Quintessential NYC Eats
Sorry if this is a common topic, but I have a friend visiting, and I want to take him somewhere that is unique to New York.
He's from Austria, has lived in Paris, and this is his first time outside of Europe. Ideally, I'd like to take him somewhere where the experience is as interesting and memorable as the food itself - not necessarily high-budget memorable, just unique.
What are some food-experiences that you would consider to be not only awesome, but quintessentially New York? Any suggestions?
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21 Comments:
Take him to Peanut Butter Co. on Sullivan Street.
If you can spend the cash, I also suggest Peter Luger's in Williamsburg (a very short ride from the lower east side); momofuku Ssam Bar or the noodles bar as well.
asg749d at 12:54AM on 04/28/09
i've noticed many europeans hate peanut butter, FYI.
russ and daughters is great. very new york. pastrami from katz's or carnegie? your friend would probably be appalled at the size of those sandwiches.
the pink tea cup in the west village for soul food.
dmarina at 2:06AM on 04/28/09
Grimaldi's Pizza, Brooklyn Ice Cream, and a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge... doesn't get more NYC than that.
Pastrami is a good recommendation, not my favorite, but definitely Katz or Carnegie.
I'm a fan of the jazz at Blue Water Grill for a good tourist experience.
Chris De Noia at 2:26AM on 04/28/09
A dessert bar - ChikaLicious, Tailor or Kyotofu.
A great neighborhood restaurant - Prune, Mary's Fish Camp or 'inoteca.
A mega-restaurant: Buddakan, Spice Market or Stanton Social.
A cupcakery: Butter Lane, Billy's or Sugar Sweet Sunshine.
Sweet Freak at 9:20AM on 04/28/09
Pretzel croissant from City Bakery!
Jacquie at 10:57AM on 04/28/09
Arepa's at Caracas Arepa Bar on 7th ave and 1st.
Hit up Blind Tiger for good beer and awesome food.
For late night eats, head up to the Chicken and Rice cart on 53rd and 6th.
Juman23 at 11:34AM on 04/28/09
Thanks, everyone! These all sound great.
I've never been to Peanut Butter Co., but that sounds like something that I would like myself.
I think I might try to go with a "mega restaurant" for dinner - still have to decide on one. And maybe over the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory at some point, too. (We walked over the Williamsburg Bridge, but the Brooklyn Bridge is, of course, something else altogether.)
And unfortunately I work all day, leaving him to venture by himself, but I'm going to send him to either Katz's or Carnegie for lunch.
Please keep the suggestions coming!
cook au vin at 12:27PM on 04/28/09
Serious Eats City Guide: New York (How to Leave Here Pleasantly Full)
Things to eat in New York that you can't find elsewhere
I would also look up the "Disappearing Manhattan" episode of No Reservations for places that are quintessentially NY and possibly disappearing soon.
My list of quintessential New York foods:
Bagels and smoked salmon (go for the Russ & Daughters experience, just be aware it is a takeout-only place, but they will gladly make you a bagel sandwich to go)
Egg cream (which has neither egg nor cream - ha, go to Ray's on Avenue A)
Black and white cookies (my friends tell me William Greenburg's are the best but I am not an expert)
Cheesecake (Junior's is just fine, some like Eileen's)
Halal chicken and rice (preferably the one on 53rd and 6th - look up details on Midtownlunch.com)
Bialys (Kossar's) and knishes (Yonah Schimmel)
Pastrami on rye with mustard (Katz's Deli is the place to go for this)
Pickles (including quarter sours, half sours, etc.)
Recession special with papaya juice from Gray's or Papaya King (the NY hot dog is a very different beast)
A beer at McSorley's (light or dark, you only have 2 options, each order is 2 small mugs by default)
A properly made cocktail (fresh juices, fresh garnishes, etc). from Death & Co or PDT or Pegu Club, etc.
One of Mario Batali's restaurants (Otto or Lupa for the budget minded, or dinner at Babbo - you can dine at the bar if you get there early or are willing to wait)
Prix fixe lunch at one of the upscale fine dining destinations (Jean Georges is the the most bang for your buck: $28 for two courses, including amuse bouche, marshmallows cut at your table, chocolates, and macarons)
Fried chicken and waffles at Amy Ruth's
Shack burger from Shake Shack (don't order the plain burger, get the Shack burger!)
