• Habana in Soho is great- it's tiny and very crowded at night and on weekends, hence perfect if it's like Thursday at 3 PM and you want some good Cuban in a cool setting. If it is a night or a weekend... arrive in a good mood and prepare to wait. More hipster than divey. 229 Elizabeth St., btw Houston and Prince. N or R train to Prince St., head East on Prince, left on Elizabeth. OR B, D, F, V to Bway Lafayette, head East on Houston, right on Elizabeth.
• Flor de Mayo on the Upper West Side- I am a sucker for the combination Latin/Chinese restaurants even though I always order the Latin part and not the Chinese part... but I like the idea that you could have either in the same place. I think the best one is Flor de Mayo. The rotisserie chicken is amazing, also the lomo saltado. It's cheap too, like $8 for a big plate of food. 484 Amsterdam St. btw 83rd and 84th. 1 train to 86th St., head East for 1 block to Amsterdam, turn right.
  
• El Castillo de Jagua in the Lower East Side- a good and cheap chicken, beans, and rice fix can be found at this Dominican joint, well-located by all the LES bars. Good luck trying on those skinny jeans after eating here. 113 Rivington St. btw Essex and Ludlow. F train to Delancey St. Head north on Essex St and hang a left on Rivington.
  
• Coco Roco in Park Slope- a Peruvian place that has one of the best rotisserie chickens, hands down. They may have changed this system, but in the past, oddly, you could only get the chicken if you got takeout or delivery- you couldn't actually eat it in the restaurant, which is sort of lame. So find a friend in the Slope and pick up the phone, if possible. If you must eat in, go for the pan con pollo and a cocktail, so you can at least get some chicken involved in your meal. 392 Fifth Ave, btw 6th and 7th Streets. F/M/R train to 4th Ave-9th St. Walk up to 5th Ave and hang a left.
  

• Max in the East Village- sure it's crowded and noisy, but it's a fun night with cheap wine and good hearty Southern Italian food. You're gonna have to go at 5 PM or wait for a table. Methinks there's now a Max in the Upper West Side, called Max SoHa, but I've never tried it. 51 Avenue B btw 3rd and 4th St. F train to 2nd Ave, head north to 2nd St and turn right to get to Ave B.
• John's Pizzeria in the West Village or Times Square- a whole pie favorite. The West Village location is more charming, but the Times Square spot is a good pre-theater option, since you probably shelled out a whole bunch of cheddar on those show tickets. Times Square: W 44th btw 8th and Bway. A/C/E/1/2/3/N/R train to 42nd St. West Village: Bleecker btw Jones and Morton. A/C/E/B/D/F/V to W 4th St. station.
  
• Lombardi's is the classic one in Little Italy- some say the first pizzeria in New York, it has a  wood-fired oven to get your pie crisp and crusty, in a very good way. Cute and bricky if a bit dark. Spring St btw Mott and Mulberry. 6 train to Spring St. and walk East, OR N or R to Spring St and walk East a bit further.
  
• Grimaldi's in DUMBO, Brooklyn- it's also fantastic, easily rivaling Lombardi's and John's, and since it's both at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge walking path AND within spitting distance of Jacques Torres Chocolate, it's a good way to start a fun day out.
  

streets of SoHo

• Dok Suni in the East Village- a kickass Korean bbq place, but it's kinda cuter than the usual Korean bbq places. (If you've got more dough to blow on your bibimbop, they have a chichi sister restaurant in the West Village, Do Hwa, but it's more pricey.) One of my absolute favorites. Meat aficionados should order bulgogi and kalbi and share the love. 119 1st Ave btw 7th and St. Marks. N or R train to 8th St. or 6 train to Astor Place, and walk East on 8th/St Marks, turn right on 1st Ave.
  
