"The Chowhound's Guide to the New York Tristate Area"

Whether you want to explore the most authentic ethnic restaurants or seek out local favorites in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut, the Chowhound's Guide to the New York Tristate Area will help you do that. Culling information from the extensive Chowhound message boards, this book can help you find delicious food of every sort.

Whether you're already a fan of Chowhound.com or not, The Chowhound's Guide to the New York Tristate Area is a great choice if you're seeking delicious food finds in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut. Rather than seeking out hip, popular destinations, Chowhound's Guide focuses on under-the-radar, eclectic choices you may not find elsewhere -- food comes first, and ambiance second with many of their suggestions. Most of the wisdom in this book is culled from the website's extensive message boards where folks from all over post reviews and ask questions in pursuit of the best food around. This book highlights some of the best finds and discussions via short helpful entries, i.e. "Un-American Breakfast in Queens" (which comes under B for breakfast) or "Coffee, Snacks, and WIFI" (under W for wifi).

Indexes in the rear of the book are helpful if you know which neighborhood or cuisine you're interested in, and a complete alphabetical list enables you to find restaurants by name, but without a good sense of geography, a lot of the information in the book is more difficult to pin down. The book is well-designed for those seeking inspiration -- flipping through several pages almost always yields a new craving or idea for dining, but for those seeking comprehensive guidance might be better served elsewhere.