BELOW CANAL
DUMPLING HOUSE
118A Eldridge Street, Lower East Side, 625-8008
Of the four northern Chinese dumpling stalls in Chinatown, this is my favorite, offering pork-and-chive pot stickers, boiled-beef sandwiches on wedges of homemade sesame bread, vegetable-filled hot and sour soup, and the legendary chive box—ask for “chives and egg pancake”—a half-moon pie filled with scallions, vermicelli, scrambled egg, and, sometimes, baby shrimp. The box is prepared on the spot and cooked to order. Also look for the jar of summer kimchi at the carryout window. Best of all: Most selections are $1, and there are bags of frozen dumplings to take home. ¢
CANAL TO 14TH
THEO
325 Spring Street, Soho, 414-1344
Occupying the same premises as the original White Columns Gallery, Theo permits you to sit on the exact spot where Sonic Youth played their break-out “Noise Festival” show. When we visited recently (there’s been a change of chef since then), the food was playful and semi-revolutionary, including a gazpacho that seemed like a healthy reinvention of Orbit soda, with tiny BBs of vegetable suspended in a pallid tomato water that was barely sweet. Also intriguing was a macaroni ravioli that, while not containing actual macaroni, tasted like mac and cheese. Entrées were sturdier and not quite so wild. Our fave was a fish stew that toed the line between bouillabaisse and cioppino. $$$
TRATTORIA PAOLINA V
175 Avenue B, 253-2221
Despite being the fourth in a series of Emilia-Romagnan restaurants south of 14th Street, Paolina manages to stake out new culinary territory. At this new and whimsically decorated restaurant on a prime East Village corner, you can get the usual piadinas and tagliatelle al ragu, but there’s also fagotti—blistered fried pies loaded with ham, cheese, and mushrooms; and maialino al latte—a substantial pork filet browned in oil, then braised in milk. Best of all is the breaded chicken cutlet named after Italy’s favorite superhighway: cotolette autostrada. Sit outside on the comfy deck chairs and watch the world go by. $
14TH TO 42ND
BOTTINO
246 Tenth Avenue, Chelsea, 206-6766
Frustrated in your attempt to get into Red Cat after that Chelsea gallery opening? Right across the street, Bottino is nearly as good. Go for the octopus salad, in which the rubbery fellow is upstaged by his tasty olive-oil dressing, and skip the boring salad of underdressed baby greens. Pastas make the best main courses, especially the giant green ravioli stuffed with cheese and herbs and bathed in sage butter, but also consider the baby chicken, splayed and crusty and served on a bed of sautéed peppers. And while the weather lasts, luxuriate in one of the city’s leafiest restaurant gardens. $$
(new) PERIYALI
35 West 20th Street, 463-7890
While most upscale Greek restaurants in Manhattan pick the easy route to riches, concentrating on expensive but simply grilled whole fish, Periyali serves a Panhellenic menu, painting a fairer picture of Attic cuisine. At a recent lunch, we enjoyed a brick-red rabbit stew bombarded with baby onion bulbs, the meat copious and tender, and a chorus line of tender sautéed shrimp kicking in olive oil and lemon. The dining rooms in the rear are preferred, rustic within but offering a vertiginous cityscape through the skylights. $$
PIGALLE L
790 Eighth Avenue, 489-2233
Many of today’s most ambitious restaurants are opening in luxury hotels, and, located on the ground floor of the Days Inn, Pigalle follows the trend. I was prepared to dislike this facsimile of a Parisian brasserie (or, perhaps, imitation of Pastis), until I tasted the food. The salt cod brandade was superb: Though more like cod mashed potatoes, the largish cylinder was anchored in mushroom cream. The thick gazpacho served with a skewer of fresh-tasting shrimp and the cassoulet cooked with duck confit, pork sausage, and smoked bacon were also tastier than expected. Drawback: The recipes have been defunkified from their Gallic counterparts, but, as compensation, the servings are humongous. Open 24 hours. $
