Marc Forgione is the real deal. He's got the pedigree: he started working in professional kitchens alongside his father, esteemed chef Larry Forgione, at age 16. He's got the praise: at 29, his TriBeCa restaurant Marc Forgione was awarded two stars by The New York Times, and he's the youngest American-born chef and owner to receive a Michelin star in two consecutive years. Marc also knows his neighborhood—he doesn't discriminate between the old-line TriBeCa watering holes and the hottest new restaurants, as long as they're good. And he gives back to the area where he works by participating in the Taste of TriBeCa, a culinary festival whose proceeds go to arts and enrichment programs at local public schools PS 150 and PS 234. Marc was kind enough to take some time out of his jam-packed schedule (he's got his hands full opening a gigantic new oceanfront steakhouse, Atlantic Cut, in Atlantic City's Revel Casino) to share his own TriBeCa tastes with us. More

Cutting a tattooed figure as a judge on "Chopped" and in the neighborhood restaurants he owns and cooks in (last year's Beauty & Essex and the celebrity-studded Stanton Social), Chris Santos is something of a Lower East Side legend. When he's not running two busy kitchens, he's rocking out in the neighborhood, grabbing late night gyros to fuel an '80s dance party or scarfing down tacos at the Essex Street Market. Read on for Chris's greatest hits of the LES. More

Pastry chef Karen DeMasco is living the sweet life. By day, she's in the kitchen at Locanda Verde alongside fellow Ohioan Andrew Carmellini, where she's whipping up seemingly simple yet inventively flavored desserts like her signature maple budino. When she goes home (right next door to the new Nets stadium), she's taking her husband and two daughters out for pizza, ice cream, or burgers and hot dogs—without ever having to leave the neighborhood. Read on for Karen's droolworthy tour of Prospect Heights. More

Michael Lomonaco is a New York chef of the old-school breed, with the Upper East Side address to prove it. His go-to neighborhood spots pay homage to the classics as well as the brand spanking new, both the highbrow and the low, for a melting pot of choices that reflect a true New Yorker's palate. More

In 2009, as banks began to make way for media firms and post-graduate apartment complexes, Shaun Hergatt moved in and put the FiDi on the food map. Read on for Shaun's favorite spots to eat and drink in the Financial District. More

When Michael Laiskonis moved to New York eight years ago to take his place as Le Bernadin's pastry chef, he thought his Upper East Side digs would be temporary. He's been in the same place ever since, but he recently announced that he'll be leaving Eric Ripert's side to take a as creative director at the Institute of Culinary Education, where he'll teach and work on his first book. The past two months allowed him some time off to indulge at some of his favorite neighborhood spots, and from the looks of it, he'll be staying put for a while. 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

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 former Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni on the Upper West Side. More

A New Yorker since crossing the Atlantic over 20 years ago, Eric Ripert has established himself as one of the top French chefs in the United States—and the world. At the age of 29, he earned a four-star rating from the New York Times in his first year as executive chef of Le Bernadin. He soon became a part-owner of the restaurant, where he has received four James Beard Awards and three Michelin stars, three years in a row. Ripert is also the Chair of City Harvest's Food Council, and somehow still finds time to enjoy a good bowl of ramen close to home, in Midtown Manhattan. 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'll chat with a different food celeb every week, bringing you their favorite everyday eats. First up? Tom Colicchio on the West Village. More