Pic courtesy of Fatty Crab

No holding back on the spice in this kitchen: Fatty Crab owner Zak Pelaccio shows his love for Southeast Asian cuisine, mainly Malaysian, by unleashing its thrillingly ferocious flavors—especially the spicy ones–in dishes like the chili crab and the braised short ribs with kaffir lime, coconut, and chili. Milder choices, like crispy pork with watermelon pickle, help cool the burn, as do the beers—which range from cans of Porkslap and PBR to Asian brews like Tiger and Hitachino. In a neighborhood often guilty of overly timid restaurants, Fatty Crab (whose original branch is on Hudson St. in the West Village) gets points for bringing the noise and funk to a clamorous, even sexy space on upper Broadway.

Fatty Crab Uptown: 2170 Broadway at 77th St.; (212) 496-2722. Fatty Crab Downtown: 643 Hudson St. between Horatio & Gansevoort Sts.; (212) 352-3590.

Prices/Features: CHP, VGT, GRP     (See Welcome to Salmaland for key to letter abbreviations.)

Pic courtesy of Dinosaur BBQ

The original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is in Syracuse, but little junior here in Manhattan has done just fine on its own—despite its edge-of-town spot on the far west side of Harlem near the Hudson. On weekends enormous crowds pack into the cavernous space, and you’ll ask yourself why you’re fighting a mob just for some slabs of meat. Until you try the meat. The spice-rubbed, slow-smoked pork ribs are juicy and generous—some of NYC’s best—and the combo-plate options let you play around with all sorts of BBQ configurations. So if the brisket is dry one night, you can turn your attention to the sausage, and the chargrilled chicken, and the pulled pork—and mop the juices up with the soppingly moist, honeyed cornbread.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. 646 W. 131st St. at 12th Ave.; (212) 694-1777.

Prices/Features: MOD, GRP, DRNK     (See Welcome to Salmaland for key to letter abbreviations.)

Pic courtesy of Marea

If a full-on splurge at the luxe-seafood den Marea will do in what’s left of your bank account, stop in for a snack at the crudo bar, which shows off chef Michael White’s Italian spins on sushi. The crudo dishes here are some of the most spectacular taste sensations in the city. The silky raw fish, cut like sushi or sashimi, comes dressed with spicy, sweet, or acidic flavors, as in the geoduck clam with chilies and chive blossoms or the fluke with lemon thyme and basil oil. You can also order crudo in the main dining room—along with White’s masterful seafood pastas and other marine concoctions. Note: The front room is open all afternoon—from lunch straight through to dinner—for off-hour seafood cravings.

Marea. 240 Central Park South between Broadway and Seventh Ave; (212) 582-5100.

Prices/Features: UPSC, VGT     (See Welcome to Salmaland for key to letter abbreviations.)

Pic courtesy of Burger Joint

Cheap, low-maintenance places to meet near Columbus Circle are virtually nonexistent. So is Burger Joint: It’s small, and it barely takes up any space in the vast lobby of the Parker Meridien Hotel, where it’s hidden behind a curtain. The trappings are a bit gimmicky, true, but the gimmick works, in that it consists mainly of no-fuss burgers, perfectly cooked and served on a basic white bun with the usual fixings if you want them (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles)—and with pretty much nothing else on the menu beyond fries and pitchers of beer. It’s easy to keep the tab in the single-digits here. And although you have to keep a sharp eye out for an emptying booth or a smattering of free stools to sit on, this is a reliably headache-free, likable place to meet friends for a bite and a beer.

Burger Joint. Le Parker Meridien Hotel, 118 W. 57th St. between Sixth and Seventh Aves.; (212) 245-5000.

Prices/Features: CHP     (See Welcome to Salmaland for key to letter abbreviations.)

Pic courtesy of Telepan

Telepan, a delicious little seasonal-American restaurant near Columbus Circle, helped rescue this formerly restaurant-challenged neighborhood from perpetual humiliation when it opened four short years ago. Telepan’s menu telepathically taps into basic cravings and creates new ones, with dishes like smoked corn with grits souffle and corn agnolotti, or house-smoked trout with oniony sour cream. Lunch is a joyful surprise here too, with more locals than suits in attendance—although the restaurant could no doubt benefit from a few more execs expensing wine-soaked lunches these days.

Telepan. 72 W. 69th St. between Columbus Ave. and Central Park West; (212) 580-4300.

Prices/Features: MOD, VGT     (See Welcome to Salmaland for key to letter abbreviations.)