The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Ajo y Oregano
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Rank 1. Ajo y Oregano
Dominican, Caribbean
A dining room of pink shutters and palm-green walls dishes up Puerto Rican stews in metal pots, their richness settling into your bones with each spoonful. The cuerito crackles audibly, and mofongo arrives as a sculptural pile of plantains crowned with shrimp, garlic sauce pooling at its base.
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Rank 2. Patricia's
Italian
Exposed brick and high ceilings frame Patricia's spare take on Italian cooking, where a brick oven yields pizzas with properly charred crusts and the wine list surprises with obscure varietals. The seafood risotto arrives creamy and studded with mussels, clams, and squid—a dish that suggests ambition beyond the neighborhood trattoria.
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Rank 3. Dukagjini Burek
Albanian
A portrait of Mother Teresa presides over this Bronx counter where craggy phyllo pies filled with beef, feta, or spinach crackle and flake beneath your teeth. The burek here makes a compelling argument against pizza's dominance.
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Rank 4. Çka Ka Qëllue
Albanian
Ramiz Kukaj's rustic Albanian dining room, decorated with folk photographs and traditional garb, serves fortifying meat and dairy dishes in the spirit of village hospitality. Burek and sarma arrive simple and comforting, built on bread, cheese, and the promise implied by the restaurant's name: whatever we have, we share.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times 2026 · #96 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 5. Mario's Restaurant
Historic Italian
- Eater 2026 · The Best Classic Restaurants in NYC
- Grub Street 2026 · The 40 Best Restaurants for Kids (and Parents!)
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Rank 6. Trattoria Tra Di Noi
Italian
Crimson walls and red-checked cloth create the intimacy of a confidence shared; Chef Marco Coletta runs this Arthur Avenue trattoria with operatic precision, consulting the nightly blackboard for handmade spaghetti alla chitarra crowned with meatballs and pomodoro, ricotta cheesecake to close. A place that makes you feel like the secret is yours alone.
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Rank 7. Lechonera La Piraña
Puerto Rican Caribbean
- The Infatuation #23 · The 25 Best Restaurants In NYC
- Time Out 2026 · The 45 best restaurants in NYC right now
- Eater 2026 · The 38 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 8. Prince Coffee House
Turkish Coffee
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Rank 9. 188 Cuchifritos
Caribbean
At this Fordham Heights lunch counter, the air snaps with the sound of hot oil and the smell of pork frying in practiced hands. The multigenerational crowd knows what they came for, and 188 Cuchifritos delivers it without ceremony.
- Eater 2026 · The Best Classic Restaurants in NYC
- The New York Times 2026 · #87 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 10. Casa Della Mozzarella
Old-School Italian
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Rank 11. Louie & Ernie's Pizza
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 12. Tobalá
Oaxacan Mexican
A dimly lit room in Riverdale lined with Oaxacan pottery and clay masks sets the stage for cooking that respects tradition without performing it. House-made corn tortillas arrive with salsa verde and chile de árbol; the barbacoa tacos showcase lamb in its plainest form, while duck enmoladas swim in a dark mole negro layered with fruit and chiles. A focused mezcal program anchors the drinks.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Grub Street 2026 · The 40 Best Restaurants for Kids (and Parents!)
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Rank 13. Cocina Consuelo
Mexican
In a snug dining room that feels like a well-kept secret, Karina Garcia and her husband Eduardo Rodriguez serve food with the intimacy of their original Harlem supper club. The coarse corn tortillas and birria built around a prehistoric marrow bone suggest a kitchen comfortable with bold, unpretentious gestures.
- The Infatuation #9 · The 25 Best Restaurants In NYC
- Eater 2026 · Where to Eat Brunch in New York City
- Eater The Best Breakfasts in New York
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Rank 14. Seis Vecinos
Central American Mexican
A corner room in a classic Bronx building fills with afternoon light and the smell of charred corn. The kitchen moves between Central American traditions—papusas, baleadas, enchiladas topped with smoky red sauce—while guacamole is mashed tableside in a molcajete. The welcome is genuine, the cooking straightforward, the sense of place unforced.
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Rank 15. Sylvia’s
Southern
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · America's Classics: New York State
- Eater 2026 · The Best Classic Restaurants in NYC
- Time Out 2026 · The 45 best restaurants in NYC right now
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Rank 16. Kingston Tropical
Jamaican, Caribbean
For more than fifty years, Kingston Tropical has supplied Wakefield with Jamaican patties that hold their shape without sacrificing flake, each one marigold-bright and thyme-scented. The chicken filling justifies the pilgrimage alone, best consumed on a concrete bench while the No. 2 train announces itself overhead.
