Joe's Italian Cuisine of Ave. U.

There is no school like the old school and I am the headmistress. This spot offers authentic south of the boot food, heavy on the fish, olive oil and flavor. Eating here is like going back in time- same booths and food with the same delicious flavor I remember from back in the day. Baked clams ($8) with a piece of garlic on each clam sitting on a bed of olive oil thick with parsely are simply great. The bread here from a bakery on Ave. O is dense, and divine. The chicken parm.($8) pictured is served with a huge dollup of fresh ricotta which is the best I have ever tasted. You can't go wrong with any of their seafood dishes which offer a true Sicilian taste. You can eat an enormous amount of food for a reasonable price. Head to Nuccios bakery down the block afterwards for some Italian pastry. Ave. U and McDonald Av.
MUST GO!

9 Restaurant

New Eric Hara(Oak Room, David Burke's Townhouse) corner spot offers haute American style food among the ethnic pockets of Ninth Ave. The seating is slightly cramped though the food more than makes up for the space. A lunch special of two dishes for $15 is a bargain for the caliber of food served. The butternut squash pictured features candied bacon, organic mini arugula and a poached egg. The egg adds a lusciousness to the dish and the candied bacon is spectacular. The chicken BLT was food theatre piled high on a toasted brioche. Fries were perfection with some skin on served with mayo and ketchup. This is absolute comforting comfort food. Service here is top-notch.
GO!

Desserts NYC

A Chinatown treat, this sho serves up suprisingly killer cupcakes, cakes and chocolate balls of joy. Bowls of chocolate wait ready to frost the luscious sweets. You can have your cupcake frosted with chocolate, espresso, raspberry etc. The chocolate is specially thick, rich and delish. The vanilla cake is moist and fresh. The staff is very friendly and accomodating and at $2 per cupcake you are getting a sweet deal. This Chinatwown treasure is at 155 East Broadway around the corner from the East Broadway stop of the F train.
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Oaxaca

Oaxaca is a chain of no-frills Mexican street fare restaurants offering authentic food in a spot of minimalist decor for very low prices. I have been to two of the Oaxacas- one on 4th Ave in Park Slope and one on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens. Each spot offers the same grub. There are daily specials and weekly lunch specials of two tacos and rice and beans for $6.95. I have tried both the taco and the burrito which is not on the menu. What sets these Mexican staples apart is that the the tortillas are warmed on the flattops and the fillings are that good. The tacos are $2.95 and filled with your choice of meats or specials. Yesterday, I ate the burrito with a filling of potato and poblano peppers that also included black beans, tomatoes, cheese and pickled onions served in a warmed and slightly charred tortilla with a dollup of sour cream. I asked for salsa verde whcich was a slightly spicy green salsa. The flavor was outstanding. Twitter.com/Oaxacatacos
Go!

One Girl Cookies

One Girl Cookies is an upmarket bakery in Cobble Hill specializing in mini artisinal cookies with girls names. Like petit fours these cookies are made from top quality ingredients. You can try four for $2.50 and they are all unique. I particularly liked the Lucia and the Lana. The Lucia has a shortbread bottom and combines caramel with a chocolate top for a swwet treat. The Lana is a bittersweet chocolate cookie with a raspberry jam center. Uniquely pretty cupcakes(pictured) are $2.50 and mini cupcakes are a steal at $1.50. A cute sort of nostalgic seating area.
F train straight to Bergen Street and One Girl is right on Bergen.http://www.onegirlcookies.com/
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Maialino's

