TOTONNO PIZZERIA NAPOLITANO
1524 Neptune Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-372-8606.
This Coney Islander is the best pizza parlor in town, perhaps in the world, a place whose uncompromising crust is matched only by the excellence of its mozzarella.
SALUT
63-42 108th Street, Forest Hills, Queens, 718-275-6860.
I still get calls from fervent fans, who admire the charcoal-grilled kebabs, dense Central Asian soups, and garlic-gobbed fries.
HAANDI
113 Lexington Avenue, 212-685-5200.
This walk-up gem taught us how good Pakistani fodder can be, from tandoori quail, to camphor-laced lamb stews, to plain-but-delicious chicken curry.
DOSA HUTT
45-63 Bowne Street, Flushing, Queens, 718-961-6228.
Don’t forget the first and still the best of places bearing this name. Attached to a Hindu temple, it makes from-scratch dosas that flaunt a grassy and buttery taste.
DANNY EXPRESS
771 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, no phone.
The former Danny and Pepper (what happened to Pepper?) continues to charcoal grill the best jerk chicken in Gotham, doused with homemade jerk sauce.
NEW ASHA CAFÉ
322 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, 718-420-0649.
The number of Sri Lankan cafés continues to mount, but New Asha remains king of toasted-spice curries, bowl-shaped hoppers, and fried finger foods called frikkadels.
SRIPRAPHAI
64-13 39th Avenue, Woodside, Queens, 718-899-9599.
Renovation and expansion haven’t dimmed the luster of the city’s favorite Thai restaurant.
TANDOORI HUT
119-04 94th Avenue, Richmond Hill, Queens, 718-850-8919.
Tandoori chicken gets jazzy at this outpost next to a glowing Hindu temple, which I first reviewed in 2001, and there’s Indian-Chinese food too.
RAI RAI KEN
214 East 10th Street, 212-477-7030.
This microscopic noodlery set the pace for all other similar East Village establishments that came inexorably in its wake.
MARGON
136 West 46th Street, 212-354-5013.
A culinary miracle has kept this antediluvian Cuban lunch counter going near the heart of Times Square, and the pernil and fried kingfish are as good as always.