42ND TO 59TH
(new) ATELIER
Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 50 Central Park South, 521-6125
Ritz-Carlton dining rooms all over the country provide expensive and slightly creative French fare in sedate surroundings, and this new restaurant is no exception. The $68 prix fixe offers three courses of solid high-quality ingredients, and, to its credit, there is no additional charge for foie gras (served dusted with sea salt in a whip of basil and pea shoots), roast lobster (an entire shelled specimen with baby fennel in a sea of pink foam), and dry-aged sirloin steak. The drawbacks—too much foam, and a fiendishly expensive wine list, with virtually no bottles under $50. You’ll be hearing a lot more about this place. $$$
MARGON
136 West 46th Street, 354-5013
The persistence of this ancient and superb Cuban lunch counter—a stone’s throw from Times Square—is a testament to the excellence of the food and the fierce loyalty of its regulars. Made right in the front window, the Cuban sandwich is as streamlined as the ’50s finned Caddies that ply the streets of Havana, and Margon gets all the basics right, from the pungent red and black beans to the crisply fried tostones. The menu rotates by weekday, and my favorite entrées include the chocolate brown oxtails, mellow fricasseed chicken, and fried kingfish. And don’t miss the best octopus salad in town. ¢
UPPER EAST SIDE
AL BARAKA
1613 Second Avenue, 396-9787
Penetrate deep into the interior and discover a perfect imitation of a restaurant in Marrakech hidden deep within the souk, with low-slung settees and fabric-strewn sofas. Ferried on ornate metal trays, the food duplicates the pungency and style of Moroccan cooking better than that of any other place in town. Notable appetizers include moist and violently red merguez, and zaalouk—an eggplant puree closer to Sicilian caponata than Middle Eastern baba ghanoush. And even though the b’stilla is available in the authentic pigeon formulation (farm raised says the menu), I’d rather have any of the intense tajines. $$
CAFÉ SABARSKY
1048 Fifth Avenue, 288-0665
Ensconced inside the diverting Neue Galerie, Café Sabarsky is a Viennese café and konditerei, an offspring of the West Village’s Wallsé that outshines its parent. The short dishes make for perfect museum-hopping snacks, including a charcuterie platter (the most challenging feature: double-smoked raw bacon), a generous salad of jumbo asparagus in a slightly sweet lemon-dill sauce, and savory smoked-trout crepes with horseradish crème fraîche. The hungrier can move on to sandwiches, to entrées like boiled-beef tafelspitz, or to pastries, of which plum crumble sided with a cloud of whipped cream was a favorite on a recent visit. $
ABOVE 110TH
EL MUNDO FRIED CHICKEN
4456 Broadway, 567-9325
Roll down the steep escarpment from the Cloisters, and you’ll find yourself at El Mundo. A neon sign in the window burns, “Fritura de Toda Clase,” and they’re not kidding. Chicharrón de cerdo are stunning pork-roast arcs, each piece artfully layered with paprika-dusted crispy skin, not-quite-rendered fat, and meat of concentrated flavor and intriguing density. The French would call it confit. This Dominican lunch counter also makes good chicken, either fried or rotisseried, but the more adventuresome will order sancocho, a rich chicken stew thickened with pumpkin and sporting all sorts of vegetables. ¢
SOKOBOLIE L
2529 Eighth Avenue, Harlem, 491-3969
While most West African restaurants offer only three or four set meals at a time, this convivial Harlem establishment mounts a daily menu that features a dozen or so Guinean and Senegalese specialties. There’s always one leaf-based sauce (“sauce de feuilles,” the national dish of Guinea), made with either spinach or sweet-potato leaf, and often there’s a fricassee of chicken in palm sauce, and a peanut-laced stew of smoked fish that has the intriguing texture of driftwood. Less challenging Senegalese staples like grilled lamb chops (“diby”) and steak with onions are also available. Open 24 hours! ¢