• Rice in NoLiTa- a real standby- totally cheap and good and cute. You can get different stuff over different kinds of rice. Don't miss the homemade rice krispy treats, whatever you do... trust me on that one! I always get a box of them for the plane ride back home. 292 Elizabeth St btw Bleecker and Houston (NoLiTa/Soho area.) 6 train to Bleecker St., head East and go right on Elizabeth OR B,D,F, or V train to Bway/Lafayette, head East and go left on Elizabeth St.
• Sea Thai and Spice Thai with locations in Chelsea, Williamsburg, West Village, Upper East Side, and the East Village- oh how I wish this mini-chain would make it West. There are 5 branches of these related restaurants, and they offer fresh, interesting Thai food at low prices- especially considering the design factor and ambiance you get. The Williamsburg location is eye candy all the way- plus has the benefit of being less than a block from Galapagos, a cool bar/art space. I especially like the sangria, drunk man noodles, and the "caesar" salad. Sea in Williamsburg: 114 N 6th St. btw Wythe and Berry Sts. L train to Bedford Ave. Walk to 6th St. and take a right... Sea in the East Village: 75 2nd Ave btw E 4th and E 5th. F train to 2nd Ave. Walk north on 2nd Ave... Spice in Chelsea: 199 8th Ave btw 20th and 21st St. C/E to 23rd St. Walk south on 8th Ave... Spice in the W Village: 60 University Place btw 10th and 11th Sts. N/R train to 8th St. Head west to University Pl and turn right... Spice in the UES: 1411 2nd Ave btw E 73rd and E 74th Sts. 6 train to 77th St. Walk East to 2nd Ave and turn right.
  
• Great NY Noodle Town in Chinatown- this is not the best Chinese food in the world or anything, but it's cheap, pretty good, and it's open til 4 AM so you may just need to know about it. If you're getting your drink on in the Lower East Side, it could well be within stumbling distance. And if you're the type of person who likes to go "where chefs go after work," then this just might be your kind of joint. The salt and pepper squid and the noodles are the hits here. 28 1/2 Bowery St., about a block South of the Manhattan Bridge entrance (Canal St.) Not fabulously located for subway travel, as you'll have to walk 5-6 blocks from any station. At 3 AM you'll probably spring for a cab anyway. F to E Broadway, go SW on E Bway to Bowery. B/D to Grand St, head south on Bowery.
  

• Jackson Diner in Jackson Heights- Queens' Little India has no shortage of good Indian food, but this one is tops, especially the lunch buffet. Plus, you'll be right near Patel Bros Grocery and all of the other South Asian sights, scents, and shops. Take in a Bollywood flick- it's like you're in freakin' Mumbai. 3747 74th St. in Queens. E, F, G, R, or V train to Roosevelt Ave/Jackson Heights.
  
• Indian Restaurants on E 6th St. in the East Village- for cheap Indian, head to E 6th St and there is a whole row of restaurants. They are all basically the same- good, cheap, called Indian but in fact Pakistani- and it is rumoured they all share one long kitchen! If you want to spend $10 and get full with leftovers for the next day, this is a good spot. F train to 2nd Ave, head north to E 6th St. and turn right.

• Kitchenette in TriBeCa and West Harlem- actually, this is really one of my favorite brunch or breakfast places, but all the food here rocks. Voted best bacon in the city and I concur. Cute in an aw shucks, down home kind of way. TriBeCa: 156 Chambers St. 1/2/3 train to Chambers and it's one block south. Harlem: 123rd and Amsterdam. A/B/C/D to 125th St. and walk down 2 blocks.
  
• Corner Bistro in the West Vilage- for a super delicious, cheap burger you must go to Corner Bistro. It's like $5 or $6 and it's a cute divey bar. It's kind of got that old NY feeling and people from all walks of life will name it as the best burger. Lots of beers too. It feels like more of a bar than a restaurant. For a night of contrasts, get your fill then mosey down to uber-hip underground club APT to shake a leg afterwards. Corner Bistro: 331 W 4th St. near 12th St/Jane St. On the corner, obviously. Take the A, C, Eto 14th St. and walk down 8th Ave to 12th and you'll see it. APT: 419  W 13th St in the Meatpacking Dist. It doesn't have a sign. From CB, head back up to 13th St. and take a left.
• Pommes Frites in the East Village- the cons: you only had fries for lunch. the pros: they were fantastic and served in a cone. We know there have been pretenders that have followed- we've got 'em in SF too. But this is the original Belgian fries-in-cone heaven. With dozens of sauces to choose from (me? I mix sweet hot chili with ketchup and mayo) everyone's happy. They'll even let you bring a beer over from the deli next door. 123 2nd Ave. between 7th St. and St. Marks. 6 train to Astor Place or N/R to 8th St. Walk East to 2nd Ave and hang a right.
  
• Magnolia Bakery in the West Village- yeah yeah yeah it's played out now that Sex and the City made it famous, but the cupcakes are still good. Especially if your mom never baked like Betty Crocker. Banana pudding is a sleeper hit. There are 2 locations now, but the original in the West Village is the only one you should go to. 11th and Bleecker. 1 train to Christopher St. Walk West on Bleecker.