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Rank 18. Buunni Coffee
Ethiopian Coffee
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Rank 19. La Morada
Mexican
- The Infatuation Mole Poblano · 25 Iconic Dishes That Define New York
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
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Rank 20. Sugar Monk
Cocktail Bar
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Rank 21. Bo's Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
- Eater The Best Bagels in New York City
- Time Out The 18 best bagels in NYC
- The Infatuation #5 · The 19 Best Bagels In NYC, Ranked
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Rank 23. Melba's
Southern
Melba Wilson's Harlem dining room glows with the ease of a neighborhood gathering place, where Southern cooking feels both rooted and inventive. The fried chicken arrives darkly bronzed alongside eggnog waffles; mini-burgers swim in smoky-sweet sauce; spring rolls cradle black-eyed peas and collards. A fruit cobbler closes the meal with unironic comfort.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outsdanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
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The open kitchen at this Astoria taverna crackles with the rhythm of a neighborhood institution. Spinach pie arrives in flaky, sesame-studded sheets; whole branzino glistens under olive oil and herbs. It's the kind of place where servers slip into Greek if you seem to belong, where the food tastes like it knows exactly what it's doing and nothing more.
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Rank 26. MAMA'S TOO!
Sicilian Pizza
- Time Out The Cacio e Pepe · The 18 best pizzas in the world right now
- 50 Top Pizza 2025 · #4 · 50 Top Pizza Slice USA
- Time Out 2026 · The 45 best restaurants in NYC right now
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Rank 27. Utopia Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
- BagelUp #1 · The Definitive 30 Best Bagel Shops in New York City
- Eater The Best Bagels in New York City
- The New York Times The 16 Best Bagels in New York City Right Now
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Rank 29. Oso
Mexican
A brick storefront near City College turns out Mexico City street food with real conviction—al pastor tacos with proper char, enchiladas verde blanketed in Oaxaca cheese, tortillas pressed fresh and tender behind an open kitchen. The menu is short and focused; the churros with chocolate and cinnamon caramel are reason enough to return.
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Rank 30. Hamido Seafood
Egyptian Seafood
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Rank 31. AbuQir
Egyptian Seafood
At this Astoria seafood counter, fish arrive so fresh they stare back before the griddle claims them in smoke and wheat bran crust. The tagine swells with shrimp the size of blossoms, the pita exhales steam, and even the rice glows with seafood stock.
- The New York Times 2026 · #17 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
- Eater 2026 · The 38 Best Restaurants in New York City
- Grub Street 2025 · The 43 Best Restaurants in New York
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Rank 32. Bo's Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
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Rank 33. Sugar Hill Creamery
Dessert
A small-batch shop on Lenox Avenue where the ice cream names—"sweet socialism," "chairperson of the board"—announce themselves like inside jokes, each flavor a minor act of whimsy. The Madagascar chocolate and graham-cracker-blueberry combinations suggest a kitchen unafraid of specificity, which is its own kind of charm.
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Rank 34. Accra Express Restaurant
West African, Ghanaian
A modest steam-table spot on 125th Street celebrates jollof rice with uncompromising fervor, the grains smoking and insistent alongside iron-red stew that refuses restraint. The portions suggest abundance over refinement, a philosophy that feels honest in its directness.
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Rank 35. Lechonera La Isla
Caribbean
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Rank 36. Make My Cake
Southern Bakery
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Rank 37. Charles Pan-Fried Chicken
Southern
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Charles Gabriel
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Charles Gabriel
- Eater 2026 · The 38 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 38. Taco Mix
Mexican
At Taco Mix, a narrow Harlem counter serves meat-forward tacos that spill past their tortillas—cecina, suadero, barbacoa with caramelized edges, and al pastor carved from the spit with pineapple. You eat standing at a ledge, shedding cilantro, in a space that has refined nothing but the fundamentals.
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- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar
- Time Out #30 · The 30 best bars in NYC right now
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Rank 41. Barawine
Contemporary
Fabrice Warin's dining room on Lenox Avenue draws in passersby with whitewashed walls that do double duty as wine racks, a communal bar, and a quieter back space where the mood settles. The menu refuses easy categories—quinoa salads and braised lamb shanks coexist without apology, each executed with equal conviction.