BROOKLYN
CAROLINA CREEK
87 Utica Avenue, Bedford-Stuyvesant, 718-493-5907
After touring the Weeksville Houses, a miraculously preserved African American village founded after the abolition of slavery in New York in 1827, we dropped in at Carolina Creek for refreshment. This fish-and-chips shop specializes in fried whiting, by filet or whole fish, matched with some of the best french fries in Brooklyn, made from fresh potatoes with little bits of skin adhering. As an additional fillip, the pork ribs are also excellent, mantled with a thick sauce that’s not too sweet. The extensive menu is delivered with real Southern hospitality at this mainly carryout establishment—where you can also dine in at the lone table. ¢
CASTRO’S V
511 Myrtle Avenue, Clinton Hill, 718-398-1459
Serving the dining needs of Pratt students for the last decade, Castro’s conveys cheap Mexican meals of a rib-sticking sort. The tacos are oversize and dividable, made with two soft corn tortillas, and the vegetarian cheese enchiladas are not only stuffed with cured cheese, but have planks of fresh cheese on top as a bonus. Skip the appetizers, because all platos come with guacamole, salad (bring your own dressing), and a pile of warm tortillas. For some real heat, select puntas de res en chile chipotle—strips of beef in a brown sauce spiked with incendiary smoked chiles. ¢
LA BRUNETTE V
300 North 6th Street, Williamsburg, 718-384-5800
Williamsburg’s best bistro offers French-Caribbean cuisine with some exciting and unmodified Haitian elements thrown in. Succulent pork “ribletts”—delicious by themselves—come sided with a blistering Scotch bonnet sauce called ti-malice, and spice-massaged pork loin is regaled with a dark gravy spiked with Guinness. Compulsory at every bistro, steak frites has here been enlivened with an au poivre coating, and there’s also a whole grilled fish of the day for those who like their food more straightforward. Sit in the relaxing front room, or better yet, pick the rear room for its dramatic views of the BQE. $$
MA’S SOUL FOOD CAFÉ
1551 Fulton Street, Bedford-Stuyvesant, 718-221-0235
An evening’s stroll down Bed-Stuy’s Fulton Street reveals a culinary scene in decay, as franchise restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, and Popeye’s muscle out the family-run eateries that used to characterize this noble street. In defiance of the trend, newly opened Ma’s offers a traditional menu of soul food staples. The fried chicken is particularly good—fresh and moist, with a modest coating of flour, letting the skin do the crispness work. The mac and cheese and corn muffins are also particularly fine, though the tepid and undercooked ribs are a disappointment. Neighborhood kids flock to the ice cream counter. ¢
MOON SHADOW
643 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint, 718-609-1841
There are now at least 10 Siamese cafés in Williamsburg and its northern suburb of Greenpoint, and in the latter locale we find Moon Shadow. Prepared for disappointment, I was impressed with the sharpness of the flavors and the freshness of the fixin’s, even at off-peak hours. The luncheon special ($5.75, served until 4 p.m.) is a delightful tuck-in, featuring a spring roll and peanut-dressed salad in addition to a choice of main dishes. Otherwise, rice-sided entrées like Massaman curry and red snapper filet with tamarind sauce run $7 to $12. $
RICO’S TAMALES
Southeast corner of 46th Street and Fifth Avenue, Sunset Park, no phone
Just south of the park called Sunset Park is a hopping new Mexican neighborhood, and at the corner mentioned above, two opposing sheds selling snacks have recently appeared. Bright red Rico’s is emblazoned with the come-on “Tamales Oaxaqueños,” offering a changing selection. Foremost is the chicken mole tamale, wrapped in a corn husk and rife with poultry and thick inky sauce, while chicken with rajas—roasted green-chile strips—is another triumph. Wash them down with arroz con leche, a sort of liquid rice pudding, or champurrado, a chocolate-flavored corn beverage. ¢
