Hungry City Explorer

A Bronx Takeout Spot Honors the Memory of a Mother

Margarita’s, serving Dominican cuisine, is a permanent version of what once was a food truck.

From a Pizza Oven in the Bronx, Albanian Specialties

Tradita turns out savory, delightfully salty dishes oozing with cheese and packed with meats.

The Pain and Pleasure of Falling in Love

Local beers and deli specialties are found in and near the Bronx Beer Hall in the heart of the borough’s storied Italian-American neighborhood.

Opening Oaxaca to the World

While much of La Morada’s menu is taken up by tacos and quesadillas, a few dishes offer a taste of the “infinite gastronomy” that is Oaxacan cooking.

The Earth and Heat of Nigeria

A trip to West Africa by way of the Bronx at the restaurant Patina.

A World of Flavor, Stuffed Into Tacos at El Molcajete

This restaurant in Soundview, the Bronx, excels at succulent meats.

A Bistro in the Bronx With a Warm Welcome

In a borough where day-trippers usually come for fried clams and garlic bread, Bistro SK offers a repository of authentic French cuisine.

Sweet Simplicity at Leche y Miel in the Bronx

Pungent island flavors from a couple with roots in the Dominican Republic.

West Africa Enlivens the South Bronx, at Nabaya

The look is demure, but the food has fervor.

Bangladeshi Flavors Alongside Burgers and Chicken at Neerob

A restaurant serving South Asian dishes reopens in the Bronx, inside another with a resolutely American menu.

Caffé Lanka, an Outpost of Island Cooking in the Bronx

Sri Lankan restaurants are rare in New York. This one serves pizza, but the real draws are traditional specialties like the pancakes known as hoppers.

Carnitas El Atoradero in the South Bronx

The restaurant could be just another tiny taqueria, but the decorations and ingredients speak to the chef’s Mexican heritage.

Rice and Noodles in Many Guises

The menu at Com Tam Ninh Kieu in the Bronx focuses on broken-rice dishes and noodle soups.

Cooking, Inspired by Grandma, at My Cuban Spot in Brooklyn

Louie Estrada, the chef, brings the food of his childhood to his slip of a storefront, modeled after the cafeterías and coffee windows of Miami.

Senegal Is Only the Start

Café Rue Dix is a bistro in its broadest, most generous definition: a restaurant firmly of its Crown Heights neighborhood but cosmopolitan in outlook.

No Invitation Necessary

New York’s one restaurant devoted to the cooking of Moldova offers genuine details and food, and can make even a wedding crasher feel welcome.

All That’s Southern

At the Dogwood in Prospect Park South, Brooklyn, the cooking of North Carolina creates a place that is at once a neighborhood spot and a patch of elsewhere.

Brooklyn Factory, Japanese Food

Comfort food from Japan, coffee and tea can be relished from an unassuming warehouse in the New York City borough.

Memories of Chinatowns Gone By

A homage to the working-class coffee houses from the neighborhood where the chef grew up.

Drink Up ... or Else

At Masha & the Bear in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Russian hospitality is on full display.

Giving Uzbekistan Some Beach Flair

Two takes on Uzbek food, in Rockaway and Sheepshead Bay.

Dining Without Borders

Baoburg’s idiosyncratic menu owes as much to classical European technique as it does to the chef’s cross-cultural upbringing.

Thriving on a Dash of Audacity

At Dotory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the best dishes are the ones truest to the chef’s South Korean heritage.

At Cafe Booqoo, New Orleans Favorites, Spicy and Sweet

Matt Pace, who grew up in New Orleans East, prepares beignets, jambalaya, gumbo and, of course, po’ boys at his Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, cafe.

Angela’s Takes a Return Trip to the Caribbean

A Bedford-Stuyvesant restaurant is revived by its Guyanese-born chef.

A Midas of Meat at BK Jani in Bushwick

Art and diners’ recommendations fill the walls of this small Pakistani barbecue restaurant in Brooklyn.

