Restaurants in Long Island City

Gothic chandeliers and soaring pine columns lend The Ainsworth's cavernous dining room the same rustic elegance at play in its food. Its menus feature twists on classic comfort dishes, such as barbecue-pulled-pork sliders and sesame-crusted yellowfin tuna with a soy-honey glaze—food that Time Out New York called "a notch above the average pub's." According to UrbanDaddy, 40 flat-screen high-definition TVs gleam from ornately papered walls or from fixtures above plush leather booths, broadcasting football games in the fall, basketball matches in the spring, and freezer-preserved snowball fights in the summer. The restaurant's lounge-like atmosphere finds tasty complement in craft brews and specialty cocktails, which can be enjoyed until the wee hours seven days a week.

When people need insight about their world, they climb mountains to consult with the gurus who live atop the peaks. If they want insight about beer, they need only climb the wrought-iron stairs that lead up to Amity Hall’s bar. Every bartender boasts the title of Cicerone–certified beer server, tested to prove their expertise and knowledge of all forms of beer. They pull the taps on rotating drafts and pop the top on bottled beers to pair every guest with their perfect match. To complement their brews, diners pick plates from a menu that includes flatbread pizzas and stuffed burgers that can hide chipotle peppers, aged gouda, or your house keys. Wooden booths and distressed painted brick flank both levels of Amity Hall. Upstairs, a 20-foot high-definition TV displays sporting events, whereas DJs spin music on weekend nights downstairs.

Healthalicious' menu, wrought from ingredients free of additives and preservatives, parades colorful sprays of veggies into domiciles. Along with vegan and vegetarian options, burgers insulate whole-wheat buns with lean sirloin and steaks flaunt hand-trimmed cuts. To combat postgym hunger, plates named for fitness goals call upon fillets of chicken and seared tilapia crowned with inventive sauces such as lemon-caper dressing. To allow diners to enjoy wholesome dinners without stealing scarecrows' identities, the eatery's blenders buzz happily as they forge smoothies from fistfuls of fresh fruit.

Murray Hill Pita Grill's delivery crew rushes through the streets, leaving in its wake warm olfactory hints at the garlic, saffron, and chickpeas that characterize many Greek and Middle Eastern dishes. An online ordering system lists a selection of made-to-order fare, such as hummus, lentil soup, and dolmas, which enclose a variety of fillings in marinated grape leaves. The shop's namesake pita pockets fill with meats and don swirls of yogurt sauce, traditionally used by the ancient Greeks to identify the loser of a food fight. Smoothies, wrought from fruit and fat-free yogurts and sweetened with agave nectar, wash away crumbs.

Founded by popular musical duo Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar infuses elegant meals with soulful tunes five nights per week. Inside the converted brownstone building, a small stage stands as the focal point of the intimate dining room, where rustic décor, exposed timber ceiling beams, and statues assembled from Lincoln Logs evoke images of an old country village. The glow of candlelight illuminates menus stocked with fried entrees and decadent desserts, and talented musicians inflate evening airs with R & B grooves, exotic Caribbean melodies, and traditional African rhythms. Trips to the Sugar Bar may also include celebrity sightings, as stars such as Bruce Willis, Stevie Wonder, and Eddie Murphy have previously graced the restaurant's booths and painstakingly autographed the silverware.

Mercury Bar slings a slate of bubbly brews and specialty cocktails alongside plates of quintessential pub fare within a refined sports-bar atmosphere. Beneath a pressed-tin ceiling, a mirrored bar reflects bottles of spirits and liqueurs that shake and swirl into colorful cocktails as a handwritten chalkboard menu heralds draft and bottled beers alongside the results of barkeeps' algebra tests. Wings, burgers, and other classic bar cuisine served until 2 a.m. joins weekend brunches of eggs and french toast to lavish guests with all-hours edibles, ideal for savoring at elevated tables, in tufted booths, and on the seasonal outdoor patio. To complement each sizzling aroma, five plasma and four large-screen televisions broadcast major games across the world of sports, including basketball, baseball, soccer, football, and mathletics.