Authentic Australian dishes like emu and kangaroo are rare even in Sydney these days -- who would ever expect to find them on Mulberry Street?

Ouest
2315 Broadway, at 84th Street (212-580-8700).

Riding its rep as the power venue of the moment, Patroon was the last place you'd go just for the food, until now; meanwhile, Luma gets an unforeseen lift.

Every city neighborhood deserves a hangout as convivial and inviting as NoHo's Five Points -- but please don't tell everyone and ruin it, okay?

The chef and staff at jazzy 27 Standard are showing some real chops.

Le Cirque 2000
455 Madison Avenue, near 50th Street; 212-303-7788

Don’t take out your anti-French sentiment on the city’s chefs and restaurateurs. You aren’t making a political statement; you’re weaseling out of a true New York pleasure.

Shelly Fireman, of Brooklyn Diner fame, brings Sheepshead Bay to the Upper East Side.

At Didier Virot's vibrant new outpost on the Upper Ouest Side, dishes are artfully conceived to challenge the senses -- even if sometimes our senses just aren't up to the task.

Seeking inspiration in the past is fine, but Larry Forgione is starting to seem stuck there.