Tamales, for Many Meals and Courses, at Alimentos Saludables

Pulled out of their corn husks, the tamales at this tiny restaurant in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, almost seem to breathe.

The Chinese Club Cuts a Culinary Path Through India

Nostalgia helps at a new restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But ketchup, not so much.

A Cruise Across the Mediterranean

At Zizi Limona, the chef, who grew up in Israel, borrows recipes from his mother’s Shabbat dinner table and reaches across the Mediterranean.

A Rabbit That Takes Some Searching

Glasserie brings Middle Eastern flavors to Greenpoint.

Satisfying the Body and the Mind

By day, Take Root in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, is a yoga studio. Three nights a week, it turns into a restaurant.

South by Southeast Asia

Nightingale 9, in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, borrows flavors across a distance, finding resonances between the cooking of the chef’s roots and Vietnam.

Revel in the Roar of the Crowd

At Maison Premiere in Williamsburg, the food is best appreciated as a series of lovely, fleeting moments.

Dig Deep, and the Flavor Will Find You

Some ramen broths detonate at first spoonful, then fizzle out halfway through; others start off meek and turn carnal. Ganso aspires to the latter.

Cajun, Far From Home, at the Gumbo Bros

In Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, two former roommates at Louisiana State University are trying to redress the city’s lack of gumbo.

Filipino Food With Subtlety, and a Splash of 7Up, at F.O.B.

A new restaurant in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, combines a grandmotherly vibe with dishes from a Daniel alum.

Sauerkraut Rolls and Other Shanghai Surprises at Yaso Tangbao

A simple storefront in Downtown Brooklyn specializes in Chinese soup dumplings and nostalgia.

At Kichin in Brooklyn, Korean Fried Chicken and Mighty Rice Balls

The chef Bryan Moon opened the mostly Korean takeout shop under the Marcy Avenue subway stop in November with his older brother Mike.

After the Entree, Far From an Afterthought

At Prospect in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, desserts are beautiful, whimsical and also, as it happens, delicious.

Start in Mexico, and We’ll Go From There

At Xixa, there’s a kind of culinary free association that can be borderline bizarre or brilliant, sometimes both at once.

Burmese Food in New York: Hard to Find but Easy to Love

The search ends at two shoe box restaurants, Burmese Bites in Queens and Burma Noodle Bar in Brooklyn.

The Crabby Shack, a Shrine to the Crustacean

Crab scuttles all over the menu at a former church in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Caridad China Revives Old-School Flavor in Williamsburg

A native of Guangdong brings the flavors of the Caribbean to Brooklyn’s Avenue of Puerto Rico.

At Manila Social Club in Williamsburg, Rambling Filipino Cuisine

Nostalgia suffuses the finest dishes from the chef Björn DelaCruz.

Grandchamps Welcomes You to Haiti, via Bedford-Stuyvesant

The chef, Shawn Brockman, has been trusted with his mother-in-law’s recipes, which may explain the generous, maternal quality of his dishes.

Family Recipes From a Hawaiian Kitchen

At Onomea in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Spam plays a starring role.

A Jam Session in the Kitchen

At Martha in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the ingredients may come from the farmers’ market around the corner, but the flavors range to the corners of Asia.

Butterfunk Kitchen Is Driven by Soul Food and Built on Memories

Deviled eggs, deep-fried corn on the cob and scrapple honor the chef’s roots at this restaurant in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn.

At Cafe Lily, the Korean-Uzbek Menu Evokes a Past Exodus

A family restaurant in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, serves the pungent cooking of Koryo Saram, descendants of Koreans who were exiled to Central Asia.

Bracing Burmese Food, Full of Contradictions, at Together

The city’s lone Burmese restaurant brings the rings and chain links of the Burmese alphabet to a Brooklyn street otherwise inscribed in English, Russian and Mandarin.

