Best Dishes NY Editors Ate This Week: June 2

Best Dishes NY Editors Ate This Week: June 2

Chicken cutlet sandwiches, snappy hot dogs, and so much banchan.

I’m new to Westchester, where I learned that chicken cutlet sandwiches are a thing here. It was one of the two go-to lunch meals of my high school youth — but for an adult version, I decided to place an order at this Italian deli in Scarsdale. I went with the classic iteration — chicken cutlet with mozzarella, roasted peppers, and balsamic vinegar ($15). It was a huge sub (I saved one half for dinner the next day) made up of nicely breaded chicken; thick, fresh mozzarella; and juicy and slightly tangy huge slices of roasted peppers, where the top slice of bread is spongy (complimentary) with balsamic. It makes for such an easy, filling meal — high school Nadia would’ve been into it (kids who went to Bronx Science know the chicken cutlet food truck was the move). 829 Post Road, Scarsdale, New York — Nadia Chaudhury, editor, Northeast.

This past weekend, friends and I embarked upon a hot dog crawl across the boroughs. A reminder that great hot dogs aren’t only eaten outside, thanks to Sarge’s, a stalwart in that funny no-man’s-land corridor of Midtown. Usually a go-to for brisket or matzo ball soup, Sarge’s touts a snappy dog ($7.95) to rival the rest. Crowned with flattop-sizzled red onions or sauerkraut and spicy mustard, it’s the quintessential New York deli dog. 548 Third Avenue, between East 36th and 37th streets, Murray Hill — Nat Belkov, associate creative director.

I’m a little late to the love for tiny Korean spot Sunn’s, but now fully indoctrinated into the cooking of Sunny Lee. With a group of five, it was a no-brainer to order the full menu — the banchan (six dishes for $24), perfected during Lee’s many years cooking at pop-ups, was a standout. I especially loved the trout roe–topped potato salad, which was equally creamy and briny, as well as the kimchi and egg omelet. Even if you’re in a smaller group, don’t skip the soon dubu chigae ($25), a warming tofu stew brilliantly accented with pine nuts; the lauded baked rice cakes with stracciatella and tomato sauce ($26); and the simple yet satisfying sesame mochi cake for dessert. 139 Division Street at Canal Street, Chinatown — Stephanie Wu, editor-in-chief.

If you spot him, beverage director Lasha Tsatava will charm you with his smile and trove of wine stories at Chama Mama. The Chelsea flagship serves Georgian fare alongside rare Georgian wine and spirits — and I’m a sucker for a good wine list. The 2017 Dekanozishvili (say that three times) red blend from Kakheti was a treat: made by drying and concentrating three red grape varieties (the appassimento method), then aged in qvevri and oak. It’s a gorgeously textured beauty that pairs beautifully with the tarragon woven throughout the menu. The herb’s minty freshness with earthy mushrooms in the khinkali (Georgian dumplings) is a revelation. Handfuls of tarragon and opal basil are delicious on the seasonal khachapuri, which begs for a dunk in the restaurant’s ajka — a fiery Georgian chile-garlic condiment. Tsatava might also teach you to say “Gaumarjos” (“Cheers!”) as you toast over supra, licking tarragon-scented fingers under the watchful eyes of feather-hatted women smiling down from the walls. 149 West 14th Street, at Seventh Avenue, Chelsea — Henna Bakshi, regional editor, South.