541 Amsterdam Avenue, corner of 86th Street212/724.4707about $40 for two, without drinks, without tip An institution more than just a trendy brunch place, Barney Greengrass serves the best smoked sturgeon in the city. The fish is perfect with scrambled eggs and onions even at $14 a pop. It’s probably the only place I’d actually enjoy…

70 West 71st Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West212/579.8751about $100 for two, with two drinks, without tip After a half bottle of Moillard, we just couldn’t shake off the idea of lamb for dinner. Fortunately, Pasha was around the corner of the wine bar we were in. Even with the coat-check girl’s attitude,…

100 West Houston Street, off Thompson212/254.7000about $100 for two, with two drinks, without tip We needed a table for six during peak dinner hour and Jane called us from a taxi cab on Houston. Seated in the back booth next to the kitchen, we were able to make noise that was way above the hushed…

113 West 116th Street between Lenox and Adam Clayton212/280.8779about $60 for two, without drinks, without tip Chef Carl Redding opened the restaurant a year after his grandmother, Amy Ruth, passed away. They’re not kidding when they say that they offer home-style cooking because you can taste the love in their collard greens and in the…

118 West 57th Street between Sixth and Seventh212/245.5000about $25 for two, with two drinks, without tip Behind the heavy curtains next to the front desk of Le Parker Meridien hotel is a hole-in-the-wall burger joint that serves no-nonsense burgers, French fries, milkshakes, beer and soda. They proudly declare that “If you don’t see it, we…

96 Walker Street on Centre212/343-8625about $20 for two, without drinks, without tip If you only have $5 to spare, XO’s congee is pretty good. I order my usual favorites: sliced pork or fish. With decent congee on the menu, I don’t know why they try to westernize everything else. XO is probably the only place…

1250 Broadway on 31st Street212/564-6845about $60 for two, with two drinks, without tip Manhattan’s Koreatown pales in comparison with the one in Flushing, Queens and it certainly is embarrassing compared to the one in Los Angeles. Kang Suh is one of the more established restaurants on 31st Street between Broadway and Fifth or Koreablock. It’s…

508 Broome Street between West Broadway and Thompson212/965-1515about $25 for two for lunch, with two drinks, without tip I always come to Karahi when I’m in the mood for more than one helping of chana saag (creamed spinach with chick peas) and tandori chicken and lamb vindaloo and aloo gobhi (cauliflower and potatoes). Not to…

100 Allen Street between Delancey and Broome212/941-1818about $25 for two, without drinks, without tip When I’m craving congee, I usually run to Congee Village for their $3 hot bowls, either served with pork, chicken, duck, fish, hundred-year-old egg or a combination of all of them. Congee is a type of rice porridge cooked the Chinese…

130 West Broadway on Duane212/219-1011$250 for three, with several drinks, with tip If there’s one New York City chef I’m not familiar with, it would be David Bouley. Four years ago, the boy surprised me by making reservations at Bouley Bakery (now back to its original Bouley name). But it was a hundred-degree summer day…

9 West 53rd Street at The Museum of Modern Art between Fifth and Sixth Avenues212/333-1220about $150 for two, with two drinks, without tip I haven’t been back to the new MoMA ever since it reopened in its grand, newly renovated space in midtown Manhattan. The twenty-dollar entrance fee is a little too steep for a…