The Smoky Allure of Lebanon Wafts Through Wafa’s Express

At a small restaurant in East Williamsburg, the usual Middle Eastern dishes turn intense: brighter, earthier, smokier, creamier.

The Ceremony Outshines the Stage

The dishes at Ethiopian Lunch Box, operating inside another restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn, reflect a long tradition of vegan cooking in the chef’s homeland.

Chopsticks and Challah

Shalom Japan in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, combines the cultural heritages of the owners and chefs.

Filipino Food Arrives, in a Taco, at 2nd City and Swell Dive

Two New York restaurants attest to the new cachet of an underdog cuisine.

Lucy’s Vietnamese Kitchen Stays Close to Its Roots

The restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn, a block away from the apartment where the chef grew up and still lives, is named for his grandmother.

At the Food Sermon, Keeping the Faith in Crown Heights

The Brooklyn restaurant offers Caribbean cuisine that will have you believing that food is a matter urgent for the soul.

Seeking the Soul of a Namesake

Mayfield, which opened in October in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is broadly American in mission, with an occasional Southern twang.

A Modern Setting With Rustic Aspirations

The padded white walls at Parish Hall in Williamsburg are an example of its subdued aesthetics.

Salsa, Flirting With Bok Choy

Possibly the only Mexican-Taiwanese restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Lucky Luna has two cuisines that are neighborly but distinct.

Layers of Flaky Dough, and History, at King Tut Pie

The flavors of Egypt are tucked into crepes at this new restaurant in a former bodega in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

In Tama’s No-Frills Space, the Filipino Food Is Anything But

At a new restaurant in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, every dish comes with a careful presentation, and a story.

For This Soup, Some Assembly Is Required (and Provided)

Western Yunnan Crossing Bridge Noodle, in Sunset Park, excels at a deconstructed potage that servers combine at the table.

Hungry City: Fitzcarraldo in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn

At this restaurant in a corner of a 30,000-square-foot former warehouse, the food is Italian, mostly Ligurian, drawing from both the coast and the Alps of northern Italy.

Hungry City: Hard Times Sundaes in Mill Basin, Brooklyn

Burgers from a food truck in a remote corner of the borough prove their greatness in the God-given talent of their maker.

At Okonomi, Don’t Look for French Toast

The Japanese breakfast at this quiet dining room in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is a small-scale version of the nine-course omakase dinners that its sister restaurant offers on weekends.

Stamping With a Smile of Approval

At Sushi Katsuei in Park Slope, each of the three chefs offers the same pristine pieces of fish, delivered with, just possibly, a hint of a grin.

Its Space Is No Object

At this diminutive restaurant in Carroll Gardens, it’s best to come with a party large enough to order every seafood dish.

A Soup Saved From the Cold

Yun Nan Flavour Garden, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, is one of the few places in New York where you can find crossing-the-bridge noodles.

Rice Noodles Stretching From Guangxi to the East Village

The owner of Yuan brings the most famous dish from Guilin, in southern China, to southern Manhattan.

Traditional Ethiopian Food in a Cosmopolitan Setting

At Benyam in Harlem, four siblings have set up a space filled with the work of New York street artists and cuisine straight out of Addis Ababa.

Spreading the Flavors of Indonesia, One Table at a Time

Warung Selasa, a pop-up in Queens, is one of New York’s smallest restaurants. And Kopi Kopi in the Village keeps the Indonesian cuisine ‘light.’

Where Dumplings and Ducks Rule

Some of the best dishes at Wu’s Wonton King on the Lower East Side are the simplest, along with the whole suckling pig.

A Mystery of Chinatown

Don’t look to the address or sign out front for help in finding Taste of Northern China, but the griddle pancakes and Qishan noodles will be waiting.

An Emerald Atop Manhattan

At Indian Road Cafe in Inwood, there is scant evidence of the grating strain of foodie consciousness that has infiltrated American culture.

Grab a Seat, Prepare for the Sizzle

The Filipino menu at Lumpia Shack Snackbar in the West Village takes a step up from the food market.

