The name doesn’t lie: You will find meatballs at the Meatball Shop—loads of them. Beef, spicy pork, chicken, and even a vegetable version. You pick a meatball, you pick a sauce (tomato, or a creamy Parmesan, or spicy beef, or mushroom gravy), and provolone or mozzarella, and it’s all piled onto a white or wheat hero. You can also go with a meatball-slider version, or a heftier “Meatball Smash” sandwich on a brioche bun. [...]

Kuma Inn somehow avoids the rampant douchebaggery (sorry, overused word but most appropriate here) of the surrounding restaurants and bars on Ludlow, Orchard, Stanton, and Rivington. Must have something to do with its almost-invisible perch one level up from the street. Walk up a narrow stairway to the second floor and you’ll find a buzzing room—and, alas, a wait on weekends. Filipino-American chef and owner King Phojanakong’s menu has an appealing mix of spicy-meaty Asian-inspired dishes (like sauteed Chinese sausage with [...]

The neon-lit Chinese spot Grand Sichuan, along the chaotic Bowery-Canal nexus, is not a first-date spot by any stretch—unless you want to prove your cheapness, or, well, your impeccable taste in Sichuan. Also, [...]

Within weeks of opening, Cheeky already looked like a neighborhood fixture. It’s cramped and ever-so-slightly trashed on the inside—very New Orleans, and deeply welcome if you have a thing for Nola— but the kitchen counter is immaculate. And so are the heavenly po’boys, stuffed with fried oysters or fried shrimp or fried chicken (sense a theme?) or braised short ribs [...]

Stop by Xian Fine Foods for the hand-pulled lamb noodles. Stay for the “spicy and tingly” lamb-face salad, the stewed pork “burger”, the liang pi “cold skin” noodles with sesame sauce and chili oil. Amazing what this tiny little storefront noodle stand can do, from pulling its own thick, stretchy, lusciously sopping noodles right at the counter, to frying up [...]

At a friend’s awesome wedding in Missouri last summer, the designated hotel happened to be hosting a Tiny Treasures convention. What are Tiny Treasures? Very creepy little dolls that are meant to look like real babies; and terrifyingly, they do. So what does this have to do with the Allen Street Italian restaurant Sorella? Nothing, except that it too is a tiny treasure; but it’s not creepy or terrifying. It’s just cool. And delicious, and [...]