6 Best Restaurants in New York City, New York

Brancaccio's Food Shop

$ Fodor's choice
In need of picnic supplies, lunch, or a take-home meal? Owner Joe Brancaccio has been feeding the neighborhood with his daily-changing menu of sandwiches, rotisserie chicken, and prepared pastas and vegetables since 2010, and the shop just keeps getting busier. There are also house-baked croissants (plain, chocolate, or cheese), imported Italian sodas, and hard-to-find Mexican Coca-Cola (made with cane sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup).

Katz's Delicatessen

$$ | Lower East Side Fodor's choice

Everything and nothing has changed at Katz's since it first opened in 1888, when the neighborhood was dominated by Jewish immigrants: lines still form for the giant, hand-carved corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, soul-warming soups, juicy hot dogs, and crisp half-sour pickles. You get a ticket when you walk in and then get it punched at the various stations where you pick up your food; don't lose it, or you'll have to pay the lost-ticket fee.

Peck's

$ Fodor's choice
Theo Peck's eponymous gourmet shop descends from New York culinary royalty: Peck cut his teeth as a chef at Michelin-starred restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and his great-grandfather co-owned Ratner's kosher dairy, once a Lower East Side institution. The narrow store sells deli meats and cheeses, an impressive selection of beer, and goods from Brooklyn purveyors. The takeout counter serves La Colombe coffee, sandwiches, and prepared foods like house-made hummus, rotisserie chickens, and pastries. In warm weather, take yours to the picnic tables on the sunny back patio.

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Defonte's

$ | Red Hook
The outrageously good heroes at Defonte's Sandwich Shop, overstuffed with cured meats, mozzarella, chicken parm, or fried eggplant, have made this storefront a Brooklyn institution. And after almost a century in business, they've certainly had time to perfect their recipes. The shop is delightfully old-school, with framed newspaper clippings and head shots of Sinatra and other celebrities on the walls. Seating is limited.
Sandwiches Breakfast Lunch $
379 Columbia St., Brooklyn, New York, 11231, USA
718-625--8052
Known For
  • old-school atmosphere
  • awesome sandwiches
  • just a few seats
Restaurants Details
Rate Includes: No dinner, closed Sun.

Mile End

$$ | Boerum Hill
Smoked meat in the form of brisket, turkey, chicken, and duck plays a starring role at this Montréal-style Jewish deli-restaurant that's nearly always full. The brisket finds its way into the signature smoked meat sandwich, the breakfast hash, and even poutine—french fries blanketed with gravy and cheese curds. The sizable menu also includes matzo ball soup, chicken livers, a Reuben, and other deli delights. The bagels are made the Montréal way, boiled before being baked in a wood-fired oven. The butcher-block tables at which diners sit are as sturdy as the cuisine.

Shelsky's of Brooklyn

$ | Cobble Hill

Owner Peter Shelsky pays homage to the traditional Lower East Side deli by stocking the classics—bagels, babka, and the like—but often with a nouveau-Brooklyn twist. Gravlax, Nova, and smoked salmon, for example, share space in the refrigerator with house-cured Jamaican jerk salmon, Mexican achiote salmon, and other deli delectables like pickled herring, whitefish salad, knishes, and prepared salads. You can purchase by the pound or opt for one of the excellent made-to-order sandwiches. For an amusing 1990s fashion flashback, check out Shelsky's bar mitzvah photo album on the ordering counter.