Safari

For a year, we had to live without the city's only dedicated Somali restaurant, Safari—one of our favorite restaurants on Harlem's 116th Street until it closed due to a fire. Thankfully, it's reopened a few blocks away, and we still walk into this place with tunnel vision. To put it simply, their hilib ari rocks. The tender, spice-soaked goat meat falls right off the bone, and it’s perfectly complemented by a side of fluffy yellow rice. Other menu items that make it hard to choose: beef suqaar, vegetable sabaayad, and crispy sambusas. Double fist some fragrant Somali tea and glowing mango juice, and leave room for some sticky-sweet malawax at the end. Safari is worth all the visits it takes to try the whole menu, but keep in mind that it is fairly meat-heavy (all the meats are halal).