The 7 train: International Express
The 7 train runs from Times Square in Manhattan out to Flushing, Queens, passing through one of the most genuinely diverse stretches of urban landscape in the world. The US Department of Transportation once designated it the "International Express" — a name that's stuck — because the stops along the route move through identifiably distinct cultural and culinary communities within a few blocks of each station.
Eating your way along the 7
Woodside (61st St) — strong Irish-American history alongside Filipino, Thai, and South Asian restaurants. The Filipino bakeries and roast pork counters here are among the best in the city.
Jackson Heights (74th St) — the densest South Asian and Latin American concentration on the line. A single block of 74th Street has Indian, Nepali, Tibetan, Colombian, Ecuadorian, and Mexican options. The Indian sweet shops alone justify the trip.
Elmhurst (82nd St / Junction Blvd) — Thai, Chinese, Bangladeshi, and one of the best concentrations of Southeast Asian food in New York. The mall food courts and small storefronts here are less photogenic than Flushing but arguably more varied.
Flushing (Main St) — the terminus, with the most extensive Chinatown outside Manhattan and one of the best in the country. Regional Chinese food — Sichuan, Shanghainese, Northeastern, Fujianese — alongside Korean barbecue and the famous Flushing food courts underground at the New World Mall.
Jackson Heights standalone
If you only have time for one stop, Jackson Heights is the most concentrated experience. Walk the blocks around 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue; eat at whatever looks busiest at lunch; get chai or lassi from one of the South Asian sweet shops. Budget under $30 and you can eat extremely well.
Arthur Avenue, the Bronx
The Bronx's Italian-American food district — more authentic and less tourist-oriented than Manhattan's Little Italy at this point. The Arthur Avenue Retail Market has been running since 1940: fresh pasta, imported Italian goods, and a café in the middle selling espresso and sandwiches to market vendors. See our Bronx guide for more.
Brighton Beach, Brooklyn
A short trip on the B or Q train, Brighton Beach is a Russian and Eastern European community along the boardwalk at the southern edge of Brooklyn. The restaurants along Brighton Beach Avenue serve borscht, pelmeni, and Georgian khachapuri (cheese bread that has become genuinely famous across foodie New York) alongside Uzbek and Azerbaijani options. Inexpensive and genuinely different from the rest of the city's food landscape.