Parkway Deli can satisfy almost any hankering: Its front section houses a bakery/deli/convenience store that peddles practically everything, from beer and wine to meat and fish to ice cream and cakes, including a chocolate-truffle mousse cake and an Italian lemon cream cake. The dining room is in the back, where groups routinely pack the narrow hallway near the kitchen while waiting on a table. They wait for good reason. Parkway serves up an expansive array of traditional breakfast dishes and deli sandwiches, not to mention traditional delights such as egg creams, matzo-ball soup, and a complimentary pickle bar. It’s a good thing the line moves fast. It’s impossible to watch those dishes coming out of the kitchen for very long.

—Rend Smith