Where to eat in Times Square — and why you’d want to

What more can be said about Times Square? It is reputed to be among the most visited places in the world, attracting an estimated 300,000 people per day and an astonishing 1 million on New Year’s Eve alone.

It stands at the confluence of three great traffic rivers — Broadway, Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street — and was formerly known as Longacre Square until, in 1905, it received its current moniker when the New York Times opened its headquarters there.

Ever since its rehabilitation from a hardscrabble district of broken-down movie theaters and strip clubs in the 1980s, Times Square has been a magnet for tourists and New Yorkers alike. The latter may grimace, but find themselves there more often than they expect, and not only for a Broadway play or for its many transportation linkages.

Yes, many of its restaurants could be described as tourist traps — including a fried-chicken franchise from Guy Fieri and a fish-and-chips joint from Gordon Ramsay — that don’t reflect New York City. But there are plenty of great places to eat, some of which have been there for decades and reveal much about the city’s current taste in food. Here are 10 recommendations worth braving Times Square for, roughly running from south to north.

Madras Dosa Co.

The most famous dish of South India’s vegetarian menu has finally made it to Times Square. Madras Dosa Co. is a fledgling Boston chain that earlier this year established New York City branches. The masala dosa ($16) is a 2-foot-long sourdough crepe filled with a spicy potato mixture that you eat by tearing off pieces with your fingers. Consume it on the premises, or carry it out in its nifty carryout packaging to nearby Bryant Park — it’s perfect picnic food. 1450 Broadway (entrance on 41st Street)

Sky Pavilion

Right across the street from the Port Authority Bus Terminal lies Sky Pavilion, a sophisticated Chinese restaurant whose menu reflects the mix of regional cuisines currently popular in China itself. There are lots of Sichuan dishes, but also Shanghai, Beijing, Shaanxi and Uyghur ones, too. This is a thrilling combination that includes ma po tofu, soup dumplings, century eggs with smashed green chiles and braised eel with garlic. Most dishes range from $14 to $43. 325 West 42nd St.

USA Brooklyn Deli

Picture bent cane chairs, black-and-white tiled floors, tobacco-colored booths and an old-fashioned mercantile system where you order at a counter, receive a number on a stick and then sit down and wait for your order to arrive. That order should feature a pastrami sandwich ($22). Surprisingly, it is one of the best in town: hand sliced, slightly smoky and deep red. It’s a comparatively good value, too. Other sandwiches, such as a tuna salad, are as low as $9.95. The question is: What is USA Brooklyn Deli (not to be confused with nearby Brooklyn Diner) doing in Times Square? 211 West 43rd St.

Los Tacos No. 1

What started out a few years back at the Chelsea Market has become a citywide sensation: Los Tacos No. 1 is a chain that reflects the taco style of San Diego and the Baja California Peninsula. That means the choice of fillings in the homemade tortillas runs to pork shaved from a twirling cone, grilled steak, chicken, or cactus (nopal). Get a mula ($6.55), which features pork and melted cheese between two tortillas. 229 West 43rd St.

Sardi’s

If you want total immersion in the Theater District (a.k.a. Broadway), Sardi’s is your place. Billed as “Broadway’s longest-running show,” it opened at its current location 98 years ago as a magnet for theater types. The walls are plastered with caricatures of more than 1,000 celebrities — most autographed — including Bea Arthur, Fred Astaire, Kevin Bacon, Humphrey Bogart and Sammy Davis Jr. The menu is nominally Italian and its signature dish is spinach cannelloni smothered in cheese sauce ($30). 234 West 44th St.

Anita Gelato

Times Square has no shortage of places to enjoy ice cream and gelato, both necessities in a summer that might break heat records. Dominating the latter category in Times Square is Anita Gelato, an Israeli chain that presents a whopping 36 flavors at any one time. Regular flavors are available, but so are less common ones like salted cashew, white chocolate with nougat, and watermelon fresh mint. A small cup with two scoops is $8.50. 207 West 45th St.

Patzeria Perfect Pizza

Most tourists will head for Joe’s, a well-regarded pizzeria just south of Times Square offering the plainest of slices. They should head instead for Patzeria, which, compared with Joe’s, also offers an expanded roster of slices (most $3.75 to $5.50) by which neighborhood pizzerias often strive to distinguish themselves. And it has a side specialty of huge doughy calzones oozing cheese ($12.95 and up) — perfect to be shared by two or even three people. 231 West 46th St.

Margon

In the days when Lucy and Ricky were TV’s most adored couple, Times Square was alive with Cuban restaurants and night clubs. Margon is one of the remaining vestiges, a real old-fashioned lunch counter. Get a Cuban sandwich (around $14) to go in the front, or venture inside and line up to select such lunch items as salt cod salad, fricasseed chicken, or pork roast — then sit down at one of the bustling tables. 136 West 46th St.

Junior’s

Junior’s is one of the first things you see after crossing the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, but it has more recently become a brightly lit Times Square fixture, dispensing matzoh ball soup, chicken salad sandwiches and the like. But all of this is a prelude to their famous cheesecake ($9.25), so rich and creamy it might be an entire meal in itself — a classic New York City dessert you shouldn’t miss. 1626 Broadway

Lagos TSQ

Upstairs, this Nigerian establishment is more nightclub; downstairs, more bar and restaurant. It is not a bad place for a midafternoon cocktail, but is even better for a substantial meal of unreconstructed West African fare. There are hamburgers and barbecue wings, but why not go for the jollof rice with chicken ($30), or a fiery bowl of goat pepper soup ($20)? 727 Seventh Ave.