Small Packages Hold Great Pleasure

At the Gander in the Flatiron district, it is no insult to say that snacks are the most exciting part of a meal.

At SpaHa Soul in Spanish Harlem, Camaraderie on a Plate

A tiny restaurant in East Harlem delivers conviviality and an unstylized menu that is not concerned with borders.

In Curry Hill, a New Kid on the Block

Haldi, an Indian restaurant that opened in September, sets a notably elegant tone for Curry Hill.

Sharing Their World With You

At Le Marécage in the East Village, the husband-and-wife team draws on French backgrounds from West Africa and the Caribbean.

A Bow to Japan, and a Nod to Naples

At Izakaya in the East Village, the mission may be comfort food, but there is a reverence to its making, even in the minor dishes.

Plantains, Top to Bottom

At Patacon Pisao, the headliner is a Venezuelan sandwich bookended by unripe fried plantains that don’t absorb flavor, but provide it.

Are Those Steel Drums I Hear?

The extemporaneous spirit of a Caribbean open-air barbecue joint is strong at LoLo’s Seafood Shack in Harlem.

Weaving the Threads of Soul Food

At BLVD Bistro in Harlem, the menu presses tradition but is tweaked for modern taste.

Make Yourself at Home

At Soy, Etsuko Kizawa dishes out an overtly maternal version of Japanese comfort food in what feels like an offshoot of her apartment.

Australia Doesn’t Seem So Far Away

At Flinders Lane in the East Village, the chef grew up in Melbourne, but the most interesting dishes draw on flavors from across the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.

Small on Space, Big on Flavors

The tasting menu at Box Kite, a speck of a coffee shop in the East Village, is more summer playlist than “Ring” cycle.

An Afternoon at the Improv

Out of the minimalist space of El Rey Coffee Bar and Luncheonette on the Lower East Side comes mostly comfort food, unobtrusively finessed.

Uighur Specialties, With Lamb Front and Center, at Kebab Empire

Kudret Yakup opened a Manhattan restaurant in December, as what may be the first U.S. franchise-in-the-making to showcase the Muslim minority’s food.

At Serengeti Kitchen, Touches of Memoir Dot the Menu

Nostalgia runs strong for Liberia and the chef Doughba Caranda-Martin III’s memories of life on his grandmother’s farm at this pan-African restaurant.

Thai Cuisine With an Added Touch of Whimsy

In NoLIta, Uncle Boons Sister is the comfort-food annex of the chefs Ann Redding and Matt Danzer.

A Meal (and History) in a Box at Taiwan Bear House

A Chinatown restaurant serves the bento-style meals sold on railways in Taiwan.

Russian Dumplings, Like Grandma’s, at Two Village Spots

Anton’s Dumplings and Babushka Cafe fill their specialties with care and tradition.

Bite of Hong Kong Requires More Than a Few Nibbles

The vast menu at a Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown rewards careful study and repeat visits.

Angkor Cambodian Bistro Explores Southeast Asia, Gently

The Upper East Side restaurant is the third for a former refugee.

At Thursday Kitchen, Cocktails Glow and Korean Food Relaxes

A chef engineers treats for her young East Village audience.

Meals for (Mostly) Everyone at Divine Flavored Nigerian Food Truck

An African chef brings the likes of gizdodo and moi moi to Midtown Manhattan — with just a few accommodations.

Omakase, on a Deadline, at Sushi on Jones

An open-air space in the Bowery Market food court may offer some of the best sushi made in the equivalent of a tollbooth. But don’t expect to linger.

Sushi That Delights in the Details

For less than $50, an omakase experience that is a surprise in a city with few options for sushi between the wincingly expensive and the suspiciously cheap.

‘Say Cheese,’ and Walk Out Smiling

At Murray’s Cheese Bar, the star attraction comes in the perennial dichotomy of raw and cooked: curated cheese plates versus permutations of melt, bake and fry.

