Ali Baba on East 34th has run Turkish charcoal-grilled lamb in Midtown, New York City since 2000. Iskender on yoghurt, octopus salad, sumac onions.
Signature dishes: Iskender kebab, Lamb adana
Must order: Iskender kebab over pita with yoghurt and tomato sauce.
Tip: Lunch buffet at $18 is the value play. Order extra grilled bread; one basket is never enough.
Address: 212 East 34th Street, New York, NY 10016, New York City
Thai Villa near Union Square serves Bangkok and Chiang Mai cooking in Flatiron, New York City. The crab fried rice is the house staple; the khao soi runs spicier.
Signature: Pad kee mao, Khao soi
Order: Crab fried rice and the khao soi northern curry.
Tip: Two seatings on weekends: 18:30 and 21:00. The 21:00 service is quieter and easier to walk into without a wait.
Miss Lily's on Houston Street has run Jamaican island food in SoHo, New York City since 2010. Jerk chicken from the wood smoker, daiquiris from the back bar.
Signature: Jerk chicken, Curry goat
Order: Jerk chicken, rice and peas, fried plantains.
Tip: DJ nights run loud past 22:00. Brunch is the calmer service if you want to talk.
Yopparai on Clinton Street runs the Lower East Side's most serious sake bar in New York City. 70 by-the-cup sakes, izakaya snacks, 25 covers, reservations essential.
Signature: Sashimi platter, Sake flight
Order: Sake flight of three small cups and the daily sashimi.
Tip: Sake flights run with three-paragraph notes per pour. Bring patience and a friend who reads.
Kiki's on Division Street has poured retsina and grilled lamb chops in the Lower East Side, New York City since 2014. No reservations; the line goes around the block.
Signature: Lamb chops, Saganaki
Order: Lamb chops, saganaki, peasant salad.
Tip: Walk in at 17:30 or 22:00 for the only two short waits. The garden out back is the prize.
Han Dynasty's East Village outpost runs Chengdu-style numbing-spicy Sichuan in New York City. The dan dan and the dry pot are the room's calibration plates.
Signature: Dan dan noodles, Dry pot fish
Order: Dan dan noodles, dry pot fish, cucumber salad to cool.
Tip: The spice scale runs 1 to 10; the menu says 7 is hot, the kitchen means it. Start at 5.
Spaghetti Incident on Eldridge runs a 30-seat pasta room in the Lower East Side, New York City. Cacio e pepe, vongole, carbonara, BYOB on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Signature: Cacio e pepe, Spaghetti vongole
Order: Spaghetti alla chitarra cacio e pepe.
Tip: BYOB nights save the bill significantly. Reservations are easy if you sit at 18:00.
