David Chang, the all new chef at the all new Momofuku Ko restaurant at 163 1st Ave, between 10th & 11th, has become something of a celebrity on the New York scene in the space of a few days since the diner opened its doors on March 12th.

More than the recipe, Momofuku Ko has become a big hit because it’s in sync with the speed of NYC. The Big Apple has a constant and unquenchable thirst for change and something new everyday and hour and minute. What’s new today is yesterday’s news tomorrow. 

Most New York hotels, restaurants and chefs are by nature conservative and try to offer the same experience for years and decades. In fact, they have a not insignificant chip on their shoulders and take pride in their heritage. They also try to offer everything they can to customers and go out of their way to keep them happy.

Going against the grain, Momofuku Ko has a flexible menu which changes everyday and a chef in David Chang who makes recommendations from the open kitchen to guests seated across the counter and dispenses with the formalities by walking over to serve guests in person. There is also the illusion of being heavily in demand, due to the seating being limited to an absolute minimum of 12 slightly spaced seats, and also because the restaurant allows entry only by reservation, and allows no takeaways or catering requests. To top that off, the restaurant opens at 6.30 p.m. in the evening and closes at midnight. It’s quite fair to say that New York needs more of Momofuku Ko than the restaurant needs more clients.

Momofuku Ko has thus tapped into New York’s thirst for something new everyday in a place you know. You can go there today, enjoy the food, and go there tomorrow, and enjoy something totally new, and keep going back again and again - if you get a reservation (which is easier said than done). This satisfies the change bug while offering the comforting familiarity of the ambience and the friendliness of the staff.

The menu consists of eight or nine tasting courses with set dining times for $85, and features American cuisine creatively blended with some ethnic touches.

Info: 163 1st Ave, between 10th & 11th, New York, Ny 10003. Corkage fee - $15. Reservations - Online, accepted for a maximum of 4 people, one week in advance.

Rating burgers in NYC is serious business. I’ve been eating burgers whereever I can find them for years, but if you want to compare them, then you need to do it within the space of a couple of days. Try eating a dozen burgers in a couple of days, at different places and different times, and then decide which one is better, and why. End of the day, it’ll all be a blur of bacon and melted cheese. So, like a good cub reporter, I took notes at each joint. Then I sat down in my cubicle and reviewed my notes, trying to remember the exact taste and size of each burger. Listed below are the fruits of my burger hunt.

Corner Bistro: Some call it overrated. Some say the service is horrible and the wait agonizing. My point is that we’re discussing burgers, not the accent of the guy serving them. Look at it that way, and the Corner Bistro’s ‘Bistro Burger’ wins the race by a mile, and then some.

Deliciously greasy and overflowing with melted cheese, a bite of the Bistro Burger fills your mouth with a salty tang mixed in with a thick and messy jumble of fine grilled beef, bacon and raw onion. A paper plate piled high with a  bistro burger and fries, washed down with a large mug of cheap beer at the Corner Bistro - A definitive NYC experience.   Info: 331 W 4th St New York, NY 10014; (212) 242-9502. Total Cost of Burger, fries and beer - $10. Visit on weekdays, preferably early afternoons, to avoid long waits. Takeaways recommended.

Shake Shack:  Shake Shack’s Shackburgers are smaller, less greasy and easier to hold (that’s not necessarily a good thing) than Corner Bistro’s overflowing plate of greasiness, but still tasty enough to merit a listing here. And not relevant to the taste or size of the burger, but the spacey seating, greenery and relatively lesser crowd make you want to sit here longer, and maybe order something extra. Let’s just say the Corner Bistro offers the best burger in NYC, period, while Shake Shack will be an asset if you’re on a date with a burger crazy girl. Also, Shake Shack’s bun tastes better, and they have their own in-house sauce. The single burger is cheaper but the beer costlier, so it evens out and you end up spending about the same. If you order the double burger, Shake Shack is definitely overpriced. Info: Southeast corner of Madison Square Park, near Madison Ave. and E.23rd St.; (212) 889-6600. Total cost of single burger, fries and beer - $12. Comfortable seating.

Prune: I’d rate Prune’s cheddar burger at or around Shake Shack. A bit hard to compare, since it’s not exactly a standard issue burger, with lamb mixed in with the meat, and the English muffin bun soaked with the butter becoming a greasy part of the whole (which is a good thing). Makes it impossible to seperate the taste of the meat, but the good news is that the burger, as a whole, is one heck of a tasty and greasy affair. Slightly overpriced and very stingy on the fries, but worth it, at least if you’re fond of burgers. Info: 54 E 1st St New York, NY 10003; (212) 677-6221. Total cost of burger and fries - $12. Opens a bit ate, and you should avoid the brunch and dinner crowd. Late afternoon or early evening recommended.

Spotted Pig: Not exactly a burger joint. More like a pub where the burger happens to be good, among other things. But for every kinda burger, there’s an audience, and the Spotted Pig has its own fans. They offer a chargrilled Burger with Roquefort shoestring cheese. Again, can’t hold a candle to the Corner Bistro for greasiness or size. The taste of the meat is overwhelmed by the cheese and the toasted buns, but it’s still good enough if you happen to be in the area and want to have lunch or dinner with someone. Wouldn’t recommend it if you’re going there just for the burger. There is a wait and the waiting area really needs some expansion. Info: 314 11st at Greenwich, New York NY 10014; (212) 620-0393. Total cost of burger, dessert or fries, and beer - $31. Burger, chocolate cake and bottled beer recommended.