Morsels of Denmark, Anchored by Earthy Bread

The Scandinavian tradition of the smorrebrod, or open-face sandwich, has been rebooted.

Neighbors From the Far East, Getting Along Just Fine

Singapura, on the stretch of lower Lexington Avenue known as Curry Hill, dabbles in Malaysian, Chinese and Indian cuisines, and throws in a little Thai, too.

Behind the Counter, Working the Room

At Kura in the East Village, Norihiro Ishizuka prepares sushi with a genial smile and a generous hand.

At Home in a ‘Public House’

Backed by service that is confoundingly friendly, Distilled in TriBeCa offers classics that have been updated, not upended.

Finding Happiness in Paradise

A takeout counter tucked into a pizzeria’s front window offers Persian stews that change daily.

Tacos Two Ways, Garnished With Simplicity

Two taco spots in Manhattan — one Mexican style, one Texan style — please a Westerner’s taste buds.

Tacos Two Ways, Garnished With Simplicity

Two taco spots in Manhattan — one Mexican style, one Texan style — please a Westerner’s taste buds.

Offering Flavors Manhattan Has Scarcely Tasted

At Oda House in the East Village, the menu emphasizes the rich traditions of Georgian cuisine.

The Marriage of Indian and Chinese Cuisines

The menu name-checks Sichuan and Manchuria, but the food plays up their differences rather than seeking common ground.

A Dinner Party at Every Table

Feast searches for a midpoint between the tasting menu and the humble satisfactions of a smorgasbord.

Fitting In With the Neighbors

Cherry, a subterranean restaurant in the meatpacking district, promises (and charges) so much, yet proves such a tease.

A Classic Story of Man Bites Perro

The specialty is Colombian-style hot dogs, in which dog and bun are subsumed by an avalanche of toppings.

The Sound and Fury of Handmade Dough at Very Fresh Noodles

A northwestern China specialty is drawing crowds, sometimes demanding, to a stall in Chelsea Market.

Sichuan Dry Pot, from Subtle to Scorching, at MaLa Project

This East Village restaurant leaves it up to you to mix and match ingredients and seasonings.

Mimi’s Hummus, Spreading Its Middle Eastern Influence

A popular Brooklyn restaurant has expanded to the East Village.

Hot Cereal 30 Ways at OatMeals in Greenwich Village

A cafe serves oats inspired by Asian cuisines, candy and Elvis.

Africa Kine in Harlem Returns to Its Humble Roots

The Senegalese restaurant has had three homes in 20 years. It reopened last September in a small space, offering stews by day and meats by night.

A Sake Lounge, Casual or Dressy

SakaMai, on the Lower East Side, does not commit to one genre of Japanese cuisine or mode of dining.

Pasta That Comes With a Back Story

Giovanni Rana Pastificio & Cucina was started by a baker’s son who made tortellini by hand outside Verona.

Approaching India From a Different Direction

Malai Marke could be just another restaurant on Curry Row in the East Village. Until the food arrives.

Shh! It’s Time to Eat

The pleasures at the Library at the Public are cumulative, the sum of small, quiet gestures by Andrew Carmellini and Michael Oliver.

Pig Ears, in the Best Possible Light

At this restaurant in the shadow of the Empire State Building, the chef manages to refine Sichuan flavors without extinguishing them.

B & K French Cuisine Brings Paris to Harlem

With high hopes and no gas, a classically trained chef is on a mission: ‘Fast food doesn’t mean bad food anymore!’

Zing’s Awesome Rice on the Lower East Side Finds Freshness in a Classic

A new, mostly takeout shop may make you rethink fried rice.

At Kopitiam, the Art of Malaysian Snacking on the Lower East Side

A tiny coffee shop on Canal Street takes its sweets seriously.

Tito King’s Kitchen and Bago Join a Filipino Feast in the East Village

Two new restaurants with modest, occasionally boundary-crossing delights set up shop around the neighborhood’s Little Manila.