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Rank 42. Kunafa Bites
Dessert
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Rank 44. Sushi Noz
Sushi
Chef Nozomu Abe orchestrates an intimate omakase where every tool and gesture recalls a Japanese refuge, moving from silken cooked fish to jewel-like sushi with ceremonial precision. Booking requires patience for his limited dates, but the gratitude extended by kimono-dressed staff justifies the pilgrimage.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- Vogue 2026 · A Definitive Guide to the Best Omakase in New York City
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Rank 45. Dar Lbahja
Moroccan
- The New York Times 2026 · #78 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
- The New York Times 2025 · Chicken Bastilla · Our New York Restaurant Critic Names Her Favorite Dishes This Year
- The Infatuation 2025 · #12 · NYC’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 46. Pizzeria La Rosa
NY-Style
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Rank 47. Angel
New American
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Rank 48. Xi'an Famous Foods
Xi'an-Style
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Rank 49. Cocotazo
Puerto Rican
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Rank 50. Tamales Lupita
Mexican
The narrow storefront on East 112th operates on the principle of arrival and luck: come early or settle for what remains of the day's tamales. Mole-streaked masa and lard-rich Oaxaqueño varieties emerge from their wrappings with the texture of custard, each one a small argument for restraint in seasoning.
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Rank 51. Asian Jewels
Dim Sum Chinese
A Flushing institution where carts of shumai, spareribs, and chicken yuba arrive before you sit, chandeliers glinting above round tables in controlled chaos. Weekends dissolve into a blur of lifted lids and overlapping orders; come early or risk standing.
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Rank 52. Artion Bakery Patisserie
Greek Bakery
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Rank 53. Charles Pan-Fried Chicken
Southern
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Charles Gabriel
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Charles Gabriel
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Rank 54. Amore Pizzeria
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 56. Between the Bagel
Bakery
- Eater The Best Bagels in New York City
- BagelUp #13 · The Definitive 30 Best Bagel Shops in New York City
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Rank 57. Legend of Taste
Sichuan Chinese
A strip mall in Whitestone conceals a kitchen that trades in fermented heat and smoke. The smoked pork with garlic leaf tastes like bacon gone through tea smoke, while crispy eggplant arrives with a glass-like shell and creamy interior—the kind of specificity that separates real Sichuan cooking from its Americanized cousins.
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Rank 60. Daniel
French
Daniel Boulud's Upper East Side temple to French refinement has softened its formality with a welcoming red-carpet entrance and art-lined dining room. The kitchen's rigorously composed dishes and decades-loyal service staff remain uncompromising in their precision.
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Rank 63. Make My Cake
Southern
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- The New York Times The 25 Best Pizza Places in New York Right Now
- The Infatuation Plain or Pepperoni Slice · 25 Iconic Dishes That Define New York
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Rank 65. Jiang Nan
Chinese
A sleek room of lacquered wood and stone channels imperial grandeur—the setting befits an ambitious menu that roams across China's cuisines rather than fastening to one. Peking duck arrives theatrically on silver, sliced beef swims in a golden pepper sauce with real heat, and mapo tofu arrives in portions engineered for sharing. This is dining designed for occasions.
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Rank 66. Per Se
Contemporary French
Thomas Keller's tasting menu unfolds with unhurried elegance in a soaring room overlooking Central Park, each course a precise study in seasonal restraint. The kitchen's confidence—evident in signatures like Oysters and Pearls—never overwhelms; service orchestrates the meal with quiet grace.
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Rank 67. Alley 41
Sichuan Chinese
Down an alley off Flushing's Main Street sits a Sichuan restaurant with an unexpectedly refined interior of curved wood and concrete. Chicken dumplings swimming in chili oil and pork belly with sesame noodles arrive quickly, followed by mapo tofu and braised beef that crackle with roasted chilies—heat deployed not for shock value but for genuine flavor.
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Rank 68. Flower and Dessert 次第花开
Chinese Dessert
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Rank 70. Jean‑Georges
French
Vongerichten's flagship overlooks Central Park with the confidence of a chef who has earned it. The egg toast with caviar arrives as prologue to a menu that pivots between French discipline and global improvisation—tomatillo with lemon verbena, black truffle with za'atar—each plate proposing a conversation between technique and audacity. This is cooking that knows what it is.
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Rank 71. Mokafe'
Yemeni/Guatamalan
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Rank 72. Maxi’s Noodle
Hong Kong-Style
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Rank 74. Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too
Southern
A narrow storefront on 110th Street devoted to unapologetic Southern indulgence: baked turkey wings, Louisiana catfish, and fried chicken arrive alongside candied yams and collard greens, while house-made peach cobbler and sweet potato pie suggest the kitchen understands that dessert is not optional here.
