Living After Midnight (And Eating Through the Dawn)

Still one of the best traditional Korean restaurants in town, this K-town standby excels especially in barbecue, although it's sadly hamstrung by idiotic city rules banning live coals.

An unremarkable brasserie by day, L'Express morphs into a classic late-night (and early morning) refuge catering to a woozy, boozy crowd. One of the best places in town for steak frites at 3 am.

The undisputed champion of after-hours dining, this small SoHo bistro serves some of the city's best sushi and strongest cocktails to a late-night crowd of chefs, roues, and sporting girls. Avoid the fried chicken, though, which is mediocre and overpriced. Toro and martinis are what you get here.

Famous as a late-night chef hang because of its late hours, the fact is that the best thing here, the crunchy pork, is really only good for the early part of the day. Many late night visitors underestimate the place as a result. Of course, the Cantonese menu, consisting of things that don't hang in the window, is also well worth a trip.

I don't mean to sound stuck-up, but pay no attention to what anybody here says about the Carnegie Deli. One guy complains because he didn't like the macaroni and cheese (!) and other because it's too touristy. Here the deal: the Carnegie Deli IS touristy. It IS expensive. You are not coddled by the wait staff. But it is the Federal Reserve of deli. You go in and order a juicy pastrami (code for fatty) and you will get greatness, every time, and in copious amounts. Don't get combination sandwiches, which are ludicrous, and don't get macaroni and cheese. Get pastrami sandwiches and extra bread. Eat. Take some home or share. And then thank your lucky stars that this place exists.

Considered the best of the city's hot dog and juice stands, but I could never figure out why: they serve the exact same Sabrett hot dogs on the exact same toasty hot squishy buns, as all the other good ones. Maybe it's the atmosphere -- or the sign, which just looks so right.

Astoria's diners rule, but the king of late night Queens eating has to be Uncle George's, a full-fledged Greek restaurant at least as good as its better-known rivals, all of whom are closed when it is open and welcoming.

A worthy spinoff of its Soho original, Blue Ribbon Brooklyn can be counted upon for the same great sushi, swanky service, and strong cocktails SoHo boulevardiers have come to rely on all these long years.

Unchanged since the early 90s, this funky, Lesbian-owned East Village bistro still carries the old neighborhood vibe strong: you'll even see the most long-lived denizens frequently sitting in the garden, eating soup and complaining about gentrification.

Always in the sweepstakes for the best new southern restaurant in NYC, the Commodore definitely has the most fun vibe. The fried chicken, biscuits with honey butter, and black-eyed peas are all right from the Georgia playbook.