The best part about New York City is that in the middle of all of the bustle and chaos of the city, you can still find gems that tell an authentic story of culture and immigration thriving in the beautiful diverse fabric of the city. Restaurants that feel like being a guest in a home, perfectly unfamiliar yet comforting, where exploring a menu feels like gaining culinary literacy, a brief escape from New York to a different world. Çka Ka Qëllu feels like that. The Albanian restaurant is well-established. On any given day, people crowd around the tables in the intimate space, tables filled with warm stews and flatbread. It’s the perfect level of popular: a proven place that gathers a mixed crowd of regulars and families and epicureans that aren’t chasing Beli rankings.

The warm hospitality comes in its name, Çka Ka Qëllu roughly means “what we happen to have.” And what they happen to have rustic space is filled with art and artifacts that makes it feel like you’re dining in a small town museum. The menu of traditional Albanian and Kosovan food tastes homey, even if Albania isn’t home. It’s the stick to your bones kind of comfort food, from the fresh flatbread with a variety of dips and the layered fli to a collection of “tavas” — slow cooked clay dishes and grilled meats. It’s a place that feels like family in the best way.