TAQUERÍA LA ASUNCIÓN
206 Knickerbocker Avenue, Bushwick, no phone
Bushwick hosts quite a few micro taco spots—places that make it seem like you’re sitting in the cook’s home kitchen. At Asunción, a baby crawls on the floor, and apart from the deep red walls and a shrine to the Virgin up near the ceiling, there’s no attention paid to decor. Known to the locals simply as “mole,” the chile-and-chocolate sauce is fabulous: slightly coarse-textured and a little oily, so that a bright umbra forms around the edges, and thin enough to moisten a plate of soft corn tortillas and a big serving of rice—after you’ve eaten the tender poached chicken. Weekends only. ¢
QUEENS
BOWNIES
143-05 45th Avenue, Flushing, 718-463-8621
Sri Lankan food debuts in Queens with this new luncheonette, serving the brooding, spice-laced “black curries” (pick lamb); mellow, coconut-laced fish curries (pick kingfish); and breads like appams (weekends only) and outsize rotis that make Ceylonese cooking delightfully unique. The dosai are particularly good, and, outflanking its Staten Island brethren, Bownies also serves additional vegetarian South Indian specialties like curd rice—a glorious tart sludge flavored with black mustard seed and curry leaf. Also don’t miss puttu, a loaf of crumbled brown rice snowed with dried coconut. ¢
BRAULIO’S AND FAMILIA
39-08 63rd Street, Woodside, 718-899-3267
This bar is run by a family from the Ecuadorean seaside province of Manabí, and their origin is reflected in the care taken with seafood. The ceviche puts pretentious Manhattan ceviche parlors to shame—huge bowls of citrus-saturated seafood that feel more like summer soups than solid entrées. Best are the plain fish and octopus versions, although the homeland favorite of concha negra (“black clam”) is also interesting. Typical Ecuadorean platters are also available, such as bandera, a comestible rendition of the flag featuring yellow and white rice, shrimp ceviche, red lamb stew, and yellowish tripe in peanut sauce. $
EDDIE’S SWEET SHOP V
105-29 Metropolitan Avenue, Forest Hills, 718-520-8514
One of the chief summer pleasures of Queens lies in discovering and investigating antiquarian ice cream parlors. Founded in 1909, Eddie’s seems untouched by modernity. The hardwood stools at the long counter were not designed to accommodate the adult butt—kids won’t mind. In several flavors, the Cokes are concocted from syrup and soda, the 22 flavors of ice cream are made on the premises, and the soda jerk is well versed in the arcana of freezes, floats, sundaes, and malts. Very highly recommended. ¢
(new) TIKKA MASALA
71-03 Grand Avenue, Queens, 718-429-0101
This combo Indian-Indonesian restaurant might be called the “Miracle of Maspeth” for its unusual menu, odd location, and semi-elegant dining room. Find plenty of South Asian dishes unavailable elsewhere, like chicken sabjee (boneless poultry in a mellow yellow sauce loaded with green vegetables), and Malai curry (lamb chunks bathed in rich coconut sauce). The Indonesian dishes are pallid by comparison, but desirable in the context of a broad-ranging meal with many diners—so bring your friends. Breads are a strong point, though the addition of sugar to several proved somewhat unnerving. $
ELSEWHERE
EL NUEVO BOHIO
791 East Tremont Avenue, Bronx, 718-299-4218
Pig’s the word at this splendid Puerto Rican lechonera, where pig parts are mounded seductively in the window and nearly everything goes for $6 per pound. Each order of the succulent roast pork contains the same proportion of light, dark, fat, and burnished brown skin, thanks to the machete-wielding counter guys. Don’t miss the potent garlic sauce. Other outstanding offerings include the spicy blood sausage called morcilla, and mofongo, manufactured on the spot from mashed plantains and pork scraps. Odd man out is the vinegary octopus salad, one of the best in the Bronx. ¢