This is a restaurant guide for those of you looking for really good food with a wide variety of ethnic cuisine and without the ridiculously pompous nature of your typical five-star. If you go out to eat for the snooty service and to drop a bunch of money, don't buy this book. However, if your focus is on the quality and variety of the food you are eating, with fancy service as a secondary concern, this is the book for you. That is not to say the restaurants in this book lack decent service....Many have excellent service and swanky locals. Some may also have dismal decor and downright cranky staff (read hole-in-the-wall). But they all have great food in common. One of the great things about New York is experiencing the wide variety of flavors and cooking styles available in this melting pot. You won't find me in New York without this book close by.