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This is a glorious season for New York’s restaurants. But the critical buzz seems to swirl around two extremes: one is what I think of as the Church of High Food, where mediagenic chefs with multiple stars require you to sit for hours in mute awe as a succession of sacred morsels is presented by unsmiling acolytes who wouldn’t dream of having a bit of fun. At the other extreme (and often on the lower West Side) are the too big and too trendy food factories I call High School Cafeterias, with far too many folks making way too much noise about lots of underwhelming food.

There is a third approach. Places where the head and the heart—the kitchen and the dining room—are deliberately and carefully connected. Where the experience is as important as the cooking. From the second you walk in the door, you sense it: someone is at home here. And usually that someone is in a constant state of worry about the million little details that make a restaurant truly work. These are the places that delight me.

To assemble this list, I visited and revisited many restaurants, some new-ish, others not so. Favorites slipped off the list; others insisted their way on. No matter the cuisine—Italian or Indian, Spanish or Japanese—all display a finesse on the plate once associated only with elite French establishments. All are places where you’ll remember in the morning what you ate last night.

Here are Dorothy’s picks: Annisa, Balthazar, Boqueria, Centovini, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Maremma, Michael’s, The Modern, Nougatine, Sugiyama and Tabla

Read about Indagare’s favorite restaurants that are best for brunch, a relaxed lunch, cocktails, a big night out, neighborhood cuisine or a buzzing scene

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