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I was drawn to the Upper West Side solely for a slice of pizza that had a whole mess of corn on it. But when I made my way past the threshold of the door, I was soon tempted by the full lineup just beyond the glass partition: squares showered with pecorino and Parmigiano, crumbles of fried chicken on another and slices of poached pear on the next. This is the decision you make when visiting Mama's Too. All pies are courtesy of owner Frank Tuttolomondo. Made the way he likes to eat pizza, the pizzas here toe the line at NYC- and Detroit-style. But regardless of how you want to label them, New Yorkers enjoy them all the same.   The vibe: The original shop in the UWS seems like a standard slice shop, one with few chairs, wooden counters for eating over and gold ceilings. Beyond the glass, you can also observe the kitchen operations, where staff roll out dough and adorn pies with a variety of creations. There is always a chance for a bit of line, but more often than not, you can be on your way in 20 minutes or less.   The food: The first decision you'll have to make is triangle or square. The triangle slices share commonalities with the New York style—it has a good charred bottom, crispy crust and folds the way it should. The square slice isn't quite Detroit either, though it does share the same shape and wonderfully caramelized exterior. No matter what configuration you choose, just know it is going to be a good one. One of their most famous slices (and for good reason) is...

According to Piper Kristensen, co-founder of Redwood Hospitality, "if you can smell it, you can distill it." And so, quite often you can find him nose deep in housemade syrups made of pine needles or clarifying mandarin juices via centrifuge. The apex of his quest to create complex, interesting drinks: Golden Ratio.  The Clinton Hill bar is all about maximum exploration of unexpected ingredients. Forget muddled strawberries; here they’re turning purple shiso, parsnip and even pine needles into syrups, aromatized waters and proprietary spirits. Much of what is used is rescued from sustainability-focused sister restaurants, sourcing tubs of Meyer lemon rinds from Place des Fêtes and leftover loaves from Laurel Bakery. What can't be spun up in-house is handed over to partner Joe McDowell, local distiller at Acid Spirits, who creates all kinds of concoctions, including bottles of olive brine and smoked grapefruit spirits. It is a highly involved endeavor, one that you'd need a thorough lesson and copious notes to fully grasp. But for the drinker at the bar, it comes off as entirely pleasing: a nastrium cocktail that tingles the nose and tongue with floral and peppery aromas, and a woody, fennel-y purple shiso-based tippler. Even better, all of the 16 or 20 or so cocktails that rotate get a soft, non-spirited counterpart, one that echoes the other as opposed to mirroring, meaning you won't see vodka swapped for Seedlip here. You may walk away with a new appreciation for...

Even way back when we met a young Kwame Onwuachi on Top Chef, his narrative was clear from the get-go: translate his Bronx upbringing and Afro-Caribbean heritage on the plate. And while his first chapters were laid in Washington, D.C., his New York homecoming is certainly one of the best reads. Since opening in 2022, Tatiana has been propelled into the conversation of New York's best restaurant, period. And as much as reviews and influencers can inflate such a thing, Onwuachi's effortless flow between modernizing time-honored Nigerian and Caribbean dishes and playful riffs on bodega bites give backing to all of the hype. The vibe: With a Lincoln Center address, Tatiana takes a page from its theatrical neighbors with a curtain of its own, as the dining room is shrouded in golden chains that cascade from the ceiling. Perfectly placed hooks on the metal give visual interest, appearing as if it is raining diamonds inside. But there are little else dramatics here, as the delicate, minimal even, interior features a few of plumes of flowers in places, handsome marble tables and leather-backed dining chairs that are actually comfortable. The most eye-catching goes to the cloud-like structures that hang up above that glow blue-ish purple or purplish-blue, depending on your gauge of color.  In contrast to such simplicity, it is the music that truly sets the vibe. The playlist here sounds like what came out of the speakers of my older sister's Toyota Corolla in the '90s and early...

The New York Botanical Garden is revered as one of Gotham’s greatest cultural institutions, and for good reason: Where else can you find 250 spectacularly verdant acres filled with over one million tropical, temperate and desert flora within mere walking distance of a major metropolitan subway stop? Founded in 1891, the NYBG was born from a civic movement with a mission to cement New York City as a cosmopolitan world capital through the creation of public libraries, museums, zoos, gardens and various other now-iconic cultural organizations. More than a century later, the NYBG operates one of the world’s largest plant research and conservation programs, state-of-the-art molecular labs, hands-on curriculum-based educational programming and incredible outdoor and indoor botanically focused art exhibitions that attract more than one million visitors annually.

