Best of NYC: Our Critics List Their 10 Favorite Dishes
Robert Sietsema, Sarah DeGregorio, and Rebecca Marx recap their respective years in food
6. Given all the hype accompanying Ben Sargent's not-so-secret lobster roll delivery service, it's easy to forget what made people get worked up about the Underground Lobster Pound in the first place. Until, that is, you eat one of the lobster rolls. Sargent, a/k/a Dr. Claw, gets all of the details exactly right: He butters and toasts his Pepperidge Farm bun and then does nothing but cram it full with crustacean, season it with Old Bay, and anoint it with a bit of Hellmann's. The freckled meat is impeccably fresh, the bun shines with butter, and the whole thing is so wonderful that it may make you forget that you're not on a stretch of Maine coastline, but in Greenpoint. 917-667-2152, Brooklyn
7. Gabrielle Hamilton's cold spicy eggplant at Prune illustrates one of her great strengths as a chef, which is to get the hell out of the way and let the ingredients do the talking. Here, the nightshade is engaged in deep conversation with nuggets of fried salt cod and a lone hard-boiled egg. Piled onto a long plank of flatbread, the eggplant speaks of cool, silken pulp; the fish answers with savory crunch; and the eggs just go along for the ride, happy to mediate between the two. The flatbread does its part, too, providing an able vehicle for getting it all into your mouth. 54 East First Street, 212-677-6221
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Mile End
97 Hoyt St.
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Category: Restaurant > Barbecue
Region: Park Slope
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Annisa
13 Barrow St.
New York, NY 10014
Category: Restaurant > Asian Fusion
Region: Greenwich Village
Sapthagiri Indian Restaurant
804 Newark Ave.
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Category: Restaurant > Indian
Region: Jersey City
The Meatball Shop
84 Stanton St.
New York, NY 10002
Category: Restaurant > Italian
Region: Lower East Side
Northeast Taste Chinese Food
43-18 Main St.
Flushing, NY 11355
Category: Restaurant > Chinese
Region: Flushing
The Breslin Bar & Dining Room
16 W. 29th St.
New York, NY 10001
Category: Restaurant > English
Region: Garment District
The Vanderbilt
570 Vanderbilt Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Category: Restaurant > Bistro
Region: Prospect Heights
Lan Sheng Szechuan Restaurant
60 W. 39th St.
New York, NY 10018
Category: Restaurant > Asian
Region: West 40s
Red Apple Fast Food
4817 Eighth Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11220
Category: Restaurant > Chinese
Region: Sunset Park
No. 7 Sub Shop
1188 Broadway
New York, NY 10001
Category: Restaurant > New American
Region: Garment District
Mimi's Hummus
1209 Cortelyou Road
Brooklyn, NY 11218
Category: Restaurant > Mediterranean
Region: Brooklyn
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8. Though Mimi's Hummus is known primarily for the magic it works on chickpeas, it also serves a kickass rendition of shakshuka, the Moroccan tomato stew with sunny-side-up eggs. At Mimi's, it's served in a scorching-hot cast-iron skillet, which makes the stew bubble and hiss mellifluously as you attempt to get it in your mouth. The tomato stew is spicy and fragrant with cinnamon, and the egg yolks are liquid sunshine. Mashed together and sopped up with pieces of fluffy pita, the whole thing renders the invention of eggs Benedict completely irrelevant. Plus, it's served with a cold cucumber and tomato salad—just the thing to put out the fire. 1209 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn,718-284-4444
9. Saganaki is another way of saying "baked or fried cheese," which is another way of saying "inherently delicious." At Astoria's Agnanti Meze, the saganaki are about the size of softballs and come three to a plate, surprisingly wrapped in phyllo dough, making them one of the city's most unapologetic gutbombs. But their brawniness belies a surprising delicacy: The dough falls away in crisp, buttery flakes, revealing an oozing core of wonderfully salty, bracingly fresh cheese. It tastes of happiness and weight gain, and is a testament to the enduring powers of hot, protein-stuffed carbohydrates. 19-06 Ditmars Boulevard, Queens, 718-545-4554
10. Sometimes the most memorable dishes are the simplest. But while Fort Defiance's deviled eggs may be short on menu descriptors, they're certainly not lacking in thoughtful preparation. In addition to using the usual mayo, chef Bobby Duncan whips his yolks with Greek yogurt, which makes them even creamier and bestows a subtle tang. They're further adulterated with Old Bay, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper, and then showered with cured mustard seeds. The crunch of the seeds provides invigorating contrast to the silky yolks, which rise from their whites like billowing storm clouds. All told, they're eggs worth selling your soul for. 365 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, 347-453-6672
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