The Hot Dogs at Schaller’s Stube in Yorkville Have Been Working Out

The sausages at this annex to Schaller & Weber, a venerable butcher shop on the Upper East Side, make a mockery of the buns meant to contain them.

At Timna, the Middle East Visits the East Village

The food is strongest when the chef, Nir Mesika, draws from his memories of growing up in Israel.

A Day in SoHo, a Night in Ukraine

Part restaurant, part folk performance, Korchma Taras Bulba keeps the dumplings and vodka shots coming.

Size Is of the Essence

Offering New Zealand cuisine in NoLIta, the food at the Musket Room is ambitious, meticulously detailed and best in miniature.

And You Thought You Knew Thai

Larb Ubol presents the plain-spoken food of the Isan region of Thailand, which is underrepresented in New York.

Small Plates Are a Big Surprise

A commitment to seasonality and sustainability is at the heart of this Mediterranean restaurant in the outer orbit of Bloomingdale’s.

East Meets West, and Cafe Becomes Sake Bar, at Hi-Collar

This East Village restaurant changes personality at night, moving away from Western-leaning comfort foods toward more Japanese snacks.

When a Deli Goes Boutique

The spot has crowds clamoring for the Quebec innovation of smoked meat that falls somewhere between pastrami and corned beef.

In Pursuit of Health and Happiness

Ellary’s Greens, which opened in the West Village in April, is not so much a restaurant as dining rehab.

Following Nordic Tracks

At Skal, the menu reads like a bistro’s in places. The chef’s fondness for his ingredients may explain the depth of flavor he coaxes from vegetables.

A Modest Reminder of Rome

Gastronomia Culinaria feels true to a certain type of small trattoria, where the food is plain-spoken and the pricing temperate.

The Meat Is Only the Start

Umami Burger, which started with a single shop in Los Angeles, brings burgers with memorable toppings to Greenwich Village.

At Joy Luck Palace, Dim Sum Amid the Chaos

Crowds seek the little piggy buns along with the classics at this perpetually packed restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

Filipino Food Arrives, in a Taco, at 2nd City and Swell Dive

Two New York restaurants attest to the new cachet of an underdog cuisine.

At Tsion Cafe in Harlem, Food From Ethiopia via Israel

Vegetable stews share the menu with less traditional dishes, like eggs and lox on injera, a crepe-like flatbread.

Two New Stops for Middle Eastern Food: Dizengoff and Gyro96

A downtown stand serves hummus several ways, while an uptown takeout window specializes in falafel.

Overstuffed (and Underground) Pastry at Bolivian Llama Party

A stand beneath Columbus Circle specializes in savory pockets called salteñas.

At Bohemian Spirit, the Meals of Czech Memory

In Yorkville, beer-hall food is on the menu in a lofty room with herringbone floors from grander days.

Asian Spicy Curry Pops Up in Chinatown

The name is vague where the food is distinct: The curries draw from Malay, Indian and Chinese traditions, and are brimming over with spices rather than packing heat.

Safari Brings Somali Cuisine to Harlem

Its East African flavors include bisbaas, a sauce of yogurt, cilantro and jalapeños.

Goa Taco Takes Liberties on the Lower East Side

In lieu of tortillas, the fillings at this “semi-permanent” spot are served inside paratha, a many-layered Indian flatbread.

Sam’s Spring Roll Brings Innovation to the Lower East Side

This underdressed snack counter is the work of a neighborhood chef, Samantha Chu.

Babu Ji in the East Village Asserts Its Authority

The Manhattan restaurant offers Indian food dressed up brightly, with an attentiveness to fresh ingredients.

Emerging From the Deep

Crave Fishbar, with its becalmed nautical décor and shipwreck theme, evokes the surprising pleasures of being marooned in Midtown.

A Night That Veers to Eccentric

No entomological specimens appear on this Japanese restaurant’s menu. Dishes are homey, and the place is a little kooky.

