We tried the top-rated cheap restaurants in New York City — and the winner was obvious

Located in Flushing, Queens, this Chinese restaurant was reviewed by a former Times' restaurant critic (and current columnist), Frank Bruni, in 2006.

He said the restaurant "deserves citywide attention from food lovers whose primary interest isn't simply a modestly priced meal off the beaten path, but a hugely enjoyable, eye-opening experience."

He praised its liberal use of peppercorns and chili peppers, which deliver a hot, tingling sensation when combined. That combination appeared in a few of the dishes I tried — beef tendon, lamb with red chili sauce — but the restaurant's use of heat was more interesting in theory than in practice. What was missing were the distinctive flavor combinations that defined our favorite of the Times' recommendations.

We found Spicy & Tasty to be something of a one-trick pony.

Critic Pete Wells loved this East Village barbecue joint, calling the pulled pork "staggeringly good" and claiming that the baked beans "may be the best I've tasted." Of course, we had to try both.

And while we enjoyed them, the precise balance of textures and rich flavors Wells identified weren't so vivid when we visited. While our meal was satisfying, it seemed a little mild compared to the more decadent offerings at Hill Country Barbecue (which also received a two-star rating from Wells).

Many vegan alternatives to traditionally meat-based dishes end up feeling like a compromise. You sacrifice immediate pleasure for the comfort of knowing that you're not clogging your arteries. But that compromise is not necessary at Superiority Burger, which operates in the East Village.

Wells praised many of the veggie burger joint's less traditional dishes — a sloppy joe made with tofu rather than ground beef, a variation on a Philly cheesesteak made with yuba and cashew cheese — but the signature burger, which replicated the umami sensation of a beef-based burger without loads of grease, was more than enough for us.

We shared Bruni's enthusiasm about this Thai restaurant in Woodside. He situated Sripraphai in the tradition of Thai cuisine, noting that it excelled at "the balance of sweet, sour, salty and hot ... which focuses on bold flavors in blissful harmony."

We agreed wholeheartedly. The sweet sausage and cucumber salad was bracing in its combination of sweet, spicy, and savory flavors, delivering generous quantities of each. And, the drunken noodles with chicken was dense, but similarly precise in its balance of flavors.

New York City has no shortage of great noodle shops, but Little Tong Noodle Shop may be the best. Wells noted how "the characteristic Southeast Asian tension of saltiness, sourness and chile heat creeps into [the restaurant's] noodle bowls" and praised the grandma chicken mixian as "the most interesting chicken noodle soup in the city right now." 

We agreed on both counts and were delighted by the tenderness of the chicken in the grandma chicken mixian. Its flavor defined a broth that had just enough heat to make things interesting. And, we were even more surprised by the Chinese broccoli salad, which made a traditionally boring vegetable vivid and flavorful.