When they go out for Chinese, Upper West Siders are used to taking unnecessary culinary risks, but Ruby Foo's dramatically improves the odds.

Just when the city seems about to drown in a sea of mediocre Indian food, along comes Tabla -- with its two tiers and two complete menus -- to turn the tide.

It's the attention to detail -- in its curry nage, in its wine list, in its air-conditioning duct -- that makes Scott Bryan's Veritas such an instant success.

The location is loaded with bad karma, but Calle Ocho still beats the odds -- further proof that the Upper West Side isn't the diner's nightmare it used to be.

There are two kinds of food magnates today: repeat offenders who recycle one idea ad nauseam, and risk-hungry imagineers who never travel the same road twice.

The menu at L-Ray sounds old, but chef Aaron Sanchez has got some new mojo working.

If chef-owner Nobu Matsuhisa opened Next Door Nobu to relieve the crush at the neighboring Nobu, it ain't working; now both are nearly impossible to get into.

It's a miracle: Though Mercer Kitchen is his fourth new restaurant in seven years, master chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten still hasn't repeated himself once.

Tavern on the Green is the mother of all tourist restaurants, but after two decades dazzling out-of-towners, it pines for hometown cred.