Danny Meyer's Roman trattoria is a remarkable achievement. Housed in the elegant Gramercy Park Hotel, you can look out at the lovely private park and enjoy your meal.
Starting with the hostess who said would you like to wait for your party at the table, and being seated at a comphy booth you feel the professionalism right from the start. The room has a warm feel and no noisy din usually associated with a full restaurant. We went for brunch and wanted to try a few things so we shared. Starting with the bombolini($4) and the brioche carmellatto($3). For the mains we also shared the malfatti(open ravioli) with their signature suckling pig($21) and a ricotta pancakes($14).
The roman style bread(pictured) served simply with sea salt was super.
The brioche was warmed in a tiny toaster oven- a homey touch for such a nice spot. Perfect tiny donuts with a light custard. The malfatti is perfection with it's housemade yolky pasty filled with the slightly salty pig in a butter sage sauce with the green from the arugula. The ricotta pancakes are light, sweet, cooked perfectly and served with a splendid fruit compote. My hot chocolate with flowere creme fraiche on top $5 was a tad light though pretty. A carefully chosen wine list. Bathrooms could be better lit. Gramercy Park Hotel- 2 Lexington Avenue.
MUST GO!

The Green Table

Organic and seasonal restaurant within Chelsea Market, The Green table offers a sit-down spot within the market. With a menu focused on American classics with a full range of meat and veggie options. We dined there for Sunday brunch and it was a lovely meal. I went with the half grilled cheese sandwich served with a soup and dressed greens for $13. The soup of winter squash, carrot, coriander and bacon was tasty, not creamy, but super flavorful. Raw Vermont cheddar on Amy's bread with apple chutney was delish. The mac and cheese pictured served with dressed greens was $15, very tasty, albeit small for the price.
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Campo di Fiore

Highly rated for it's pizza, Campo di Fiore is a Park Slope restaurant which turns out Roman style food. It is a plain looking spot on a corner with slightly confused service. The pizza is by the pie. There were some left over slices from lunch and I went with one topped with an eggplant for $4. I also ordered orzotto which is a barley like pasta served with asparagus, speck and parmigianno cheese. The orzotto was a flavor fest and the slice while good was not outstanding. This spot is more local than boroughwide.
SLOWGO!

Pulino's Bar/Pizzeria

Believe what you heard about the latest feather in the Keith McNally cap. It is a stunning corner spot with a similar design to Pastis and Schiller's. The pizza here is perfect. I went for brunch and started with a bitter chocolate, orange and cranberry scone for $3. Housemade and delicious. For the main I went with the Spinaci(half) for $9. The spinaci is a pizza with a soft egg, spinach, mozzarella, marscapone and grana. The thinnish crust is pizza perfection- well cooked, only ever so slightly charred. Flavors of this pizza are super. The hot chocolate though beautiful was a little weak for my taste.
MUST GO!

Landmark Tavern

This 100 year old tavern in Hells Kitchen on 11th Ave is a landmark in so many ways. A beutiful wood laden front dining area with windows on two sides, provides a nice view. The service here is friendly and personal. The menu offers traditional Irish bar fare and it is done well. Nice raisiny bread starts the meal service. I went with a burger with cheese and asked for the garlic mayo with my fries. This unadorned burger was perfectly cooked with it's cheddar cheese perfectly melted. The fries were good bar fries and the garlic mayo a delish compliment. The shepard's pie pictured was also super rich and tasty. We finished the meal with homemade ice-cream of hazelnut and vanilla- a silky finish.
GO!

Chef 28

Can you say Spare Ribs? On a non-descript block and having not been here since it was renovated a few years ago- I was pleasantly surprised. While not cheap, lunch specials generally run under $10, but not by much. Greasy, fat wontons just like I like them start the meal. I went with the wonton soup which was good with big wontons. The ribs were a delicious surprise- meaty, carmelized, porky goodness. I will return for those ribs.
Go!

Delta Grill

While fiending for chicken fried steak and a comforting meal, I headed to Delta Grill for lunch. Long a mainstay on Ninth Ave, the fireplace and Cajun comfortable dining room are a welcoming sight on a cold day. They have lots of lunch choices all $14 and under- not the cheapest on the Avenue, but certainly well worth the price. Soup and half sandys run $8.95 which are some of the cheaper options. The $11 chicken fried steak was absolutely delicious. Crunchy fried steak smothered in onion gravey, alongside mashed potatoes with some spice from jalepenos. The veggies on the plate were cooked al dente and smacked of lip smacking butter. A lip smacking, stick to your ribs meal. All the Cajun and Creole Louisiana faves are featured here in an authentic setting.
GO!