"Chef Kamal Mohamed’s Northeast restaurant Stepchld feels like a West Village hangout, with its snug, narrow dining room and slyly inventive menu. This food is delightfully “off-kilter,” as Mohamed puts it — sweet potatoes are fried into cayenne-dusted fritters; pork belly levels up alongside a ginger coconut rice; chicken wings come dusted in berbere spice and fenugreek. The mimita-spiced burger is especially popular, but the lavender nori shrimp, fermented in chile butter sauce that’s sopped up with sourdough, is an even better bet. Stepchld also has one of the Cities’ best selections of orange wine. Place reservations through Tock." - Stacy Brooks