9. Cuchifritos
Across the City
Photo: Martei Korley
Cuchifritos isn’t the name of a restaurant but a style of pork-based Puerto Rican soul food that thrives in NYC. While folks have their neighborhood favorites, no specific cuchifritos spot stands above the rest as citywide champ, with each spot offering the same key selections and mostly similar flavors. To find one, just walk through any neighborhood with a large, Puerto Rican contingent in the Bronx, Brooklyn or uptown Manhattan and look for the joint with fried meat piled high under fluorescent lightbulbs in the window. Visiting NYC with your vegan friend? Leave ‘em home, or find someplace else.