Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

walk to the back and go downstairs here: http://www.niagarabar.com/

there's a small basement with a thatched bamboo bar where you can catch guys playing weird hula-fusion ukelele rock. or at least that's what happened when i was there.

I'm a big fan of Blue Point's Toasted Lager.

My girlfriend and I just moved to Sunset Park in Brooklyn, and literally across the street from us is a 24-hour taco joint called Ricos Tacos. Amazing, cheap, authentic stuff. Get the al pastor.

Damn, Slice! Here I am in NYC, arguably the pizza capital of the world, and you've got me craving the definitive pizza of my college years in North Carolina. Mmmm...spring water crust.

Oh, how I miss the bubbles.

Any barbecue from Smithfield, NC. Vinegar!

Porterhouse, Strip, Skirt, Hanger, and yes, Filet. I've reached the acceptance stage of my appreciation of "girl steak."

Oh dear sweet porky Jebus. My favorite moments would be, in no particular order: Eating Candido Lopez's roast suckling pig (the most luscious porky goodness I've ever had), tearing into my first proper pork belly at Cabrito, and any time I can get back to North Carolina for some (vinegar-based) BBQ.

Chocolate ice cream. If there could be only one.

My fondest pork memory would probably be the bacon my grandma used to fix for breakfast when I spent the night at her house. But my most revelatory pork moment? That would have to be sampling Candido Lopez's roast suckling pig. His family's been raising and rendering delicious their own baby piggies in Segovia, Spain for over 100 years. It was the most succulent, tender, crackling, seriously delicious pig I've ever had.

Virtually anything my grandmother made was my favorite dessert, and all were pretty much guaranteed to feature Cool Whip as a main ingredient. Frozen chocolate pie, cherry cheesecake pie, and the crowning achievement in Southern Lady ingenuity, the Jello cake. Spongy angel food cake layers, jabbed with a knife and soaked with liquefied cherry and lime Jello, then iced with Cool Whip and put in the refrigerator to solidify. It was spongy, it was jiggly, it was cold and creamy, and it was the perfect antidote for a steaming NC summer. And yes, I'll still eat it! I can't wait to gorge myself on all her desserts (there are always multiple options to choose from) when I head back down south for Christmas.

I still sing the praises of Batch, especially if you want a vastly superior non-Magnolia cupcake - dense, not too sweet, with really interesting flavor combinations. If you're on the UWS, they have gotten a little bit of hype, but Levain Bakery's cookies have definitely earned it.

You all either have some funky cheese or some delicious smelling goats. Say yes to goat cheese!

I have to second the vote for Shake Shack's basil custard. I've never had anything like it. The red velvet custard is also spectacular. Ronnybrook Dairy's ice cream sandwich (oatmeal cookies and vanilla ice cream - possibly the best I've ever eaten) is another outstanding treat - the combination of chewy cookie and soft rich ice cream is amazing.