Where to eat the most far-flung food from around the world without ever leaving NYC

The best place in New York to try the distinctive food of Barbados. The highlight of this place for me was the puddin’ and souse. Souse is pickled pig trotters (but also available in cow or chicken varieties) while the “puddin’” is blood pudding. Flying fish is the national dish served with cou-cou, a polenta made from cornmeal and okra. Available to drink is homemade sorrel served in an enormous container or Bajan soda brand Frutee. Be sure to add some Aunt May’s Bajan Pepper Sauce.

Le Soleil is the last of what used to be a Haitian neighborhood in Hell’s Kitchen called Bois Verna after a neighborhood in Port-Au-Prince. Today it’s the only Haitian restaurant left in the area. Since I always have to order the strangest thing on the menu I tried to order the pizzle, which is bull’s penis, but perhaps luckily they didn’t have it that day. Instead I had the lambi, fricasseed conch, which is a delicacy in Haiti and not always available at Haitian restaurants. Also good was the tassot cabrit, marinaded fried goat.

Yunnan Flavour Garden is run by a couple from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan in southwest China. The city’s specialty is guòqiáo mĭxiàn, crossing the bridge noodles. I’ve been going to this place since it’s previous, smaller incarnation Yunnan Flavour Taste when they specialized in mĭxiàn (rice noodle) dishes and spoke to the owners in my terrible Mandarin. I’m glad that with their move and expansion they’ve been able to add crossing the bridge noodles. The bowl of broth is brought out to you boiling hot and then the servers drop in raw quail eggs, black chicken, sliced meats which cook in the broth. It’s reminiscent of pho which makes sense considering Yunnan shares a border with Vietnam. The selection of authentic, regional Chinese food in New York has really expanded since when I was growing up in Manhattan Chinatown, especially in the outer borough Chinatowns. I’m pretty certain it’s now possible to find dishes from every Chinese province in New York City.

Even though I grew up in Manhattan right near the Staten Island ferry terminal Staten Island is perhaps the borough I’ve explored the least. Lakruwana is definitely a place that will get you on that ferry. Lakruwana is beautifully decorated with carvings and buddhas from Sri Lanka shipped and arranged meticulously by the restaurant’s owner. Stepping into Lakruwana you really feel transported into another world. A great deal are the all you can eat buffets on the weekend, although on my last visit the price went up from $10 to $12. I particularly like the sour and spicy black curries.

This is the heavyweight of Central Asian food in New York, a Bukharian restaurant which caters to Rego Park’s Uzbeki Jewish community. It’s a huge, often very busy, crowded restaurant. Like other Central Asian places they serve plov, samasa and laghman. You might want to try the namesake cheburekis, available with different stuffings. I think the kebabs are especially good, served on big metal pikes. If you’re adventurous you can even order lamb testicles or beef brains.

Jamaica, Queens, used to be a Portuguese neighborhood and there are still a few older restaurants around. O Lavrador is a fancier restaurant which almost feels as though it’s from a bygone era but the waitstaff are very funny and welcoming. If you order at least one thing it must be the homemade sausage called chourico caseira, fried in aguardiente in front of you in a huge pyrotechnic display. The feijoada de mariscos, an enormous pork and seafood stew, is also amazing. For dessert, get the pêras bebadas, pears poached in port wine.

If the idea of dining in the tourist-laden South Street Seaport with a kid in tow makes you weak in the knees (and not in a good way), check out this gem of a restaurant. Just slightly off the beaten cobblestoned path, Nelson Blue serves fantastic New Zealand–style grub in a beautiful space: You'll feel like a Kiwi yourself, surrounded by all the native tribal decor. Kids gravitate toward the traditional lamb and pork skewers and finger-friendly sides like zucchini-and-corn fritters and french fries with herb salt.