Tasting the Past, With Plenty of Butter

With dishes rich with butter and cheese, Le Philosophe in NoHo is not a place aiming for restraint.

Art Without the Drama

At this casual new tapas spot in the West Village, what you see is what you get, and for the most part, the food is straightforwardly delicious.

There’s No Smoke, but You’ll Find Fire

At Han Joo, each tabletop grill uses infrared heat to cook everything to an eerie evenness. You miss the drama of a typical Korean barbecue joint, but it’s hard to argue with results.

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

At Rosette, on the Lower East Side, the most interesting dishes have a slightly through-the-looking-glass cast.

A Showman Puts Noodles on Display

At Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen in Hell’s Kitchen, the chef’s specialty is as much theater as comfort food.

The Treasure Rests at the Bottom

Parmys Persian Fusion in the East Village offers the glory of rice brought nearly to a scorch.

The Bird, and Everything That Comes With It

The almost-all-poultry restaurant in Harlem has an idiosyncratic lure with the atmosphere of an Old World inn.

Nodding From East to West

The look at Fung Tu suggests a modern, upscale take on an old-school Hong Kong coffee shop, but the menu goes beyond Western-ish Chinese comfort food.

They’d Rather Stay for a While

Il Salumaio on the Upper East Side opened as an old-world salumeria, but customers clamored for tables.

A Rare Manhattan Find: Great Vietnamese Food, Times Two

Hanoi House and Madame Vo, which both opened in January in the East Village, specialize in differing styles, but both make exemplary pho.

At Bep Ga in Chinatown, It All Begins With Chicken

The restaurant, all two tables of it, is wholly devoted to the bird — poaching it first in a hot bath of ginger, then slipping it into the steamer.

It’s All About the Sauce

With four carts, a restaurant in the East Village and one on the Upper West Side, Halal Guys patrons can’t get enough of the white sauce.

A Convenient Snack, Elevated

At Hanamizuki, humble rice balls (onigiri or omusubi in Japanese) are slightly offbeat, as if sprung from a Haruki Murakami novel.

Toné-Café Brings Georgian Cuisine to Gramercy Park

Food comes quickly, on paper plates or encased in plastic tubs, originally destined for takeout. Nevertheless, it is a feast.

Kiki’s Greek Tavern Needs No Translation

The homey restaurant peeks through a mask of Chinese characters.

At the Handpulled Noodle, Mom Knows Best

In Harlem, the menu is mostly mix and match with a choice of noodles. The Xinjiang cuisine is inspired by the owner’s memories of his mother’s cooking.

At the Happiest Hour, a Cheeseburger Does a Star Turn

At this cocktail bar in Greenwich Village, a California-style burger makes everything seem O.K.

Crêpes Canaveral Spreads Itself Thin

The takeout counter that started serving Breton crepes a few years ago in the East Village is worth the extra wait.

Kottu House Captures the (Good) Spirit of Sri Lanka

The tiny restaurant on the Lower East Side concentrates on its namesake, a street-food staple.

Buried Treasures at Raclette

Scraping the surface of cheese to find a satisfying meal in the East Village.

It’s Called Factory Tamal, but the Food Is Strictly Handmade

At this small shop on the Lower East Side, Fernando Lopez makes fluffy, crumbly tamales that evoke “the feeling when I was a 5-year-old.”

Hungry City: The Bao in the East Village

The new restaurant features soup dumplings, or xiao long bao, that are near perfect.

A Passage Through Georgia (the Republic)

Old Tbilisi Garden, in Greenwich Village, prepares dishes funky and subtle.

Fingers Stand In for Forks

At Abyssinia in Harlem, the flatbread does the heavy lifting with the Ethiopian dishes.

Things Are Falling Into Place

At Rusty Mackerel, the food is fussed over in the kitchen, but unfussy on the plate.

