New York City

Most chefs choose to scrap menus, change business partners, and generally turn their professional lives upside down in times of crisis or economic distress. — New York Magazine

Superstar French suited to your dramatic entrances. Like a Roman palazzo, hitting Corinthian columns, glitzy chandeliers, clean white scheme. — BlackBook

Michael White goes for the trifecta after major scores with Convivio and Alto. Name means tide, high-end Italian seafood is the angle, with market-fresh fish from around the world. — BlackBook

New York's Holy Grail for food critics—and diners. — National Geographic

It'll still take you five hours to stuff yourself silly on foie gras and truffles as a cavalcade of servers fawns over you. — Forbes Travel Guide

New York’s most storied steakhouse (in operation since 1887) serves up an amazingly tender porterhouse cut. Reservations essential; cash or debit card only. — Lonely Planet

Gramercy Tavern sits in a stately building set steps away from the esteemed Gramercy Park. — Michelin Guide

The Bar Room's menu of small plates is already the favorite with diners, but both spaces have ravishing Danish modern settings and Meyer's famously perfect service. — Concierge

Open since 1997, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's signature restaurant on Columbus Circle remains one of the world's greatest. — Concierge

If Sushi Yasuda is a shrine to raw fish, Naomichi Yasuda is the high priest. — Gayot

Creator of New Mexican cuisine, chef Enrique Olvera crafts small dishes integrating avant-garde ingredients such as uni, hazlenut mole and bone marrow. — Where

Chefs Alex Raij and Eder Montero decided to do something different by exploring the influences that the Jews and Moors had on Spanish food on Spanish food over the centuries. — The Infatuation

Back are Dufour'€™s whimsical takes on hearty, sometimes challenging fare. — Gayot

This greenmarket-focused restaurant from Jean-Georges Vongerichten is tucked into ABC Carpet & Home, the city's most stylish home-furnishings store. — Condé Nast Traveler

Chef-owner Rawia Bishara's Brooklyn restaurant features a blend of classical Middle Eastern and Mediterranean home cooking. — Gayot

His elemental shio ramen is made with a simple chicken stock, among many other things, and flavored with a special blend of Japanese salts. — New York Magazine

An avant-garde, food-driven spot breathing life into a strip of aging bars, Contra buzzes with young kitchen talent and a fresh attitude toward the direction of this neighborhood. — Michelin Guide

Tastes change, and Daniel Boulud, in his deliberate, careful way, is changing with them. The great chef has always been a connoisseur of down-home cooking. — New York Magazine

The Lambs Club might have as many solid dishes as a two- star restaurant, but the high prices magnify the misses here. — Bloomberg