Time and stomach willing, I’ll try to add some more joints to this list. Meanwhile, feel free to add your own best burger joint in the comments.

For this, the foodie tour of Brooklyn, we had breakfast at Tom’s Diner, lunch with Nathan’s hot dogs in Coney Island and now, on to dinner at the Bromberg Brothers’ signature Blue Ribbon Brasserie in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Located at 280 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11215, between 1st Street and Garfield Place; (718) 840-0404, the Blue Ribbon has an oyster bar and a dining room which offers everything from bakery products to an eclectic dinner menu with a mix of fine American food and French, Oriental and Arabic dishes, accompanied by plenty of kid friendly, family and group dining options.

Start with an appetizer of fried oysters, smoked salmon, hummus or some choice shrimps. The best soups are either the Matzoh Ball Soup or the Cream of Tomato. For the main course, try the New York Strip with onions, mushrooms, green beans and fries or the Fried Chicken. One plate of fried chicken is probably more than enough for two people, with four big pieces of chicken,  with mouth watering gravy of mashed potatoes and collard greens, and a cup of honey on the side to enhance the taste in between chicken bites.

But the best is yet to come. For Dessert, there’s nothing which comes close to the super-duper Blue Ribbon Chocolate Bruno, served with three flavors of icecream and a liberal dose of chocolate syrup. People come here just for the Chocolate Bruno, and end up having a full dinner.

The cost has climbed steadily upward once this place became a secret which everyone knew about, and the restaurant started winning awards and stuff. Reservations available only for groups, so if you’re single or a couple, you’ll likely have to endure a wait of between 20 minutes to 45 minutes. But it’s still worth every penny and the wait. Anyway you look at it, it’s filling, very tasty and a dinner at the Brooklyn Blue Ribbon is just the ticket to knock the lights out of you after a tiring day out in the streets of New York.

Info: 280 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11215; (718) 840-0404. Web: www.blueribbonrestaurants.com Suggested eats: Fried oysters, matzoh ball soup, fried chicken and chocolate bruno. Total Cost: Approximately $65 plus tip.

Continuing our culinary escapades in Brooklyn, NYC, we move from Tom’s Restaurant to Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island, the birth place of an American Institution - The hot dog.

What began as a nickel hot dog stand way back in 1916 in Coney Island is today a corporate entity and a brand name which hawks fastfood at thousands of franchise outlets, along with a bevy of branded products under Nathan’s Famous (www.nathansfamous.com). 

Even more famous is Nathan’s International Hot Dog Eating Contest, which is held annually on July the 4th. This year’s event, attended by about 50,000 people, was hosted live on ESPN.

Six time defending champion Takeru Kobayashi was beaten by Joey Chestnut, a San Jose University student, who gobbled up 66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. Suffice it to say that these are hallowed grounds to eat a hot dog.

But you’re not just here for food. You’re making history. You’re a part of a movement. It’s Inspiring. Like a carnival. You don’t just eat a juicy hot dog with sour kraut and onions, liberally doused with Deli style mustard, followed up with chilli cheese dogs and cheese fries. You look at it - Your mouth waters. You eat it, you want more. So you eat some more. Then you keep coming back.

For a foodie, a pilgrimage to Coney Island for a Nathan’s hot dog meal is comparable to a stroll on the Walk of Fame along Hollywood Blvd. and Vine Street for a celeb crazy fan. If you’re on a foodie tour of New York City, this is one stop you seriously do not want to miss.

Info: 1310 Surf Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11224; (718) 946-2202. Suggested eats -Hot dogs with cheese fries with lemonade. Web: www.nathansfamous.com

So you want to have a culinary adventure in New York City? Unlike tourist attractions, the best eats and restaurants in New York City, for a foodie who likes to dig deep in into food, are not situated in downtown Manhattan. That glorious award goes to Brooklyn. So let’s make a meal out of Brooklyn.

And no better place to start a foodie tour of Brooklyn than breakfast at Tom’s Restaurant on 782 Washington Avenue, corner of Sterling Place, a historic Brooklyn diner, currently run by Gus who’s got a hand on attitude and takes care of the customers himself, and opened by his father Tom in 1936.

Once you have a full breakfast at Tom’s, you’ll either travel miles to stand in the breakfast line here every morning, or you’ll surrender and shift house to Brooklyn. There are people who have been having breakfast at Tom’s their entire adult lives. So what’s so special about it? Oh, well…Nothing much.

Just the most incredible, fluffy and light pancakes you’ll ever have the good fortune to dig in to. Heavenly Belgian waffles with strawberries, butter and syrup. Eggs and bacon. Coffee refills. French toast with flavored butter.

And if there’s a line and you’re waiting, they’ll hand out free cookies and orange slices, all with a smile. Nothing flashy or swanky about Tom’s, and if you like to have a tasty and heavy breakfast, attractively priced, head straight for Tom’s Restaurant. 

Info: 782 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238; (718) 636-9738. Sundays closed. You’ll probably find a long line waiting on Saturdays. So best time to visit Tom’s - If you are visiting - Is on weekdays. Breakfast all day. Suggested choices include either pancakes, the Belgian waffles, the famous cherry lime ricky, and don’t forget the free cookies and orange slices. Sometimes it’s easier to just get a takeaway than find a place in the restaurant, which is old, and looks it’s age. The great food makes for the lack of decor, though….