Wild Birds is a music venue and bar in Crown Heights with live shows every night and tons of outdoor seating.

Deluxe Green Bo is a cash-only spot in Chinatown that makes great xiao long bao.

Rolo’s is a restaurant and grocery store in Ridgewood that serves excellent sandwiches, dinner kits, and baked goods.

Wheated is the best pizza spot in Kensington.

If you’re looking for Ethiopian food in downtown Manhattan, Meskerem in West Village is one of the best options around.

Roberta’s is a pizza place in Bushwick that kickstarted a Neapolitan pie movement in NYC and then started selling frozen pizzas nationwide.

Hupo is your best option for Chinese food in Long Island City.

Szechuan Mountain House is a fun Szechuan restaurant to bring a date or a friend on St. Marks Place in the East Village.

Adja Khady is a market in Harlem with a big selection of imported Senegalese groceries.

Saigon Social serves phenomenal Vietnamese food on the Lower East Side, and it’s one of our favorite new restaurants of 2020.

Like all of the locations of Peaches, the one in Fort Greene serves fantastic Nashville style hot chicken.

Ping’s is a cash-only dim sum spot in Chinatown with a lot seafood on the menu.

Anassa Taverna is a big Greek restaurant that’s useful for a last-minute dinner in the East 60s.

Donburiya is a fun Japanese izakaya in the Theater District that specializes in inexpensive donburi bowls and facilitating rowdy group meals.

Bombay Chowk is a casual Indian restaurant on the UES with neon lights, chairs that look like thrones, and some very good chicken kadai.

Sasabune Express is a casual sushi spot on the UES that serves great handrolls and sushi platters.