Serious Eats New York - newyork.seriouseats.com

My friend took me to an underground Indian restaurant that offers a five-course meal for $10. It was delicious and ridiculously affordable. I don't even remember the name; it was somewhere near Chinatown I think? :)

Quinto Quarto on Bedford is wonderful. Both the food and the service are always spectacular, and if you stick with pasta, you can easily eat for under $20/person - with wine!

This isn't "off the radar," per se, but I've never been to Sripraphai in Queens, and I'm dying to try the best Thai food in the city. On second thought, I guess it's *kind* of off the radar, though...considering how many people are content to stay in Manhattan and eat their mediocre pad thai instead of hiking over to Queens.

I lived in NYC for 6.5 years before moving to SF. I miss El Paso Taqueria in Spanish Harlem for their guacamole and cheese enchiladas with verde sauce. I also miss Cooked Tree Creperie and Flea Market in the East Village. Most of all, though, I miss Life Cafe for it's corn bread, bloody marys and eggless rancheros!

Mike's pizza on Bedford park blvd in the Bronx. Stitll one of the best in NYC.

I live in Bay Ridge and there's a place called The Family Store on 3rd and Bay Ridge with delicious prepared Mediterranean foods and homemade yogurt. I always go there when I'm too lazy to cook dinner.

The hot oil wontons at excellent pork chop house. Thin-skinned, fresh as anything and incredibly tasty.

I would hit all the out of the way pizza joints which aren't on the map...

I think it has fallen off the radar - Spicy Mina. Really wonderful, homey Bangladeshi.

The Chinese food place (totally don't know the name) at Tiemann Place and Broadway in Morningside Heights just below Harlem. The chicken always makes me nauseous afterwards, but it's so good! Sarabeth's in Chelsea Market also has great pancakes on the weekends.

Luigi's restaurant in New Hyde Park, NY. Their fried calamari and wood oven pizzas are the best I've ever tried.

Red Bamboo on W. 4th. Go VEG!

Nature's Grill in Brooklyn......Bay Ridge

Well, if by off the radar, you mean not on anyone's "hot list", then I toss in Kinara Indian Restaurant at 473 5th Ave, Brooklyn. It is one of the best Indian restaurants in Brooklyn and certainly in Park Slope. I have brought Indian friends who only eat their mother's home cooked food versus eating out, and they all consider this worthy of repeat visits.

Spina in LES....great pasta and wine list.

Sun Chan on Bway and 104

Any bakery in Chinatown. They've all been good to me.

I haven't been to NYC in ten years. Dying to try the cookies at Levain.

Ganesh Temple Canteen, literally hidden in the basement of an Indian Temple.

I don't know if it counts, but the Morningside Heights M2M has a sequestered hot grill towards the back of the store that, hands-down, makes the best cheeseburgers in the neighborhood. That's my total favorite off-the-radar spot for quick and delicious comfort food.

manganero's on 9th ave and 36th st....ok...it isnt really off the radar

the fish market at chelsea market is the first place i ever tried sushi. it was cheap, fresh, and totally delicious. big wong on mott street consistently has the best char siu with rice. so simple and so satisfying.

I've never been to NYC, and wouldn't even know where to start.

I am visiting NY this December and not a day goes by that I don't research where to eat. It's so overwhelming. This book would be sooo helpful! I know I am definitely looking forward to hitting RUSS & DAUGHTERS and DOUGHNUT PLANT!!

I found my favorite foodie spot while visting the city last March. In Greenwich Village, my friend and I stumbled upon Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, a vintage cookbook store where you can find all the classics and a great collection of Junior League books (my favorite.)

John's Pizza - maybe not little known, but definitely the best pizza in NY.

Certainly not off the radar, but every time I've visited coming from the West Coast somehow I always miss going to Di Fara Pizza. Next time it's my first place when I land, and last before I depart NY.

