via Marion Nestle

Look around New York City, and you will see hundreds of this town's young, hip denizens picking up a bundle of organic kale at their local farmers' markets while chatting about their rooftop bee-keeping operations or basement brewing ventures. And many of those people are taking their hobbies one step further by enrolling in Food Studies programs so that they can dive into these topics in the classroom and expand their investigations of food systems and agriculture.

Marion Nestle, along with food consultant Clark Wolf, jump-started the Food Studies program at New York University in 1996, and at the time, cookbook author Paula Wolfert told The New York Times, "I don't think a course at NYU is going to make any difference" in raising the public awareness of food's complex contributions to culture, society, and personal nutrition. How wrong she was. Since then, the world of food education has expanded furiously, fueled by young America's invigorated interest in food.

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Later this year, we'll pen our Best of NYC issue, our annual love letter to what's great in this town. When that paper hits the streets, you'll find our picks for the very best this city has to offer when it comes to dozens of cuisines, restaurants, dishes and drinks. Until then, you can get a taste of our contenders as we count down, in no particular order, our 100 favorite dishes from around the boroughs, a list of laudable eats worth tracking down right now.

No. 87: Marbella's Full Moon at Manzanilla

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It's been over two years since international ramen empire Ippudo first announced it would open a second New York City location on West 51st Street in the former home of French restaurant René Pujol, and after seemingly endless construction delays, the spot's finally pulled the paper off the windows of the garden-level space and set a debut date of July 13.

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via the Dead Rabbit

You've almost made it to Hump Day happy hour, New York City. Take a look at three spots we like for a cheap midweek drink.

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When husband-and-wife team Meghan Love and Jeff Lutonsky first opened Mable's Smokehouse on a then-quiet block in north Williamsburg in 2011, they faced a number of obstacles that threatened to shut them down. "We really struggled the first two years," remembers Love. "The block we're on was not nearly as crazy as it is now; the Wythe wasn't there when we signed our lease. It took us a long time to build out our space, and we paid-back rent for the first year we were open. We were busy in the beginning because we got a lot of press, but then it really slowed down."

The couple survived the first few slow months after the buzz died, and over the last two and a half years, they've gained considerable steam. Their persistence is a lesson in operating a neighborhood joint in the New York City restaurant world, and so we caught up with Love, who weighed in on how she and her husband bootstrapped the business while having a kid, what's most important to her about running a family eatery in a hip neighborhood, and how she's using crowd funding to make the next step.

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You might not immediately think to head to Harlem for your Mediterranean fix, but a newcomer in an area known for its chicken and waffle joints is trying to change that: Turkish restaurant Savann, which opened on Monday at 2280 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, is looking to add a new option to an ever-diversifying area of Harlem.

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Lyons

If you see people carrying bowls of barley lentil or curry laksa ramen soup away from a mustard yellow and silver food cart on a warm summer evening, your instinct might be to pass by the first--and second--time staring in awe. Don't walk away--you've located one of the most unique food carts around, serving exotic dishes you don't know how to pronounce.

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Jake Lindeman

Grand Morelos on Grand Avenue in East Williamsburg is a 24-hour Mexican diner that specializes in quinceañera cakes and never-ending cups of 90 cent coffee. The restaurant does more business at 3 a.m. than at noon, and the waitresses here flip between Spanish and English in a snap. It is a true neighborhood institution, and if you don't live within a six block radius, then you've likely never heard about it, though it's been there since the late 1990s when it replaced an Italian spot.

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Dominic Perri

When Lisa Giffen joined the team at Maison Premiere two months ago, she was given the official title of executive chef, but she prefers to call herself the Everything Girl. "Did the linens come in? No? Well I guess I'll deal with that," she says. "The toilet's backed up? I'm on it. We're missing a shipment? My job."

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Later this year, we'll pen our Best of NYC issue, our annual love letter to what's great in this town. When that paper hits the streets, you'll find our picks for the very best this city has to offer when it comes to dozens of cuisines, restaurants, dishes and drinks. Until then, you can get a taste of our contenders as we count down, in no particular order, our 100 favorite dishes from around the boroughs, a list of laudable eats worth tracking down right now.

No. 88: Egg, cheese, and sausage on a roll from Stage Restaurant

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