Raku

"Order a perfect bowl of udon and tea for under $40 including tax and tip at this neighborhood Japanese noodle restaurant via chef Norihiro Ishiquza , part of Cloud Nine Hospitality Group. The menu includes variations on the hot and cold wheat noodles, vegetables, gyoza, and donburi. Other branches in Midtown and the East Village." - Robert Sietsema, Melissa McCart

"Order a perfect bowl of udon and tea for under $40 including tax and tip at this neighborhood Japanese noodle restaurant open for lunch and dinner with a second location in Soho. Here since 2016, chef Norihiro Ishizuka’s restaurant has assembled a menu of vegetables and gyoza, donburi, hot and cold udon in a soothingly minimalist space that’s on track to expand next door." - Eater Staff

"Udon gets its overdue moment at Raku. The intimate space, opened in 2015 by chef Norihiro Ishizuka, specializes in excellent bowls of handmade noodles imported from Japan. The familiarly thick standard noodles, substantial but not gummy, are exemplary; there’s also the thinner, off-menu inaniwa version. Preparations include a range of soups, a sparse chilled zaru iteration with nori powder, or a cold version served with a raw quail egg, scallions, wasabi, and mushrooms. For more adventurous palettes, there’s the niku version with tripe and short rib, a highlight per Eater critic Robert Sietsema. A few blocks away, Ishizuka runs Kura, the superb, miniscule omakase outfit on Saint Mark’s Place." - Alexandra Ilyashov

"Come to this East Village spot around 5pm, and you might be mad we included it on the guide. Order a glass of Slovenian orange wine, and allow us to explain. From 9am-4:30pm on weekdays, this place from the people behind Ruffian - one of our favorite wine bars in NYC - uses its outdoor patio as a communal workspace. Reserve a spot through their website for $25 per person, and along with wifi and a charging station, you’ll get bottomless coffee all day. You can order lunch separately, and you should stick around until 5pm, when they do a daily Happy Hour." - matt tervooren

"With all due respect to watching the guy who yelled “yard sale” from the chairlift proceed to lose his skis and poles five minutes later, après-ski is the best part of any ski vacation. But there’s no rule saying that hot buttered rum and tequila-infused hot cocoa can only be consumed at the base of a mountain. For the next week, you can après-ski with hot cocktails, as well as alpine-inspired food and wine on Kindred’s heated outdoor patio Wednesday through Saturday from 4-11pm." - matt tervooren