Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate This Week: April 1

With Eater editors dining out sometimes several times a day, we come across lots of standout dishes, and we don’t want to keep any secrets. Check back weekly for the best things we ate this week.

Mortadella sandwich at the Lions

Several of my favorite meals this year have been at bars. That might have to do with the style of service — the kitchens stay open later, and you rarely need a reservation — or maybe it’s that my expectations for the food are often lower than at a restaurant, making wonderful dishes stand out that much more. That was the case this week at the Lions, a new bar whose mortadella sandwich ($17) took me by surprise. It’s like an Italian sandwich that’s been cooked over low heat for hours, until only the best parts are left: thin mortadella, shredded lettuce, a little cheese, and pickled peppers. You can order it until 1 a.m. most nights of the week. 132 First Avenue, at St. Marks Place, East Village — Luke Fortney, reporter

Caldo de res at The Quetzalito

The Quetzalito is a brand new Guatemalan restaurant on Park Slope’s humming Fifth Avenue, occupying a double storefront with a blue sign that can be seen shining a long way down the avenue. The decoration of the double dining room is more elaborate than the food, which is fairly modest so far. That included recently a magnificent beef soup focused on a giant rib, with loads of carrot and chayote filling out the surprisingly light broth. The meal-size soup ($15) is served with rice (dump it in the bowl) and a basket of fresh and warm white-corn tortillas, thicker and smaller than their Mexican counterparts. 191 Fifth Avenue, near Union Street, Park Slope — Robert Sietsema, senior critic

Melissa McCart/Eater NY

Cheeseburger from Light Horse Tavern

Not to be confused with the iconic White Horse Tavern, Light Horse Tavern is a charming neighborhood spot in Jersey City’s Paulus Hook that’s been around since 2002, but feels like it’s been there forever. I like that there’s a host stand that’s basically at the grand piano and that every so often someone sits to play. My go-to here is a burger at the bar; it’s as straightforward as they come, defying smash burger ubiquity. Still, the kitchen practiced some restraint in construction and the portions, and without the bartender’s have-you-dined-with-us-before narrative that has overtaken dining rooms as of late, the visit felt delightfully retro. 199 Washington Street, at Morris Street, Paulus Hook — Melissa McCart, editor

Spicy rice cakes at Achilles Heel

Banchan by Sunny, once a pop-up, has made a long-term home at Achilles Heel over the past year; the menu changes regularly, but this weekend we went for chef Sunny Lee’s play on tteokbokki, in a version that reminds me of a jalapeno-topped pizza in the best way possible, arriving in a cast iron pan ($25). 180 West Street, at Green Street, Greenpoint — Emma Orlow, reporter