"When you walk into the dark, windowless dining room at Farida, a subterranean Central Asian halal restaurant in FiDi, there’s no real way to tell what time of day it is. It's a little like being in a casino that way, but any dish you choose will be a winner. Farida specializes in umka pies, which are little flaky pastries filled with pumpkin, spinach, beef, or chicken, and all of them are great. Both the chicken thigh kebabs and the Uzbek plov with chunks of beef and lamb are recommendable, but if you have to choose one, go for the chicken." - kenny yang, neha talreja, hannah albertine