6 Best Restaurants in New York City, New York

Famous for their southern-style comfort food, Amy Ruth’s is all about “cooking with love” with shareable plates and heaping portions. The original owner (Carl S. Redding) learned to cook at his grandmother’s side during the summer months in Alabama, and he opened the Harlem restaurant on Mother’s Day in 1998. Chef Jannette Robinson has been serving up their famous chicken and waffles, cheesy grits, and fried fish ever since, keeping with the tradition of Amy Ruth Moore Bass.

"Born, bred and buttered in Harlem" is how founder Melba Wilson describes herself. After working at New York City mainstays like Rosa Mexicano and the legendary Sylvia's, she decided to venture out on her own, opening Melba's in 2005. Here, she doesn't serve appetizers, but rather "comfortizers," like spring rolls stuffed with rice, black eyed peas, collard greens, and cheddar cheese. The portions tend to be large enough to almost spill over the edge of the plate, so feel free to go straight for entrées like barbecue turkey meat loaf, country-fried catfish, or the food-coma-inducing fried chicken and eggnog waffles with strawberry butter and maple syrup.

This acclaimed corner restaurant takes its name seriously, specializing in sweet dessert pies—apple, pumpkin, and banana cream, to name a few—and the fried chicken thighs intended to eat before them. Amid vintage decor, diners enjoy Southern-style meals that include catfish, burgers, pulled pork, and, of course, fried chicken (the other parts, too). Sides and breakfast items also abide by the Southern-inspired fare, including biscuits and grits.

A Harlem mainstay, Sylvia's has been serving soul-food favorites like smothered chicken, barbecue ribs, collard greens, and mashed potatoes to a dedicated crowd of locals, tourists, and college students since 1962. Owner Sylvia Woods may have passed on in 2012, but her restaurant and signature sauces, jarred and sold online and in the restaurant, are more popular than ever. Some say it's overly touristy—as the busloads attest—but it's still worth a visit. For the ultimate experience, come for Sunday gospel brunch; singing and eating were never a more delicious combination.