New York's restaurant scene is genuinely world-class, and the diversity of cuisines available in any single neighborhood is unlike anywhere else. Chinatown for hand-pulled noodles and roast duck, the East Village for cheap Japanese and Ukrainian diners, the Upper West Side for old-school Italian, Flushing for the best Chinese food outside China. You can eat extraordinarily well here at every price point.
Reservations are essential for anything popular — book ahead for dinner, or be prepared to eat at 5:30pm or 10:30pm. Most places in New York are genuinely good; the challenge is having too many choices.