Where It’s All Served Sotto Voce

The half-secret Wallflower in the West Village is where you go for a rendezvous or lying low.

Veggies for the Blazer Set

On the Upper East Side, cauliflower, beets and broccoli steal the limelight.

In Harlem, an African Tasting Plate

The Cecil offers dishes derived from the breadth of the continent’s diaspora, and tweaks some American classics, too.

A Rich Pappa From Malaysia Serves Up Delicacies in Queens

PappaRich in Flushing is part of a worldwide chain, but don’t let that scare you off.

Tastes That Are Distinctly Bangladeshi in Queens

At Boishakhi in Astoria, a steam table is laden with cuisine that evokes the Bay of Bengal.

Spreading the Flavors of Indonesia, One Table at a Time

Warung Selasa, a pop-up in Queens, is one of New York’s smallest restaurants. And Kopi Kopi in the Village keeps the Indonesian cuisine ‘light.’

Burgers and Franks Go Over the Top at Prontito in Queens

This Colombian restaurant in Elmhurst specializes in glorious excess.

Hidden Pleasures Lie Within

At Khao Kang, the Thai food at the steam table is not labeled, but the layers of flavor make themselves known.

At Casa Del Chef in Woodside, Queens, the Goals Are Lofty

The chef is from Ecuador, but the influence of his time spent working at Blue Hill at Stone Barns is evident here.

Straight From Filipino Streets

House of Inasal delivers straightforward Filipino comfort food in a stretch of Woodside, Queens, that has earned the nickname Little Manila.

A Buffet of Filipino Specialties

Sariling Atin, whose name in Tagalog means “our own,” opened in April in Elmhurst, Queens, on a block once dominated by furniture showrooms.

Answering the Call of Friends

At Plant Love House in Elmhurst, Queens, a mother and her daughters offer Thai street food with house rules that will have you grinning.

Giving Uzbekistan Some Beach Flair

Two takes on Uzbek food, in Rockaway and Sheepshead Bay.

Deconstructing the Illusion

Houdini Kitchen Laboratory is a pizzeria with good food and earnest intent that just happens to be in one of the coolest spaces in the city.

An Offer to Let the Mind Wander

Spicy Lanka, which opened in February in Jamaica, Queens, transports diners to a faraway land.

One Singular Thai Sensation

In Elmhurst and Long Island City, sampling two versions of a simple Thai chicken-and-rice dish.

One Singular Thai Sensation

In Elmhurst and Long Island City, sampling two versions of a simple Thai chicken-and-rice dish.

Winter Salvation, Fresh From the Dumpling Steamer, in Queens

Found on the same stretch of Jackson Heights, where momos are a common language, Amdo Kitchen and Potala offer a simple warmth in deep cold.

At Happy Stony Noodle, a Childhood Favorite Anchors the Menu

Growing up in Taiwan, Chih Shen Hsu fell in love with a soup; when he grew up, he took over the restaurant, and brought its recipes to New York.

Around the Corner, Thai Desserts Await

Khao Nom, linked to another restaurant in Queens, is a place to finish off your meal.

Another Foothold for Philippine Cuisine

Tito Rad’s Grill in Queens is in the vanguard of new Filipino cooking.

In Queens, Star Treatment for Seafood

AbuQir in the Little Egypt section of Astoria lets you pick your fish and how it is prepared.

At King of Falafel, the Crown Jewels Are Chickpeas

A popular street cart has spawned a new restaurant in Astoria, Queens.

At Tut’s Hub, Egyptian Street Foods Get a Temple

Imposing columns, statues of gods and three stories in Astoria, Queens.

Mumbai Xpress, a Good Reason to Stray for a Snack

A restaurant in Floral Park, Queens (a trek for some), specializes in chaat, the tangy bites sold on Indian roadsides.

For Banh Mi, Violet’s Bake Shoppe Has the Math Down

Sandwich ingredients are in ideal proportions at this Chinese-Vietnamese place in Forest Hills, Queens.