An institution in Carroll Gardens that never lets you down. Don’t miss the prunes dessert or the wine bar, Franks, next door.

I'm a huge Japanophile: if there's one other place I'd like to live, it's Tokyo. I must have been there seven or eight times, most recently just after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Anyway, EN is a gem on Hudson Street, serving real Japanese cuisine. It turns out that EN is a chain in Japan; there are a lot of branches making lovely bosky food in cosy neighbourhood locations. But their New York incarnation is grand in scale and ambition, with solid, warm interiors (not unlike if the Whitney were a Japanese restaurant, oddly) - a remarkable hybrid of this city, and the other one that I'd love to live in.

I buy gigantic dry-aged steaks and 1.5-inch pork chops here. The staff is really friendly and helpful.

When I have a bit of money I like to go there with friends to celebrate our happiness and miseries.

The gorgeous set of the blockbuster play Hamilton, at the Richard Rodgers Theater.