Steak Frites is serving French bistro classics in Hell’s Kitchen, and they're doing them very well. The space here is like a movie set designed to look like a neighborhood spot in Paris, with black and white tiles, distressed gold-framed mirrors, and vintage cartoon postcards on the wall. The room gets packed, and it stays that way until closing time. Appropriately, the hanger steak and thin, crispy fries are great, as are the gnocchi à la parisienne and panzanella-like escargots served with pieces of bread soaked in parsley-garlic butter sauce.

photo credit: Emily Andrews