italian sandwich shop. Don't miss the roast beef and mozzarella.
Want to delve into a traditional NY bagel? The fluffy bagels at this Midtown East establishment are not only delicious, but very cheap. Get it with some cream cheese and lox for the classic sandwich.
Top-notch Greek bakery with great phyllo pastries. A must-order: galaktoboureko, semolina custard-filled pastry topped with syrup.
Excellent Greek market with great selection of feta and olives. The in-store bakery is worth a visit for syrup-soaked semolina cakes.
One of the most fun dinners I've had. Guy on the piano is incredible. You'll end up eating more food than you can imagine, drinking more vodka than humanly possible, and dancing with total strangers!
Destination-worthy Northern Chinese in a nicer than average setting. Don't miss the Muslim Lamb Chop, which is braised until fall-apart tender, rolled in cumin seeds, and deep fried.
Eastern European vegetarian lunch counter. Go for breakfast hash browns, egg and cheese sandwiches on challah, and plenty of Old World charm.
Old Polish restaurant with some great bigos (sauerkraut and pork stew) and cheese pierogi.
Tiny basement cafeteria serving homey potato dumplings, borscht, stuffed cabbage, and the like at dirt-cheap prices. Open Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. only.
Hard-living Ukranians swear by cabbage soup as a hangover cure, and we think the bowl here packs an extra restorative sauerkraut punch. Get it the morning after to kill the pain. Read more.
This modest Woodstock eatery specializes in cheap and delicious Central American fare. Give the balaeadas a shot, alongside a refreshing glass of cashew-apple juice, known as marañón.
Cozy, charming Serbian restaurant high on comfort food like braised beans with sausage, hefty spinach pies, and bacon-wrapped liver and dates.
One of the only sources for Georgian good in Manhattan, now something of a hub for Georgian expats. Though some dishes come underseasoned, the khachapuri (cheese bread) is great.
Come early for great Dim Sum! Bring a bunch of friends and try lots of things... The turnip cakes & fried shrimp balls are delicious as is the pork & shrimp shumai!
Your source for any and all Balkan cured meats, all done in-house. Bacon, sausages, and mortadella all excellent. Don't miss the freshly fried pork rinds.
Duzan's shawarma is the best bite on Steinway Street. It's juicy dark meat spiced with cumin & coriander stuffed into the poofiest homemade pita, topped with vegetables and pickles with tahini sauce. 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.
Just followed the tip of having Octopus for dinner. I loved it. I had a small portion of Octopus with this kind of vinaigrette. It was delicious. It is a very nice Greek restaurant indeed.
No restaurant is more homey in Astoria than Gregory's. Get the grilled octopus with lemon, or the cheese-stuffed peppers kissed with char. Read more.
One of the best Greek restaurants in Astoria, best for the sharable vegetable small plates. Free doughnuts for dessert every night except Saturday.
L&B's Sicilian slice reverses the standard tomato-cheese order, placing the mozzarella directly on the dough and the sweet/tart sauce on top, along with a handful of grated Pecorino.
Delicate and delicious soup dumplings. Spring for the crab upgrade, which adds a briny touch to the juicy pork tinged with ginger.
Bamboo Garden offers old favorites as well as such cutting edge specialties as sweet potato dumplings stuffed with black beans, braised chicken with black mushrooms, and humongous soup dumplings. Read more.
The only place that I can get the real Acai Bowl :) food is outstanding by far the best Brazilian in the city when it comes to quality and authenticity
Try the Taco Arabes here, this Lebanese-Mexican roll-up combines spiced spit-roasted pork with sweet strings of caramelized onion. It's one of NYC's 26 best tacos! Read more.
The greatest cannoli you can imagine is at Villabate Alba, which has been around for over 80 years and is located a block from where I used to live, says Suzanne Corso, author of Brooklyn Story. Read more.
Get the Dan dan noodles, a Sichuan mainstay. The dish must be vigorously stirred before eating.
The basement canteen at this temple makes New York's best dosas and some excellent homestyle south Indian food. All vegetarian, all very cheap.
Voted amongst the best Korean Restaurants in NYC. Try the BBQ, the meat platter is comprised of Kal Bi (beef short rib), bulgogi, sae woo (shrimp), yun aw (salmon), Filer mignon and duck. Read more.
Recommended: Savory pancakes, kimchi soup, noodles in cold broth, yook hwe, saeng galbi, bulgogi, dweiji bulgogi. Read more.
All the worthwhile dishes are ones that require grilling at your table. My 제유볶음 (spicy pork) and my friend's 물냉면 (cold noodle soup) were rather sub-par to the other restaurants in Ktown.
If you love dumplings as much as me you have to eat these awesome soup dumplings!! They will be on your table before you put the menu down. -Ed Cotton, Top Chef
Known for its bagels, smoked fish, and cheeses, this traditional Jewish specialty food store in the Upper West Side is a local favorite. It can get crowded though so get there early!
Nepali and Punjabi cooking in this shoebox restaurant. The counter in the back sells freshly made roti.
Legendary clam bar with an equally legendary tomato sauce. Get it ladled over mussels, fried calamari, or any other seafood you like. Skip the pasta in favor of the raw bar.
This place has the Best Baked Clams & Linguine W/ White Clam Sauce, Fried Eggplant, Chicken & Sausage .
While most of these ancient red-sauced restaurants offer some combo of Southern Italian & Sicilian cooking, Joe's of Avenue U is exclusively Sicilian. There's also a mural of the Sicilian countryside. Read more.
The Village Voice voted this Best Spaghetti and Meatballs in our Best Of New York Poll!
Try the "tripe special"—a Sicilian stew of potatoes and tripe in a wonderfully oily red broth, for a total of $41, including tax. Restaurant food doesn't get much cheaper than that. Read more.
Have a few shucked oysters and clams on tables outside, or go inside for a selection of glistening local and imported fish in season.
Their killer lasagna Bolognese is everything you wished mom’s could be. It’s substantial and hearty without being too rich. Don’t sleep on the seafood, either. Read more.
