From left: Corton, Yerba Buena, Co.   (Photo: From left: Konstantin Sergeyev; Courtesy of Yerba Buena; Hannah Whitaker/New York Magazine)

• Adam Platt

• Corton

  239 W. Broadway, nr. White St.; 212-219-2777.

  Drew Nieporent’s polished little restaurant combines the best qualities of modern cooking with the vanishing world of haute cuisine, brings them together for one last curtain call, and makes them sing.

• Convivio

  45 Tudor City Pl., at 42nd St.; 212-599-5045

  Michael White’s stylish, gut-busting homage to the intricate, satisfying pleasures of Southern Italian cooking offers the best pastas in town, and, at $59, the best prix fixe deal.

• Momofuku Ko

  163 First Ave., nr. 10th St.; momofuku.com

  The reservation system is a little nutty, and the quiet, priestly vibe can be off-putting. But if you wish to taste the best in experimental down-home cooking, this is the place to do it.

• Robin Raisfeld

• I Sodi

  105 Christopher St., nr. Bleecker St.; 212-414-5774

  Rita Sodi channels her Tuscan childhood (and clones her mom’s lasagne) at this sleek and urbane spot, where the menu is small, simple, and utterly traditional—unlike the four inspired riffs on the Negroni.

• Beer Table

  427 Seventh Ave., nr. 14th St., Park Slope; 718-965-1196.

  The most tasteful and congenial beer bar imaginable, with an inspired selection of snacks, a fun bacon-and-waffle brunch, and a $25 Tuesday-night dinner that changes every week.

• Yerba Buena

  23 Ave. A, nr. 2nd St.; 212-529-2919

  A postage-stamp-size oasis of suave service, with great Pan-Latin snacks, a respectable fish taco, and topnotch cocktails by Pegu Club–trained barman Artemio Vasquez.

• Rob Patronite

• Co.

  230 Ninth Ave., at 24th St.; 212-243-1105

  A 21st-century pizza parlor that manages to hew to tradition while simultaneously bucking it. And where else can you get a shaved-radicchio-tallegio- and-buffalo-mozzarella pie with béchamel?

• Porchetta

  110 E. 7th St., nr. First Ave.; 212-777-2151

  Not just for the porky main attraction, as infernally good as it is, but also for the beans, the greens, and the fiendishly pork-laced potatoes. Even the cabbage soup stands alone.

• The John Dory

  85 Tenth Ave., nr. 16th St.; 212-929-494

  Who knew a nice fish restaurant could provide one-stop shopping for that old death-row-supper question? The answer: oyster pan roast, chorizo-stuffed squid, whole roasted John Dory, and steamed treacle pudding, with G.M. David Lynch picking the wines.

From the 2009 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine