5. Superiority Burger

Anybody who doesn’t understand why I gave two stars to this counter-service veggie-burger joint that barely seats six people isn’t paying attention to what Brooks Headley and his crew are up to. Superiority Burger is the most radical restaurant in New York. No other place has gone so far in the evolving experiment of stripping the dining experience to its core values. The servers are more engaged and present than in some four-star restaurants, and the vegetarian cooking of Mr. Headley and his crew, served in paper boats and cartons, is surprising, fun and truly creative. It is also getting better; the mutant cheese steak made with tofu skins seems to have improved since my review, and a recent special, a sugary white sweet potato loaded with an inspired relish of chopped pickles, serranos and tarragon, is one of the most original dishes I’ve had this year. Mr. Headley is in the scrum almost every night, wearing a paper soda jerk hat as he fills orders for Arnold Palmers (the only drink sold) and dessert (last week, intensely good date-shake gelato and tangerine sorbet with toasted coconut in a paper cup, worth more than the $4 he charges). Other restaurants offer greater comfort, but few have Superiority Burger’s racing pulse. Two stars; 430 East Ninth Street (Avenue A), East Village; 212-256-1192; superiorityburger.com.

6. Via Carota

This is where I send anybody who asks me where to get unfussy, delicious food in the West Village. Nobody has been disappointed yet. Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, the chefs and owners, know when to respect Italian tradition and when to give it a poke. The pasta is supple, just firm enough, never oversauced. The vegetables, though, get a little wild, and are almost always the better for it. Ms. Williams is a veteran flea-market scavenger, and her trophies conjure a kind of fantasy of rustic Italian life. They cover every available surface except the wall of windows, which anchors Via Carota firmly back in its neighborhood. Two stars; 51 Grove Street (Seventh Avenue), West Village; no phone; viacarota.com.

7. Santina

Inside Santina’s glass-box building is an Italian seaside vacation that never ends, even when the beach umbrellas come inside for the winter. Cha-cha music rustles the fronds of potted palms, servers’ outfits are Riviera-bright, and the food, on cheerfully colored glazed terra cotta, tastes like summer. Fish and vegetables rule the day, seasoned with chiles, herbs and citrus until they shimmer with fresh, energizing flavors. The Major Food Group builds restaurants as immersive theater; in this one, everything but the noise conspires to lift your mood. Two stars; 820 Washington Street (Gansevoort Street), Meatpacking District; 212-254-3000; santinanyc.com.

8. Mission Chinese Food

This is the year’s “Started from the bottom, now we’re here” restaurant. It’s a rats-to-riches story in which Danny Bowien, shut out of his first restaurant by the health department and some stubborn rodents, rebuilds with a great deal more swank and sophistication. There are deep semicircular banquettes where you can stretch out while investigating a mildly wacky cocktail. Drinks have real booze in them, and there’s a real wine list, heavily swayed by the natural-wine cult. The menu, overseen by Angela Dimayuga, the executive chef, got the greatest upgrade of all. A short squad of blistering Sichuanesque standards is now augmented by cooking that has both swagger and nuance. Two stars; 171 East Broadway (Rutgers Street), Lower East Side; 212-432-0300; missionchinesefood.com.

9. Wildair

It was meant to be a simple spinoff, a casual wine bar down the street from Jeremiah Stone and Fabian von Hauske’s first restaurant, Contra. But Wildair took on a life of its own. Part of the appeal is in how solidly the two chefs reconceived wine-bar standbys like beef tartare, charcuterie and salads, making each dish a fresh discovery. Part of it comes from Jorge Riera’s wine list, and how easily he and the rest of the servers can infect customers with their own excitement about a bottle. The room may or may not be attractive, but the whole experience is magnetic. Two stars; 142 Orchard Street (Rivington Street), Lower East Side; 646-964-5624; wildair.nyc.

10. Upland

A victory for populism, Upland proves that New York can still whip up a large, crowd-pleasing restaurant where the food is worth getting excited about. The chef, Justin Smillie, goes back to the roots of California cuisine, mixing Italian tradition (bucatini cacio e pepe) with American free-for-all innovation (duck wings with a catalyzing vinaigrette of yuzu kosho). The wine list, which roams around the globe, loops back home again to make its strongest case with its stash of American bottles. Two stars; 345 Park Avenue South (entrance on East 26th Street), Kips Bay; 212-686-1006; uplandnyc.com.

More: The Top 10 Restaurant Dishes of 2015