Shake Shack
Cult burger shop Shake Shack has gone from an instantly popular Midwestern-style patty pusher to an international chain in just under five years. But while shack burgers and Chicago dogs can be had from South Beach to Dubai, nothing beats ordering the original burger at its birthplace in Madison Square Park. One nice by-product of expansion is that the perpetual line that wraps around the burger joint has lessened of late. Go on a nice day and order their thin classic shack burger, adorned with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and shack sauce. Vegetarians should try a fries side and their cheesy 'shroom burger. And it would be a shame to wait in that line and not try their criminally thick custard.
• 11 Madison Avenue, +1 212 889 6600, shakeshack.com, burgers and dogs $4-8.50
Fatty Crab
Restaurateur Zak Pelaccio has made a name for himself in New York for his knack for creating fun, hip, casual restaurants with great cocktails at the bar, killer tunes on the stereo, and saucy, spicy, deliciously addictive food on the menu. To get a taste of his adventurous offerings on the staid Upper West Side, check out Fatty Crab, his large Malaysian-inspired spot on Broadway and 77th. Expect all kinds of spices, sauces, noodles, curries, stews, and seafood, and while the menu rotates with regularity, classics like their fatty duck (duck is brined and fried) and Dungeness chilli crab are mainstays. Oh, and be prepared to eat with your hands and share with the rest of the table.
• 2170 Broadway, +1 212 496 2722, fattycrab.com. Mains $13-28
Cascabel Taqueria
Too often, food on the Upper East Side is either strikingly mediocre or exorbitantly expensive. So it was a relief to both the locals and the occasional uptown visitors when this minuscule taqueria opened in the area in 2009. The Mexican spot – serving high quality but affordable tacos and street food counter-style – was so overwhelmed by the early response that within the first year they had to relocate to a larger space up the block. Now they're expanding across town to the Upper West Side. Don't miss the tacos, made from special nixtamal corn, the house-made chorizo and their monster cemita poblana. And why not wash it down with a margarita?
• 1538 2nd Avenue, +1 212 717 8226, nyctacos.com. Mains $8.50-14.50
Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto
Salumeria Rosi pretty much defines the idea of a "neighbourhood spot". It's a take-out meat and deli counter supplying locals with the some of the best cured meat in the city, along with pantry staples like olive oil and roasted peppers. But it's also a small restaurant, perfect for a snack and a drink – white anchovies marinated in oil or some chickpea crostinis. Or go for a nice, lingering meal of meats, cheeses and delectable Italian soups, salads and traditional hot dishes like short ribs, stewed tripe and lasagna. Everything is served in small, not so pricey portions, so diners can customise a dinner to their liking and budget.
• 283 Amsterdam Avenue, +1 212 877 4800, salumeriarosi.com. Mains $7-13
Red Rooster Harlem
Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson's vibrant Harlem restaurant Red Rooster was one of the hottest spots to open this year, and it continues to thrive after the initial buzz. The locals, food obsessives from uptown and down and those just curious to check out the scene pile into the restaurant and sup on Samuelsson's menu of soul food classics with riffs from his Ethiopian and Swedish backgrounds. The chef can be found either toiling away at the warm hearth of the open kitchen or in the dining room glad-handing Harlem dignitaries and NYC food celebs. Make sure to try the cornbread and the spicy fried yard bird.
• 310 Lenox Avenue, +1 212 792 9001, redroosterharlem.com. Mains $14-32
JG Melon
The ambience of this old-school, dimly lit, somewhat kitschy Upper East Side bar merits the visit alone, but it's JG Melon's famous burgers that have kept the restaurant relevant since it opened in 1972. Melon serves a juicy, sizable (but not unmanageable) pub burger grilled on a well-seasoned flat-top and served on a lightly toasted bun with red onions and pickles. Get it. Maybe even with some bacon on top and a side of quarter-sized cottage fries and beers. Just keep in mind that this is quite the popular spot both with the locals and tourists, so there will most likely be a wait. Another thing to be prepared for: authentically gruff service.
• 1291 3rd Avenue, +1 212 744 0585. Burgers around $9
Viand Coffee Shop
This is about as classic Manhattan as you get. Viand is a long, slim, shoebox of a diner space lined on one side with small booths and on the other with a white Formica counter. The service is surly yet jovial and fast as can be, and they serve everything a New York diner should – milkshakes, coffee, burgers, chicken salad sandwiches, egg sandwiches on Kaiser rolls, black and white cookies, and Nova lox. While prices are slightly high for diner fare (sandwiches hover around $10) keep in mind it's located on Madison Avenue, just across the street from Manhattan's most overpriced restaurant, the celeb-magnet Nello. There are now other Viands around town, but the original is by far the best.
• 673 Madison Avenue, +1 212 751 6622. Burgers from $5.50-9.95
Má Pêche
Celebrity chef David Chang's first foray outside of the East Village, Má Pêche, is an interesting amalgam. It encompasses both Midtown fine dining and the Downtown rock'n'roll attitude and flavour-forward mentality that made him famous. The space is large and sweeping, with ample room for diners to move and stretch (rarely the case downtown). And the menu includes items like an exceptional grand plateau, steak frites, addictive brussels sprouts, and more adventurous fare like crispy pig's head. Hardcore food fanatics who want to make a night of it can try the large-format meal, Beef 7 Ways, which includes côte de boeuf, a prehistoric-sized beef shank, and much more.
• 15 West 56th St, +1 212 757 5878, momofuku.com/ma-peche. Mains $25-34, Beef 7 Ways $450 for 4-8 people
Sushi Yasuda
Though New York may not boast the same high-end sushi scene as San Francisco or LA, it does have a few heavy hitters when it comes to immaculately fresh fish. There's Sushi Seki, Sushi of Gari, the exorbitantly expensive Masa, 15 East, and then what many consider to be the very best, Sushi Yasuda. Just last year, sushi master Naomichi Yasuda left the restaurant to open a new spot in Japan. But his fans and restaurant critics report that he's left it in capable hands. An omakase meal will run just over $100 a head, normal for this quality, and will consist of hard-to-find fish, simply and wonderfully prepared.
• 204 East 43rd St, +1 212 972 1001, sushiyasuda.com
Madangsui
Where can you find karaoke joints galore, 24-hour restaurants, fried chicken spots, noodle houses, tofu masters, bibimbap, and scallion pancakes? Why, Midtown's Korea Town of course, where an adventurous eater can find all that plus some of the best Korean barbecue this side of Flushing. Head specifically to Madangsui, a Korean barbecue spot that earned a star from New York Times critic Sam Sifton. After every inch of the table is covered with banchan - sides and accompaniments like kimchi, seaweed, crabmeat slaw – it's time to make use of the grill in the middle of the table. Go for the butterflied short rib, the thin-sliced ribeye, the spicy pork. And round it out with an oyster pancake.
• 35 West 35th St, +1 212 564 9333, madangsui.com. Mains $12-49
• Amanda Kludt is the New York editor of eater.com
