The menu at this Italian restaurant is loaded with hits: mafalda ribbons made one-by-one in the kitchen, fresh-pressed pizzelle that forms the cannolis you’re going to want for dessert, and a linguini nero that has its own following of regulars who come weekly for a fix of the black ink pasta with clams in a garlic, chile, and tomato infusion. The front room has a good buzz and includes the restaurant’s bar and charcuterie case, but if you have a larger group, stretch out in the back room.

Walter’s has been an institution for over 100 years, and if you’ve never waited in line for hot dogs from a roadside pagoda, this is your chance. They’re made in-house with a combination of pork, beef, and veal, then split, grilled, and served on a toasted bun. Get a single or double dog, and show your condiment style by ordering either “with” or “without” Walter’s own mustard blend. The hardest choice you’ll have to make is between four fried potato options (we’re partial to the curly fries).

This new French spot in a rebuilt farmhouse bordering Connecticut is a good place to watch chefs stir mushrooms into risotto just so, and maybe have a Martha Stewart sighting. Dishes walk the fine line of rich ingredients and moderate-sized plates that’ll leave you satisfied but not stuffed, though if you want splurge in both price and portion, there’s a grilled wagyu with bone marrow for two that you’ll see on tables across the dining room.

Anyone who’s driven up 95 has undoubtedly noticed the evolution of high-rise developments dotting downtown New Rochelle, which has brought an influx of young professionals and new restaurants along with them. And while we love longtime favorites like Alvin & Friends, there’s nothing wrong with the distressed brick wall featuring carefully placed wine bottles at Town House. Lean into the starters and sides, where you’ll find things like burrata or pan con tomate that don’t taste as expected.

Odo has immaculate dinner party vibes. The restaurant glows from the street, there’s a happy buzz in the dining room, and the staff welcomes you like an old friend who stopped by and happened to be hungry. The kitchen takes the food seriously—start with the scarpetta before moving on to the gnocchi—but the Abruzzese-focused Italian menu has a playful sense of humor. If you’re coming for Sunday dinner, expect a family-style, rotating prix-fixe menu that’ll likely lean toward red-sauce classics.

We can’t think of a more “farm-to-table” restaurant than Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where you drive past your dinner on the way to eating it. A meal at Stone Barns involves culinary education, offering thought-provoking food like zucchini sushi and badger flame beets, served by people who likely helped put it into or take it out of the ground. For the full tasting menu experience, you need to prepay and book about a month in advance—expect to spend around $1,000 for a party of two, before drinks.

There’s a lot going on at Goosefeather, a Hong Kong-style Cantonese barbeque and noodle place set in a manor house on an estate in Tarrytown. There are multiple dining rooms with art deco ceilings and chandeliers, an outdoor seating area, and a swanky bar room. It’s the kind of spot that rewards repeat visits, and you can attack the menu in a few ways: load up on vegetables and dim sum, focus on noodles and rice dishes with the barbecued meats, or stop by the bar for cocktails and small bites.

The best wings in Westchester are at Candlelight Inn, a roadside bar in Scarsdale. It’s nothing fancy, cash-only, always busy, and you may have to put your name on a clipboard and wait for a table. But the magic of Candlelight comes from keeping it simple: a perfectly balanced crispy-on-the-outside, juicy-on-the-inside wing nirvana accompanied by a plethora of great sauce options, where the only break from the standard playbook is that the wings are served attached to the drums.

Family-operated since 1990, Mariachi Mexico shares frontage with a fish store on Main Street in Armonk, and the dining room may feel a little sleepy when you first sit down. But the sensory fireworks start once the food hits the table, thanks to their fanatical devotion to local sourcing and seasonal ingredients. Salads burst with edible flowers, and commonplace dishes like enchiladas or black bean soup taste like revelations, with details like nuanced salsas and hand-pressed nixtamalized masa.

Chinese restaurant O Mandarin is perfect for a Sunday night family dinner, a group celebration, or even just some comfort food to-go if you don’t want to wait out the no-reservations policy. Focus on the signature dishes like wild pepper shrimp and crispy rice, or the spicy Mandarin pork shank if you can handle the heat, and keep in mind that the scallion bubble pancake is on every table for a reason. Or, make a game-time decision to go big with the peking duck