Burger Joint @ Le Parker Meridien - Burgers - $

Website (Midtown)

This place is soooo good! It's a tiny hole-in-the-wall hidden behind a heavy drape in the lobby of Le Parker Meridien. You wouldn't expect it at all. Amidst the upscale hotel lobby decor, this place totally doesn't fit in-- probably why it's hidden behind such a heavy drape. It looks like the kind of "joint" you'd find in the Village. But its quality is exactly why it's remained. The line is consistently long, and the place is consistently packed, so have some patience. The burger is well worth the wait and the crowd. This would be up there on my top 10 burgers in the city... if I had a top 10 burgers in the city, list!

- Cheeseburger
- Fries



$14 Burger-Fries-Soda

Mobay - Jamaican - $$

Website (Harlem)

This cute little place is so great. I met my girlfriend and my gorgeous godson (almost 1 year old!!) for lunch on a Saturday here. It was pretty crowded, and there was only 1 waiter on the floor, so service was slow... but we were not in any kind of rush.

Everything was pretty good and I would definitely recommend this place. It must be listed in NYC Guidebooks because there were a few tourists there, mixed in with the locals. I loved the atmosphere. I'll definitely come back.

- Cornbread
(They start you off with complimentary cornbread muffins that have just come out of the oven. They're warm and sweet and crispy and are topped with this pineapple buttercream, it is sooooo good!)

- BBQ Wings
(They had run out of the jerk chicken wings by the time we got there, and the BBQ wings were not that great. They tasted like a bottle of Kraft BBQ sauce, so not special.)
- Chicken Roti
(This was huge!!! And my friend loved every bite. I'll probably try this one next time.)

- Oxtail Stew
(The oxtail was perfectly cooked, but honestly, the sauce was a little too salty for my taste, and made it hard for me to enjoy. I did get the potato salad as one of my sides, and it was the best potato salad I've ever had. I'd go back just for a plate of that! I also got the sweet plantains and they were so delicious, even the baby kept asking for more!)



All together, without drinks, this cost us about $25pp.

Cabana Nuevo Latino - Cuban - $$

Website (South Street Seaport)

South Street Seaport is one of those cheesy, tourist-trap areas that I still hold near and dear to my heart. My parents used to take me there almost every other weekend growing up. It's still a great place to go when the weather is perfect and you want to sit outside and have a nice meal with the sun and breeze flowing through your hair. A lot of the places at SSS are actually terrible, so I was really surprised at how good Cabana Nuevo Latino was!

They have another location in the city, but I can't imagine that the other setting would be near as complimentary to the food as this one. The food is great quality, full of flavor and reasonably priced. I'll definitely come back here.

- Ceviche
(This wasn't very good. It was not fresh at all, and plain and simple- ceviche can NOT, not be fresh)
- Yuca Fritas
(Nice and crispy, and the mojo dipping sauce was delicious)

- Pollo con Camarones
(The presentation on this was really nice, and every bite was an "Mmm this is so good" bite. Really, so delicious and garlic-y. The chicken breast was so tender and the tostones were nice and crispy.)

- Mojitos
(Lots and lots of mojitos)

We shared all the above- mentioned dishes, it came out to about $30pp.