Chinatown wakes up in the morning much the same as any other New York neighborhood—with a jolt of caffeine. Every block seems to have its own bakery where throngs perch at tiny tables to slurp hot tea or coffee before starting the day. But these are no Dunkin Donuts. The pastries everyone nibbles alongside their steaming cups are anything but ordinary—though some look familiar on the surface. What appears to be a custard doughnut is......

As any serious drinker knows, a long night of boozing is best ended with a heaping helping of carbohydrates. One good place to get your fill is the East Village deli called Punjab, which stays open into the wee hours to serve its clientele of Pakistani cabbies. But late-night Lower East Side revelers have also discovered the cheap vegetarian chow. There are potatoes over rice, potatoes wrapped in bread (roti, $2.50), potato patties (aloo tikki,......

Nestled on the corner of Prince and Crosby Streets in SoHo, Peter Hoffman's Savoy has been wowing its guests for years now with an ever-changing menu. Hoffman consistently serves food purchased from local greenmarkets, keeping his focus on what's in season. The menu also reflects his obsession--shared by many chefs, such as Mario Batali and Thomas Keller--with charcuterie. Gothamist got a chance to sample some of the house-cured meat in a recent special appetizer featuring......

Octopus has been popping up as a appetizer on menus at all kinds of restaurants, from Italian to New American. But if you want to taste it at its best, go to the Greeks, specifically Periyali, Chelsea's refined Greek restaurant. Here the octopus, marinated in red wine and grilled over charcoal, is meaty yet tender. The flesh is firmer and gutsier than that of any fish. The plate is adorned with nothing but a......

The beet and goat cheese appetizer has become something of a new standard. And for good reason: it's a great combination of sweet and tart. This week Gothamist experienced one of the best new variations on this classic theme at Tocqueville, the elegant French-American restaurant off Union Square. This dish, called cannelloni on the menu, inspires wonder when it arrives. By some miracle of modern culinary engineering that probably involves a thousand-dollar gadget or......

Veritas is well known as an oenophiles delight. The wine list has the heft of a Tolstoy novel, with more than 1,300 offerings, and up to four sommeliers work the intimate space at one time. You might think the food would be an afterthought, but the surprise is that it is every bit as impressive as the wine. The menu at Veritas is full of quiet pleasures. Chef Scott Bryan presents dishes that each remain......

We never thought we'd see a velvet rope at One & One. But there it was, at the top of the stairs, in the place known for its fish and chips (the temptation of which often keeps us away from the bar). Downstairs, is, if not entirely swanky, not the pub upstairs. The cocktails offered are changing-and will continue to do so- but it is definitely cocktails all the way. It's smallish, darkish and loungish.......

The Modern is the latest star in the constellation of Danny Meyer's restaurant empire. Gothamist recently stopped by its more casual half, the Bar Room, after a visit to The Museum of Modern Art, which houses the restaurant. Chef Gabriel Kreuther's small-plate menu dazzles. It's divided into three sections: cold appetizers, hot appetizers, and half-sized entrees. Portions are generous and many dishes are laced with an unusual ingredient. Take for instance the tagliatelle with escargots,......

"Here's a little gift. From Heather to Heather." Though it may not be the the iconic movie Heathers is something worth cherishing, even if that means you don't go down in flames with Christian Slater. (And while we're thinking about it, he isn't all that cute these days after that bit about sexual harassment on the UES and falling off Paris Hilton's roof.) Heathers just came into being last Saturday and we stopped in during......

In a city where prix fixe meals can run into the hundreds of dollars, even before wine, Le Tableau's $26 nightly prix fixe 3-course option sounds too good to be true. Fortunately, it's not. The dimly lit French bistro offers appetizers like roasted red beet gateau with Montrachet and toasted almonds and pan roasted diver scallops with apple and rhubarb compote, complex arrangements of sweet and savory. Main course specialties like the Moroccan spiced......