I am used to being the only Black face in the room. Growing up in the suburbs of California, it was easy to count the amount of Black students who shared a classroom with me. Moving to Colorado, even easier. While I now live in New York and representation is found just a few steps out my door, my career covering food media tells the same story of division. Especially in restaurants, the hierarchy can be clear: people of color are usually relegated to service positions and it’s the white chefs who win awards.  But when you see the opposite—a dining room and kitchen staffed entirely of people of color and women, it’s enough, for me at least, to pause and take notice. This was by design at Hav & Mar. A Marcus Samuelsson restaurant, Hav & Mar tells the story of Samuelsson’s heritage, from the food it serves down to the name itself (“hav” translates to “ocean” in Swedish, while “mar” is Amharic for “honey,” the official language of Ethiopia). But more than that, Samuelsson wanted his latest to pay homage to the women who shaped his career, telling us in 2022 when the restaurant opened, “We thought of people of color and women and decided to focus on female leadership.” Making good on that promise, the kitchen and crew are entirely staffed by women and people of color. And at the helm of it chef Fariyal Abdullahi. A finalist for 2024 “Emerging Chef” from the James Beard Foundation, chef Abdullahi seems perfectly suited to the role, even sharing key similarities with Samuelsson...

A meatcentric meal is your best bet at this dimly lit Argentine steakhouse. Though starters like an off-tasting tuna carpaccio should be avoided, the main event—grass-fed beef—very nearly compensates. Strip, rib eye and skirt steaks arrive pink and marbled, accompanied by a piquant chimichurri sauce and a mound of creamy mashed potatoes or crisp fries, great for soaking up the meaty juices. Crêpes stuffed with dulce de leche make for a rich, satisfying dessert. If you find yourself in on the Upper East Side craving steak, consider this a worthwhile option—but don’t go out of your way.

If you and your significant other enjoy knocking boots with a writhing mass of sexy strangers, look no further than this club in Queens. And if you want more information on boots, here’s a fun fact: The actual first name of the Roman emperor commonly called Caligula was Gaius—caligula means "little boots" in Latin, and Caligula picked up this nickname (which he hated) when he accompanied his dad, Germanicus, during his military campaigns in Germany.

We really like eating around the city, and we're guessing you do, too. So lucky for all of us, we've packed all our favorite restaurants under one roof at the Time Out Market New York. The DUMBO location in Empire Stores has fried chicken from Jacob’s Pickles, pizza from Fornino, delicious bagels from Ess-a-bagel and more amazing eateries—all cherry-picked by us. Chow down over two floors with views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline.  RECOMMENDED: The best things do in NYC

Located at the top of Museum Mile, the Museum of the City of New York is the place to explore the city’s past, celebrate its present, and imagine its future. The institution’s entire first floor is devoted to New York at Its Core, a sprawling exhibition including two galleries taking visitors on a tour of all 400 years of New York City history and a flagship space known as the Future City Lab where visitors use interactive technology to design the NYC of the future. Rotating exhibitions throughout the rest of the Museum focus on issues ranging from the city’s history of social activism to New York’s built environment, and include objects from the Museum’s extensive Collections of vintage photographs, costumes and textiles, theater memorabilia, furniture and decorative arts, and more. Don’t miss the amazing Stettheimer Dollhouse, created during the 1920s by Carrie Stettheimer, whose artist friends re-created their masterpieces in miniature to hang on the walls. Look closely and you’ll even spy a tiny version of Marcel Duchamp’s famous Nude Descending a Staircase.

If you thought getting a table at Per Se was tough, try getting into Rao’s. On second thought, don’t. Rao’s (pronounced “RAY-ohs”) is really a private club without the dues. To eat here, you’ll need a personal invite from one of the heavy hitters who “owns” a table. These CEOs, actors, politicians, news personalities and neighborhood old-timers established a long-standing arrangement with the late, legendary owner Frankie “No” Pellegrino, and that's what ensures a seat at one of the ten tables at the Italian-American icon. In fact, reading this review is probably the closest you’ll get to Rao’s.