Former Top Chef contestant Jeff McInnis has brought his classic Southern cuisine to the East Village. Featuring conscientiously sourced. farm-fresh ingredients that harken to flavors and traditions of the rural South, Root & Bone has a down-home feel and a wealth of signature sandwiches—Avenues A through D, for instance, of which the first is the most compelling: a fried chicken and waffle sandwich with whiskey maple syrup—and the sort of chicken selections you'd expect besides. There are small plates, like a blue crab Waldorf salad and "drunken" deviled eggs, as well as regular entrees, including a brain-busting braised short rib meatloaf, served with a parsnip root mash and tomato ketchup jam, and a shrimp and grits with a Brooklyn Lager jus.

Chef Chris Cipollone brings his eclectic eye to an Italian- and Korean-influenced menu at Piora in the West Village.

Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken is all about simple, flavorful, feel good eating. Their approach to fried chicken is simple — it’s all about flavor, using just a few key ingredients, including their unique spice blend that they've perfected over the past 20 or so years. In the kitchen, they like to keep the spotlight on the chicken; whether that be with their three honeys which are the perfect complement to a chicken dinner, or their range of salads, sandwiches and chicken burgers.

Adoro Lei is a sophisticated, yet casual Italian American Pizza restaurant and lounge that places a premium on impeccable customer service and good times. They serve Neapolitan Pizza, Cocktails, Panini's, Salads, and much much more.

Born from the original article—the first PJ's opened in 1884, making it one of New York City's oldest bars—every location of PJ Clarke's offers the same old school New York vibe, that reclaimed Prohibition era feel, and the same innovative take on what would normally be "average pub fare." Crisp parmesan tater tots, for example, or braised short rib spring rolls aren't anything you'll find on a standard bar menu, and once you've had them, you'll wish they were available everywhere. The soups and salads are solid, if uninventive, and every one of their sandwiches is a hearty, flavorful paean to the classics, including the altogether stunning hamburger au poivre. You cannot go wrong with the King George's shepherd's pie or the cast iron-baked macaroni and cheese (with, of course, bacon), and the dry-aged skirt steak frites is about as reliable and perfect a pub steak as you're going to get in the neighborhood!

Le Midi's Tina Vaughn and chef Chip Smith bring uncomplicated, old school French cuisine to the Upper East Side.