I've been writing about New York City's food scene for 14 years. Here are the 13 restaurants I recommend to first-time visitors.

Since moving to New York City in 2005, I've lived in five different parts of the city and found my favorite restaurants in each of them.Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

• I've been writing about New York City's food scene for 14 years and always share my recommendations.
• Some institutions, like Katz's and Peter Luger, live up to their reputations and are worth trying.

I've lived in New York City for 18 years and have been writing about its food scene for 14 of them. So when friends visit from out of town, I'm their go-to source for restaurant recommendations.

It's a lot of pressure! A person could dine out in New York every night for a year and still feel like they're missing something — they probably would be, and they have to make peace with that.

Trendy restaurants come and go, especially in popular areas with sky-high rents, so I tend to steer people toward neighborhood mainstays and staples that have been around for decades.

First, some general rules: Stay out of Times Square, don't waste meals by eating based on convenience, and know that a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich from a credible deli or breakfast cart is the greatest cheap breakfast in the world.

Though my list is nowhere near comprehensive (thousands of restaurants open each year across the five boroughs), these are the spots I always recommend to first-time visitors.