Food & Drink in West New York

Rouge Tomate's executive chef, Jeremy Bearman, doesn't just transform local and seasonal ingredients into Michelin-rated American dishes. With help from the restaurant's staff nutritionist, he ensures his cooking techniques keep the nutritional value of every leaf and bean intact—and provide up to 30% of each diner's daily nutritional intake. Appetizers such as toast with celery-root rémoulade and quail egg prelude entrees such as truffle risotto tinted black with squid ink, and grass-fed new york strip steaks with horseradish gnocchi. Desserts such as meyer-lemon Bombes with chamomile mousse and pine-nut brittle end meals on a sweet note, and more than 200 types of wine, including organic, biodynamic, and bionic varietals, complement meals from start to finish.

If you were to stop into Uway Café in the morning, and then again at night, you might think it's a different place. And in many ways, it is.

During the day, Uway is a breakfast and lunch nook, doling out made-from-scratch sustenance in the form of hand-rolled artisan bagels, Belgian-style waffles, and more than a dozen sandwiches on 10 different types of bread.

But after the sun goes down or gets shattered by a wayward satellite, the café undergoes a transformation. Festive track lighting glimmers to life, music pulsates through the speakers, and servers begin pouring New York–based beers from 24 different taps. In this environment, guests set aside the day's work and turn their focus toward charcoal-grilled skewers, made-to-order sushi, build-your-own pastas, and shareable small bites.

Joey Allaham had a goal: rescue kosher dining from its niche-market status and prove its universal worth. Lucky for him, he’s a fourth-generation butcher who understood that the appeal of tender, dry-aged slabs of meat knows no limits. Teaming up with executive chef David Kolotkin, Joey opened The Prime Grill, a wood-paneled steakhouse that continuously tops Zagat’s list of best New York kosher restaurants. Famous for their USDA prime steaks, which come from an in-house dry-aging room, the team prepares glatt kosher cuts of meat such as a pepper-crusted 10-oz. filet, a Texas-style 14-oz. rib eye, and an 18-oz. black angus filet that could make a serving plate join a gym. Sides such as steak fries drizzled in truffle oil, and desserts such as molten chocolate cake, make the meal complete.

Most sculptures aren't the kind you can eat. But the opposite is true at 212 Steakhouse, where chefs arrange gourmet steaks and seafood into striking, edible art pieces whose vivid colors match their bright flavors. Green and red tomato coins balance atop scallops and purple stems; charred lamb chops lead the way to the tender meat beneath; and servers deliver marbled cuts of Kobe beef to tables. But before steaks are seared and served, every single one is selected by hand. That same painstaking level of curation also applies to the branzino sea bass, tuna tartar, and blue crab cakes. Even the bar boasts an array of infused liquors steeped with ingredients such as organic tea and truffle caviar that are as fun to drink in cocktails as they are to not share with tablemates.

EZ Grill NYC's name says it all: everything about the eatery brims with ease. Tucked into a corner of the Bronx, the neighborhood spot draws in customers with its welcoming, diner-like storefront. Once inside, its menu reiterates why its name is so fitting: everything is organized into level-of-hunger categories including "Not So Hungry," "Now I'm Hungry," and "Now I'm Starving." If they're "Not So Hungry," diners can try the Greek yogurt dip Tsaziki or a chicken skewer. The "Now I'm Hungry" category offers up sandwiches and gyros of the pork and chicken variety, and "Now I'm Starving" dishes silence rumbling bellies with falafel platters, lamb skewer platters, and EZ burgers smothered in bacon, Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, and BBQ sauce.

At first glance, Meemo Tapas Sport looks a lot like your typical sports bar: flat screens hanging throughout (36 to be exact) and fans sporting jerseys or replicas of WWE title belts. But unlike many sports bars, the menu is more thoughtful than the standard menu of chicken wings and burgers. Those classics make an appearance, sure, but there's also a sophisticated selection of tapas created by chef Roberto Alvarez, who spent a few years training and eating in Spain. This part of the menu includes mushroom croquettes and seared scallops with fried plantains. There's also full-sized entrees such as new york strip steak, and a weekend brunch menu with apple crepes.