Big Portions of Heavy Foods For Giant Gluttons

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.

Yes, The Brooklyn Diner is a theme restaurant, a shameful self-parody catering to tourists. We know that. But the food is much better than you expect, and it comes in truly gigantic portions (if that sort of thing matters to you.)

A sister to Smith & Wollensky's, this similarly overstyled steakhouse serves mammoth portions of pretty-good meat; the difference being this place's signature pork shank, the size of which beggars description.

The place doesn't look like much, but the sangria is great and the roast chicken is even better, and the price is very right. A perfect place for neighborhood eaters to have dinner on a wednesday night.

While this or that restaurant may have better fried chicken, or better smothered pork chops, that's hardly the point: Sylvia's is THE Harlem standard, the Carnegie Deli of soul food. You have to go there at least once.

This big-box homage to the red sauce restaurants of your gets dismissed by many for its comically oversized portions, which seem designed to feed whole families of refugees.

Everyone loves this Arthur Avenue standby, and it's not hard to see why. It still has all the authentic feel that Little Italy lost long ago, and the food is gutsy and homey, if not always a knockout. But no trip to the area is complete without a visit.

What started out as a place best known for its Belgian beers and great burger now has taken its place as one of the city's premier purveyors of whole animal cooking. Their "large format feasts" are perfect big groups of carnivores, and there's a meat bar next door called Cannibal. And of course the Belgian beers haven't gone anywhere.

Homey, robust Serbian country food is the draw at this Avenue C meatery. Look for cevape, the grilled mixed meat sausage, as well as bean stew, blood sausage, and whatever heavy meats are on the menu.

For carnivores only! An army of waiters bringing a succession of body parts impaled on spikes defines this restaurant experience -- an orgy of roasted, salted pork, beef, and chicken. Just an meat freakout. Go immediately.