Amanda Cohen has some surprising opinions about veggie burgers: “They’re usually kind of thin patties; they’re mushy; they don’t hold together; there’s a lot of sauces or things accompanying them that I think mask the flavor; they’re always a little grainy.” Most of all, though, they’re just plain boring. Which might make you wonder why she’s gearing up to open Lekka. She worked up a brand-new recipe that takes the original Song-dynasty text purely as inspiration, not scripture. It contains mushrooms, beans, gluten-free grains, and something secret that prevents the thing from disintegrating on the flame grill. She plans to serve it on a house-baked vegan Japanese milk bun; dress it with toppings like Hatch-chile sauce and curry-tamarind ketchup; and offer it alongside crinkle-cut fries, inventive salads, and nondairy shakes.

In the last 10 years, the Jackson Heights dining scene has exploded. With an emphasis on South Asian, South American, Southeast Asian, and Mexican, it has one of the most interesting mix of reasonably priced restaurants in the city. And within each category, there is stunning diversity. You can get food from a restaurant representing a specific state in Nepal, or from a shop and beer bar that seeks to reproduce the sandwich culture of Lima, Peru. Meanwhile, the menu of a Filipino newcomer centers on the Bicol region of the archipelago. 1 area to watch lies along Northern Boulevard, where the growth in South American restaurants during this period has been amazing. Now there are many cocktail bars that mount happy hours from 16-20:00. (walk east from 80th Street and check the chalkboards), where a mixed drink can cost a mere $5, with cheap snacks galore. 3 restaurants specialize in elaborately topped hot dogs washed down with fruit drinks. So come with us now and enjoy the remarkable dining and drinking neighborhood of Jackson Heights.

From a cheesy stuffed garlic flatbread to a powerful, spicy noodle soup, here’s a selection of some of the neighborhood’s most appealing dishes

Times critic Pete Wells just awarded Gramercy Italian restaurant Rezdôra a glowing 3 stars, commending chef Stefano Secchi’s “excellent” pasta tasting menu. Wells writes that the 5-course tasting was as if the chef had laid down a straight flush. He especially digs the maccheroni al pettine, served in a “smooth, almost fluffy” tomato-basil sauce, as well as the tortelloni filled with “plush fresh ricotta.”