Helen Rosner

La Boca Is All Smoke, No Fire

Our food critic advises a reader on where to find out-of-town restaurant recommendations, and answers another about a salad-dressing shortcut.

At the Williamsburg restaurant Johnny’s, a family of rotisserie-chicken veterans presents chifa outside the takeout formula.

Chateau Royale, from the team behind Libertine, pulls out all of the Gallic stops without, for the most part, feeling ostentatious or conceited.

Bartolo asks something of you, in the way that a good Spanish dining room does.

Mommy Pai’s serves high-octane flavors out of a fast-casual takeout window.

I Cavallini sits right across the street from its sibling establishment, but charts a course of its own.

Bong, in Crown Heights, combines chaotic party energy with thrillingly funky cooking.

The Waldorf-Astoria’s Fresh Bid for Dining Relevance

A new wave of excellent spots, such as Santo Taco and Tacos 1986, has transformed the landscape.