I 3rd Bedouin Tent on Atlantic in Brooklyn! They always give me free honey cake as I wait for my takeout!

Not really off the chart but Bukhara Grill on 49th between 2nd and 3rd makes the best Chicken Tikka and Mint Panner I have ever tasted. I also love Red Bamboo.

Bownie, a Sri Lankan crawlspace in Flushing. It has been championed by a dedicated few, myself included, but nothing doing. It's remained off the radar. Even with the much-ballyhooed Southern Spice having opened up across the street, Bownie still doesn't get the attention it deserves.

Perhaps, though, if I win a free book in its' name, Bownie will finally be put over.
P.

Corona Heights Pork Store

Fat Cat Jazz Club

e-mo for kimbap on 32nd street

The sandwiches at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden - tasty food in a wonderful setting

There was a wonderful Cuban place near the hotel we stayed at last time, maybe around 60th on the eastside? I can't recall the name but the food was truly memorable! Can't wait to return to try some new places!

Despana makes a really good sandwich, and it's fun to shop there...

Not sure what qualifies as "off the radar" but Samfords on Broadway (right by the Broadway N train stop) in Astoria.

I've never been to Momofuku Noodle Bar.

Oms/b rice ball

As Sripraphai in Woodside Queens was already mentioned (best thai in NYC), I hark back to one of the last great vestiges of the Jewish Deli: Ben's Best in Rego Park, Queens. A tiny little place with a pastrami on rye to beat Second Avenue deli. Throw in kasha varnishkas, matzoh ball soup, half sour pickle, cole slaw, and a cream soda, you're golden.

Only been to NYC once (it's an expensive trip), but I'd say... Ippudo NY for ramen.

Gotta get back to S'Mac

Diamond Jim Brady's Restaurant on Maiden Lane in Financial Distrct. 33 years of good food, friendly service and Guinness.

just wandering through chinatown, you can never go wrong with the tiny little restaurants with less than 5 tables

Hmm - is it true that Mike's book only covers Manhattan? That's a pretty myopic view of NYC. But harshing on the book is probably not the best way to be a contest finalist...it's just that, as a native Manhattanite who then lived in Brooklyn for 13 years, would travel anywhere in the boroughs for good food, and is now living in the suburbs, I can see so clearly how lower-rent, high-traffic neighborhoods allow for the greatest off-the-beaten path dining locales. That said...

Manhattan: I have to agree with the person who suggested Banh Mi So 1, which I believe is now Saigon Banh Mi on Broome Street. My first Banh Mi was a revelation: rice flour made the baguette so crisp, light and soft, and the combination of sweet barbecued pork, fresh cilantro, pickled carrot and hot sauce made my mouth sing for joy. For $3.95, it's one of the best culinary experiences a person can have in NY.

A second off-the-beaten path choice would be Nyonya in Chinatown, for Malaysian food. There is an item on the dessert list called Chendol that you're really supposed to order with your meal - it's shaved ice, red beans and little green wiggles of rice flour covered with a combination of coconut milk and condensed milk, and it's entirely addictive, especially as a foil to the whole snapper in Thai chili sauce - a huge, whole, messy fried fish with a sauce you want to sop up with anything: rice, french bread, you name it. Enjoy!

De Mole in Sunnyside, Queens.

Kamui Den on Ave A between 12th and 13 --Its a super casual and unassuming Japanese restaurant with great ultra-fresh food, presented beautifully, yet in a casual atmosphere with mismatched chairs and tables and spare, bohemian charm. Love this spot.

i love kashkaval in hell's kitchen! yummm.

Ali Baba in Murray HIll

Lan Cafe Vegetarian Vietnamese@ 342 E 6th St.

I love taking the train in from central NJ and finding new cheap places to eat. I have lists and lists of places I love and places I'm dying to try. My first favorite, though, was Alice's Tea Cup - so nice to have afternoon tea without taking out a loan! And such a nice atmosphere - bright colors, good food and just the right about of irreverance.

