10 best simple specialty restaurants in NYC

Peanut Butter and Co. was way ahead of the curve when they opened in 1998. This colorful café on the West Village serves both simple and fancy peanut butter sandwiches. The bread is freshly baked and the peanuts are ground daily on the premises. Lunchtime finds a mix of lunchbreaking Wall street types in suits, art students, teenagers, and lots of other people attempting to re-live the lunchbag experience of their school days.

But although the sandwiches come with carrot sticks and potato chips, they won't all remind you of the PB&J meals your mom used to make. Some popular favorites include the White Chocolate Peanut Butter sandwich, which includes a smear of orange marmalade; the Peanut Butter Cup, which is peanut butter and a layer of Nutella; and the simple Lunchbox Special, which is the standard PB&J with the choice of strawberry or grape jam.

One of my favorites is the Elvis, a peanut butter sandwich stuffed with bananas and honey. For the more daring, adding bacon to the Elvis is recommended. Meat lovers can also try the Peanut Butter BLT, which uses fresh cut bacon and toasted bread.

The menu also includes flavored peanut butter sandwiches. Two standouts in this category are the Spicy Peanut Butter sandwich with grilled chicken, channeling the flavors of Thai satay, and the Cinnamon-Raisin Peanut Butter sandwich stuffed with apple slices.

You can wash your meal down with every kind of milk, milkshake, or soft drink. If you have room, try the various peanut butter desserts: Cookies, Peanut Butter Tiramisu, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie.

The sandwiches range from $4 - $7, and the café is open daily for lunch and dinner.

A Salt and Battery in the West Village brings authentic to a new level- the fish n’ chips is wrapped in real London newspaper. Opened by the same minds behind Tea & Sympathy, this small storefront boasts only a few seats at a small counter for their many patrons. Most people take away happily.

A British patron I spoke to reminded me that it was not the newspaper nor the salt and vinegar that made it authentic- it was the chips. They are slightly soggy, pale-yellowish, and deliciously fatty. In addition to the traditional fish n’ chips, the chip buttie (chip sandwich) is also freakishly popular with ex-pats.

The Deep-Fried Mars Bar was the scariest thing I had heard of for a while- but it also proved to be the best.

The Fish n’ Chips will cost you $12.

The goal behind F & B was to bring European street food to New Yorkers. F & B does not stand for 'fries and burgers' (which is what I thought for a long time), but for Frites and Beignets, or French Fries and square French donuts. These beignets come with a dizzying variety of dipping sauces- including Crème Anglaise, chocolate, mango, or plain maple syrup.

The signature dish is The Great Dane- a Danish hot dog stuffed with remoulade, mustard, apple tomato ketchup, cucumber salad, and crisp roasted onions. The second favorite is the homemade Swedish Meatballs which come with a cream sauce and lingonberries.

Enjoy this fare with Belgian beer, champagne, or homemade lemonade.

Great Dane- $2.65

Pommes Frites- $1.75

Swedish Meatballs- 24 for $10

I'm still partial to the hot dogs at the downtown Gray's Papaya on 8th St. though, as I like to wash it all down with freshly squeeze mango juice. You know, to counter all those nitrates. Or is it nitrites? Regardless, I'm usually eating with people that prefer the beverage choices at F & B.

A sidewalk snack at Pommes Frites is as decedant as it is artery clogging. I always have to ask for mine well-done to avoid a soggy cone. This tiny shop at 123 Second Avenue (between 7th and 8th streets) has some of the best French fries in the city, and serves them Belgian style with a dizzying 28 different dipping concoctions to choose from. If you are craving more than the classic vinegar and dash of salt, try the sweet mango chutney or the tangy lemon-garlic mayonnaise. A large is about $4.

All macaroni and cheese, all the time, S'mac in the East Village serves up a number of varieties of the dish. They even have the whole wheat pasta option, which you couldn't pay me to order, but to each their own.

I've not yet visited the more recently opened Supermac, but some people swear by it. It's location near Penn Station and the madness of that area of midtown does not do much to lure me, but I will try it soon and report back.

Rice pudding is something I discovered as an adult and I was never totally sold on it, but I do like Rice to Riches. The flavors are ridiculous: coast to coast cheesecake, sex drugs and rocky road, perfectly legal pecan pie, etc. The toppings are even more suicidal: chilled espresso, whipped cream, toasted coconut, and so on.

I like the traditional pudding with the toasted pound cake. It borders on being heavenly and just too much of a buttery good thing. It's obvious that you should not visit this place if you are on a low-carb diet.

It seems unfair to call anything celebrated chef Danny Meyer does humble, but it is American fast food. Shake Shack burgers are small and very good, the frozen custard shakes are thiiiick, and you can even order wine or beer with your all-American meal. I like this place and I love the concept even more, but you won't see me waiting 45 minutes in line for a burger.

People seem to be complaining about the overly priced little burger at the sadly named Brgr in Chelsea, but the milkshake here is a real eye opener. It's so thick you'll look fish-faced while you're busy with it.