Dining

Gente

153 E 45th St
Midtown Neighborhood
Phone: (347) 394-2639
Average entrée: $17
Directions: S; 4, 5, 6; 7 at 42nd St-Grand Central Terminal
A touch of Milan in New York City; serving authentic Italian food under black-and-white blow-ups of film stars like Marilyn Monroe and David Niven, young professionals settle into this film noir-ish spot to appreciate their inexpensive bottles of wine and tasty dinner menu. Service is very efficient and practical.
(www.genteny.com)

Keats Restaurant

842 2nd Ave
Midtown Neighborhood
Phone: 212-682-5490
Average entrée: $10
Directions: 4, 5, 6, 7, S @ Grand Central; 6, E, V @ Lexington-3rd Aves-51st Street
American restaurant and bar offers dancing, drink specials and weekend karaoke.
(www.keatsrestaurant.com)

Lucy's Mexican Cantina

1 Penn Plaza
Midtown Neighborhood
Phone: 212-643-1270
Directions: A, C, E at 34th St.-Penn Station
Average Entrée: Not Provided
A café on Penn Plaza that seats 50 under a retractable roof, the Tex-Mex menu features Gazpacho Tequila shooters, Pineapple Scallion Pork, and "Mexican Chihuahua in the Poncho" (chorizo wrapped in pastry with lime mustard); on the liquor side, sample any number of their exactly 100 types of tequila -- just don't accidentally stumble to the LIRR in Penn Station on your way home.

City Diner

2441 Broadway
Upper East/West Side Neighborhood
Phone: 212-877-2720
Average entrée: Not available
Directions: 1 to 86th Street; 1, 2, 3, to 96th Street
Overstuffed sandwiches, soups, salads, vegetarian platters, pastas, seafood entrees and more, served up 24/7.

MXco

1491 Second Ave
Upper East/West Side Neighborhood
Phone:212-249-6080
Directions: 6 at 77th St.
Average Entrée: Not Provided
Husband and wife John Dempsey and Maren Powell (El Centro, Hell's Kitchen) replace their Upper East Side outlet Vynl with MXco. The menu emphasizes sharing with a trio of guacamole, ten types of tacos, and three flavors of queso. To drink: Carafes of margaritas come with mix-and-match fruit purée, and we're eyeing a frozen tres leches cocktail.

Doyer's Vietnamese

11-13 Doyers St., downstairs
Chinatown Neighborhood
Phone: 212-513-1521
Average entrée: Not provided
Directions: N, Q, R, W, J, M, Z, 6 to Canal Street
The Chinatown basement locale may be hard to find, but this windowless dive is one of the "best Vietnamese bargains" around.

Pho Viet Huong

73 Mulberry St.
Chinatown Neighborhood
Phone: 212-233-8988
Average entrée: $18
Directions: J, M, Z, N, Q, R, W, 6 @ Canal Street
In the "no-frills Chinatown" mold, this Vietnamese standby delivers "superior", "bargain"-rate dishes to tantalize the taste buds; its noodle soups are the highlight pho sure, but the extensive menu boasts plenty of other choices for a quick lunch.

Joe's Shanghai

9 Pell Street
Chinatown Neighborhood
Phone: 212-233-8888
Average Entrée: $10
Directions: J, N, Q, 4, 5, 6 to Canal St.
The extensive menu hits the mark on all your favorite Chinese dishes, but the real specialty is the soup dumplings, filled with pork, or a combination of pork and crab. It's brightly lit and bustling—a place for a fun meal, not romance or lingering.
(www.joeshanghairestaurants.com)

T Poutine

168 Ludlow St.
Lower East/West Side Neighborhood
Phone: 646-833-7444
Directions: F, V to Lower East Side/2nd Ave.; J, M, Z to Essex St.; F to Delancey St.
Average Entrée: $9
The narrow, candlelit space is mostly for takeout, though there are tables and counter stools provided so you can eat it fresh from the fryer. There are 10 ways to get poutine here, with toppings that range from steak and blue cheese to spicy Tex-Mex. You can even get sweet potato fries dusted with spiced cinnamon sugar and warm Canadian maple syrup if you're in the mood for dessert.
(www.tpoutine.com)

Yerba Buena

23 Ave. A
Lower East/West Side Neighborhood
Phone: 212-529-2919
Directions: F, V at Lower East Side-Second Ave.
Average Entrée: $22
For pisco-sour fans, try this outsize version in a soup-bowl-size goblet with its froth of organic egg white. The guacamole and the house-made chips are fantastic, and you'll love the picada—a collection the table can share of yucca croquetas, tostones, pork rinds, and chorizo chunks to dip in a spicy sauce.A spirits writer, shares sips of a dessert wine, Alcyone, and insists it tastes like s'mores.
(www.ybnyc.com)

Piquant

259 Flatbush Ave
Brooklyn Neighborhood
Phone: 718-484-411
Directions: 2, 3 at Bergen St.; B, Q at Seventh Ave.; 2, 3, 4, 5, B, Q at Atlantic Ave.
Average Entrée: $24
The main floor offers a lounge with a full bar, the dining room is upstairs, and the 30-seat patio rests out back. The menu spans tacos (with homemade tortillas), sliders (bison and crabcake), four types of ceviches, two kinds of chili, and a slew of entrées. And plates themselves are higher than a Dallas cheerleader's blowout.
(www.piquantnyc.com)

Char No. 4

196 Smith St
Brooklyn Neighborhood
Phone: 718-643-2106
Directions: F, G at Bergen St.
Average Entrée: $18
You can sample over 300 whiskeys here but probably not in one ecstatic sitting, although, borrowing a page from the wine world, every tipple is available by the one-ounce pours. The name of the place refers to the practice of heating the oak staves used to make bourbon barrels. The smell of charring oak is said to be not unlike that of a good pit barbecue—fitting, considering Chef Matt Greco's southern comfort menu of house-smoked ham, a chopped-pork sandwich, and cheddar curds with pimento sauce.
(www.charno4.com)

Lombardi's

32 Spring St
Downtown, LoLita
Phone: 212-941-7994
The reason to come here is obvious: beautiful, smoky crusted pizza with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. The genius of this pizza starts with the crust, which is black and crispy on the underside (with pleasant, slightly bitter overtones), but gives way to a wonderfully soft, yeasty interior.
(www.firstpizza.com)