Good Places in New York

• Totonno's. 1524 Neptune Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11224
  I deem it the best pizza in New York. (Sorry, Di Fara). I only vouch for the one in Brooklyn, which is the sole genuine Totonno's. The crust is crisp, even in the very center of the pie. The sauce is more powerful than it was on any pizza I had in Italy. It could be that I had atypical Italian pizza, but I think this is one of the characteristic differences between American and Italian pizza. (American pizza means New York pizza.) I prefer the New York version. Thanks to Joel and Cynthia for giving me an excuse to go there.
• El Chile Verde. 222 Bushwick Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11206
  This Mexican restaurant in Bushwick has the best Mexican food I've had in New York. (Southwesterners: feel free to belittle me for mentioning Mexican food in New York.) Last summer, it was half-grocery and half-restaurant. When I went there last week, I thought I was in the wrong place, because the grocery part is gone. I like the guaraches, which are fried corn dough with beans, vegetables, and meat, but everything is good. It's cheap ($5 gets you plenty of food), and you'll be the coolest kid on your block when you go where most hipsters dare not: past Williamsburg. The Village Voice mentioned it here. Thanks to Rios for having the good sense to live across the steet from it.
• Hasaki. 210 E. 9th St., New York, NY 10003
  Japanese food is the antidote to Hungarian food. I really like their sushi and their eel. Thanks to my grandfather for taking me there often.
• The Museum of Television and Radio. 25 West 52 Street, New York, NY 10019
  I went there today with my brother and it was empty. How is a museum devoted to television unpopular? The main attraction is their library. You sit down at their ancient Mac computers (they've been there since I first went there more than ten years ago), pick out whatever shows you want to watch, and go down a flight of stairs to watch them in a room filled with TVs and headphones. I watched Elvis Costello break into an unplanned song on Saturday Night Live, which even back then was terrible. I also watched the Animaniacs; I was worried that like many things I liked in my childhood, it would turn out to be no good. But I remembered it right: it's still funny. Thanks to my brother for getting us in for free.

I haven't been as methodical as I planned about recording what I eat. When I get to Budapest and prepare my own meals more often, I promise I'll be better.