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- BagelUp #10 · The Definitive 30 Best Bagel Shops in New York City
- Eater The Best Bagels in New York City
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Rank 76. Essential By Christophe
Contemporary French
Heavy iron doors open onto a sleek townhouse dining room where chef Christophe Bellanca marries French technique with Asian inflection—white asparagus with bergamot crème and herb vinaigrette, blue prawns with genmaicha tuille, black sea bass gilded in turmeric. The space hums with quiet confidence.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Christophe Bellanca
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Rank 77. Zaab Zaab
Isan Thai
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Rank 78. Szechuan Mountain House
Chinese, Sichuan
A narrow storefront in Flushing where red chiles arrive by the handful and numbing Sichuan peppercorns deliver their electric sting with each bite. Order with intention here; the kitchen pulls no punches, and you'll find yourself mopping your brow as though summer has arrived.
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Rank 79. Levant
Egyptian Middle Eastern
A Steinway Street storefront styled like Cairo's back streets holds a white-domed oven that turns out feteer—those impossible, gossamer-layered pastries folded around basturma or sweet clotted cream. The place has the stripped-down intensity of a pizzeria married to the sensory maximalism of North African street food.
- The New York Times 2026 · #25 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
- The New York Times 2024 · New York’s 14 Best New Restaurants
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Rank 80. Le Bernardin
Seafood
A Midtown room where diamond necklaces catch the light and Eric Ripert's kitchen moves with quiet confidence through pristine seafood—yellowfin tuna pounded thin over foie gras toast, salmon with horseradish emulsion—finished by a dark chocolate tart that tastes like technique perfected. French classicism with global reach, no tasting menu required.
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Rank 82. White Bear
Chinese
A takeout window in Flushing dispenses wontons with gossamer skins and assertive pork filling, each one surrendered to a scarlet pool of chile oil and pickled vegetables that crackle with vinegar and heat. Item No. 6 is the argument for why this modest stall matters.
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Rank 84. Café Boulud
Contemporary French
A corner room on the Upper East Side with Art Deco polish hosts classical French cooking refined through seasonal technique and global inflection. Black sea bass wrapped in potato, vegetables in delicate balance, a tarte Tatin that knows its purpose—Paumier's kitchen executes the fundamentals with quiet confidence.
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Rank 85. FIELDTRIP Harlem
NY Comfort Food
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · JJ Johnson
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · JJ Johnson
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: New York State · JJ Johnson
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Rank 88. Xing Fu Tang
Taiwanese
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Rank 90. Dubrovnik
Croatian
A Michelin-selected Croatian restaurant where custom woodwork matches the kitchen's precision—branzino from the wood-fired grill arrives with smoky vegetables and broccoli rabe risotto. Live music some nights adds to the appeal of this New Rochelle find.
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Rank 91. Cafe Sabarsky
Austrian Bakery
A Vienna transplant tucked into a Beaux Arts mansion on Museum Mile, all dark wood paneling and Otto Wagner textiles. The wiener schnitzel and Hungarian beef goulash anchor the menu, but the pastries—Linzer torte, Sachertorte, a layered feuilletine—are what justify the pilgrimage.
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Rank 92. Xi'an Famous Foods
Xi'an-Style
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Rank 95. Zaab Zaab
Isan-style Thai
A candy-colored room in Elmhurst houses Isan cooking that doesn't soften its edges. Larb ped udon arrives blistered with fried duck skin and lime leaves; whole fish fry and seafood-driven curries follow the same uncompromising path, all fermented fish sauce and heat. Come hungry and with company.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Bryan Chunton and Pei Shan Wei
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Eater 2026 · The 38 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 96. Croffle House
Korean
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Rank 97. Andrew Bellucci's Pizzeria
Pizza Shop
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Rank 99. Masa
Sushi
The roar of Columbus Circle dissolves into silence at a hinoki counter where Masa Takayama orchestrates omakase with balletic precision. Truffles and caviar accent each piece—foie gras nigiri, abalone so tender it dissolves—gestures that walk the edge between refinement and indulgence. It's an experience that feels less like dinner than ceremony.
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Japanese Cuisine Restaurant
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A bright, no-nonsense dining room in Flushing where tabletop grills define the meal: beef short ribs glazed in traditional soy marinade arrive alongside lettuce for wrapping, while fried rice crisps and softens simultaneously on the hot surface. The banchan—pickled turnips, fermented bean paste soup, house kimchi funky with garlic—set the tone before the fire begins.