As we approach the holiday season and you may have some visitors coming into town, we wanted to highlight some more of our restaurant recommendations around New York. Today we’re featuring two places that are a bit off the beaten path – meaning you’ll probably have to do some traveling to get to them – but we think they’re hidden gems within each of their neighborhoods. What ties these places together is that they both serve up Central American cuisine and let you explore lots of different dishes from that part of the world. So read on if you’re curious, but be aware that we feature some images of meat here.

First up, at the top of a hill in Washington Heights is Refried Beans, a small neighborhood spot with a menu of classic Mexican dishes. We’ve found that there’s really not a whole lot of sit-down authentic Mexican restaurants in New York, so this was nice to find. There’s also plenty of vegetarian options, so Miriam got a chile relleno stuffed with vegetables, plus rice and beans on the side.

And Cyril had one of their specials, which Refried Beans was cooking up because it was the weekend of Mexican Independence Day: this burrito birria, stuffed with skirt steak, veggies, rice, chiles and beans, topped with with red and green salsa and served with a side of birria sauce.

And if you head over to the South Bronx, you’ll find Seis Vecinos. The name – which translates to “six neighbors” in English – comes from the fact that they offer a wide array of dishes from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Of course we had to try a bunch of different things while we were there, starting with some pupusas – we got one stuffed with jalapeños and cheese and one with beans and cheese.

We also shared some flautas de queso, topped with tomatoes, lettuce, beans and sour cream.

Then for entrees, Miriam got this fat burrito vegetariano, which has vegetables, rice, beans and cheese inside.

And Cyril had the very impressive pescado frito, made from a whole fish that’s fried and then served on top of tajadas – fried plantain slices.

These two places might not be in centrally located areas of New York, but we’re glad we found them and we think they’re both worth the trip to get to. Refried Beans is a nice, friendly spot serving up Mexican comfort food, if that’s what you’re craving – and if you want to be a little more adventurous and try some new things, Seis Vecinos has a pretty expansive menu that lets you sample Mexican food alongside lesser-known dishes from several different Central American countries. We had fun going to both spots, and we hope you take the opportunity to get out to new neighborhoods and try some local places with delicious things to eat!