-- this lincoln center standby has cultivated a loyal following that comes as much for the cool retro environs—complete with distinctive wraparound wall dragon and glossy black booths—as for its renowned regional specialties. sichuan alligator and buffalo mandarin-style are among owner michael tong's newer gambits, as is the sweet, meaty hunan-style ostrich in a wonderfully torrid toss of leek ribbons, red and green peppers, and fresh water chestnuts.

-- genteel, almost rigorously refined, jojo hardly looks like the site of a revolution. yet in this glorified tearoom, chef jean-georges vongerichten stunned gourmands with his herbal essences, vegetable sauces, and gossamer desserts. regardless of how many other ventures vongerichten launches, jojo still maintains his stance and his quality. the two floors have shed their east side generic prissiness and blossomed as a kiss-in-the-shadows bordello duplex, which makes sticking your finger into the sauce oozing from the original-and still the best-valrhona cake lasciviously right. now let someone lick it off. the chef would like that.

-- say the phrase “classic diner” and for most people, you’ll conjure up visions of chrome and formica. yet the waverly restaurant actually hearkens back to an earlier model, a kind of working-class steakhouse with dark-wood paneling, snug, vinyl-padded booths, and a very small counter of backless stools. ın keeping with the more familiar diner tradition, there’s still the neon sign; a glowing rack of half-eaten cakes and pies; and an overly long menu of burgers, breakfasts, parmigianas, greek specialties, and entrées destined to fail: lobster tails with crabmeat stuffing, anyone? mercifully, the dishware hasn’t updated from ceramic to plastic and, amusingly, when your omelette arrives, it’s still in its frying pan. ın the end, you just might reinterpret those black-and-white actors’ eight-by-tens lining the perimeter as a forgotten pantheon: patron saints of cheap food, fast service, and fading traditions, like the bottomless cup of coffee.