HOT wings at Wing Wagon, Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn

Elora's Restaurant, 272 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn. The Carnitas are so delicious and the fried plantains are perfect. Hearty and homey!

I want to try Donut Plant

Holy cow, I love the web. http://www.yelp.com/biz/otafuku-new-york But with that many comments, I guess while it is still a hole in the wall it is no longer off the radar.

Any of the many great stalls in Flushing's Golden Shopping mall food court. Hmm, lamb burgers.

Gogo Curry
Unarguably smack dab in the middle of a shithole neighborhood, but even so, this is the best Japanese curry I've had outside of Japan. I Love the crazed baseball obsession that permeates the interior almost as much as the curry. Almost.

cafe zaiya tempura onigiri

Zaragoza Deli on 13th street and Avenue A. A tiny deli run by a couple from Puebla that make delicious tacos/ burritos/tamales and have a rotating assortment of meats to choose from. Grab an ice cold Modelo from the fridge, grab a table in the back (only 4) and take in a soccer game on TV or the (mostly) latin sounds streaming from the digital jukebox, and enjoy!

I want to try a real New York bagel!! And chicken and waffles in Harlem. I would love to learn all of the cool off the beaten path spots. My grandfather grew up in NYC, but moved to Texas and growing up I was never able to go. I'm now in Boston, so I'm hoping sometime soon I can finally make the trek and learn more about the city he grew up in!

Hemsin Bakery and Restaurant in Queens, 3911 Queens Blvd
Sunnyside, NY 11104-4305 (718) 482-7998. I'm in Hoboken, but I will use any excuse to go there.

It's not off the radar, but running into Mike at Russ & Daughter's the day before New Year Eve and waiting on line with him just like everybody else, made my day and year. I love him and his show.

Kasadela on 11&C has killer chicken wings--Japanese style.

I love Mike's show on PBS and wish him all the best!

Ippudo in Lower East Side.

la rosita grocery & taqueria in hell's kitchen

Fatty's Cafe in Astoria - it's cheap, a nice date spot, and it has great food.

I love going to any of the Korean spots just south of Macy's at 34th.

any of the great pizza places or macaroon bakeries...

taco truck @ wyckoff ave and gates ave, brooklyn

Off the radar, eh? I'd have to throw in Leo's Bagels in Hanover Square in the Financial District. Big Booty Bread Co. on 23rd Street between 7th & 8th Aves. for the Tres Leches cake and the Red Velvet cupcakes. The Lobels sandwich cart (with their own butcher!) at Yankee Stadium for the Prime Beef sandwich on an onion roll. Lexington Candy Shop on the corner of Lex. and 83rd Street for a chocolate egg cream done right. Camine's Italian Seafood Restaurant on Beekman Street near the old Fulton Fish Market. 106 years old and still cranking out great red sauce (lasagna, lobster fra diavolo, zuppa di pesce, etc...)

Lan in the East Village on 3rd Ave. They actually just closed for a "remodel"... tears.

I would love to try Caracas Arepas!

Utopia Bagels in Queens- their bialys are SO much better than Kossar's.

I really want to try DiFara's pizza in Brooklyn.

Royal Tangra Masala in Queens

I don't know any off the radar places as I only visit NYC 2-3 times per year, but I love Penelope Cafe for breakfast. Great food, and I really enjoyed eating breakfast at the bar.

Never been to NYC but subscribe to Time Out New York and New York magazine mainly to learn about living there ESPECIALLY the food! It seems to me the vendors at the park in Red Hook would be the first place I'd hit.

I second the Malaysian place on Doyers St.

I've lived in Macedonia, Sierra Leone and now the Netherlands. None of them do good mexican food ! I would love to visit New York City to eat proper mexican, but also bagels and bahn mi.

I really enjoy mamoun's falafel by Washington Square Park. It is so flavorful and the perfect amount of food.