The chicken sandwich ($10.50) is a solid lunch that's just as filing as it is healthy (minus the side of salty, delicious hand cut fries). Grilled chicken basted with basil pesto is layered with roasted peppers, romaine hearts, and roasted garlic. More

Mile End's dinner menu is not for the faint of heart. A compromise among these hard-hitting carnivorous entrées and, well, a romaine salad, is the cod fritter falafel ($11), which gives traditional falafel a run for its money. Shaped like falafel, these cod fritters have a light, crisp crust (no grease!) with a flaky fish interior. You'll wish for plenty more in your order. More

The vegetarian alternative to the house burger at Apartment 138 is one of the tastiest and most creative non-meat burgers I've encountered. More

You've already seen our New York editors' neighborhood guides, in which the SE staff—Ed, Carey, Erin, and more—chat about their favorite places to eat in their own neighborhoods. But we're branching out to other food personalities. We've heard Tom Colicchio on the West Village; Eric Ripert on Midtown West; now here's Top Chef contestant and chef-owner Dale Talde on downtown Brooklyn and Boerum Hill. More

Fast & Fresh Burrito Deli is a five-year old Mexican restaurant in Boerum Hill run by a family from Tlaxcala, Mexico. Though most of the business here is take-out and delivery, there's a slim counter to perch at, and a large backyard for languorous taco-eating for when the weather is nice. When your friends want Mile End but there's nowhere sit, cross the street and show them real satisfaction. A craving for pastrami can be easily assuaged by salted beef cecina. More

I always keep a pack Nunu's Hot Chocolate Shavings ($15) in my pantry because: 1) they satisfy a good winter hot chocolate craving; you never know when the snow and wind will hit in this crazy weather, and 2) the chocolate shavings are just as addictive when devoured plain, spooned up straight from the bag. More

We here at Serious Eats love a good loaf of bread, and Bien Cuit in Brooklyn's Boerum Hill knows how to bake them. We stopped by for a day with owner and baker Zachary Golper, spending an early Sunday morning preparing everything from baguettes to croissants. More

Boerum Hill's standby for Mexican standards, Fast and Fresh Burrito Deli is not quite in the same league as the taquerias of Sunset Park, but it's nothing to scoff at if you need a serviceable torta or a pair of tacos in a pinch. The deli's breakfast tortas ($3.50 each, $4 after 11:00 a.m.) make for an particularly good meal on the go, offering a few options for mixing and matching. More

Bedouin Tent's leg of lamb sandwich ($8) rolls just-baked pita around green letttuce, tomato, onion, and (of course) slices of roasted leg of lamb. The well-done lamb meat is powerfully seasoned, particularly heavy on black pepper and roasted garlic and nudged to a higher level of flavor by the house's tasty lemon-mint mayonaise. More

Editor's note: We write about restaurants all over the city. But sometimes, you don't want to travel for food; you want the best eats right in your neighborhood. So we're having the Serious Eats staff share where they eat around their own 'hoods. Today? Serious Eats Main editor Erin Zimmer! More