A steak at Keens Steakhouse - the atmosphere is one of a kind and it's one of the few historic institutions that actually gives a damn about the food they serve.
New York style pizza...
There are a few distinct styles of round pizza found in NYC: New York style (which is basically what every gas-oven powered Famous Original Ray's serves), Neapolitan style, and a hybrid style of the two (and these are mostly coal-oven places). Then to throw a wrench into things, some places are known more for square pies (like Artichoke). If you are a solo visitor, you'll probably want just a slice unless you have a big appetite for pizza or are OK with not finishing the pie. A lot of famous places like John's of Bleecker, Grimaldi's, and Lombardi's are pies only. Although they are all historically significant, the pies there are not the absolute best to be had in the city.
My favorites in Manhattan are Co. (aka Company), Una Pizza Napoletana, and Patsy's of East Harlem (117th street), but the first two are pies only. Una Pizza Napoletana is pretty expensive on the pizza scale ($21 for a pie that is on the small side) and only one for dinner. The first two are Neapolitan style. The latter is NY-Neapolitan (hybrid) style, done with a coal-oven.
My favorites outside Manhattan are Di Fara and Totonno's on Coney Island but both are a trek. Totonno's is still renovating after a fire; they hope to be open in a few weeks as reported here on SE.
If you have time to kill on a weekday, go to Di Fara for lunch, when it is much less insane than on a weekend. You can get pies or slices at Di Fara, and Dom is a trip to watch and talk to.
Some more offbeat recommendations:
A day trip to Flushing, Queens to do a food crawl of the dim sum scene and/or the shopping mall scene (definitely research this on Serious Eats or the New York Times).
Dinner at Kabab Cafe (brains, heart, cheeks, liver, testicles, etc. and the friendliest restaurateur you will ever meet) in Astoria, Queens.
Eating yourself silly on strange parts at Yakitori Totto. Get there early, they run out of the interesting parts quickly (neck, liver, heart, knee bone, tail, skin, testicle).
Grab a last minute reservation at Sushi Azabu, an authentically Japanese sushi restaurant hidden in the basement of a Japanese-Italian restaurant in Tribeca. Call now.
Or grab a last minute reservation at Degustation, a Spanish small plates restaurant with an open kitchen and all counter seating. For 5 dishes for $50, it's one of the cheapest tasting menus in town and you get to interact with the chef.
Try the solid cocktails at molecular gastronomy temple Tailor. Or try dessert tasting menu at Tailor or WD-50.
Experience the chaos of brunch at Shopsin's and hope that Kenny drops a few f-bombs while you're there.
Red Hook Ball Field vendors will be opening soon, too.
And of course there are always the street carts. Here's a great guide to street vendors, although this was written before the insane number of dessert trucks popped up suddenly.
Also, you should go to Momofuku Ssam Bar. That is all.
PS Visiting friends have reported using their iPod Touch or GPS units really helps them get around the city. I love my iPhone for being able to look up restaurants, get directions from my current location (which it senses automatically), and being able to call them up and/or view their web sites (assuming they aren't in Flash).
kathryn at 12:59PM on 04/28/09
Whoa. I think Kathryn just about covered everything. Well, except for grabbing some Mister Softee soft serve on a street corner and walking it into Central Park or trying out a slightly less famous pizza place like Two Boots, which is just fun. There's also Rice to Riches across from Lombardi's, and those are posibly worth a try though I hear people haven't liked Lombardi's as much since the expansion.
Stufsocker at 3:34PM on 04/28/09
Wow, thanks for the thorough response, Kathryn! That's awesome. Thanks to everyone else, too! He's not here for too long, but we'll definitely hit up as many as we can before he goes, and send him back to Europe nice and full.
Rice to Riches is something I hadn't thought of, but I might have to drag him there, too.
cook au vin at 4:51PM on 04/28/09
> Well, except for grabbing some Mister Softee soft serve on a street corner and walking it into Central Park
Hmm, maybe some custard to go on the UWS from Shake Shack and then walking into the park? I'm not a huge Mister Softee fan.
Lombardi's is skippable if you are doing other pizza places, and Rice to Riches is really not good.
kathryn at 5:17PM on 04/28/09
Do breakfast at Barney Greengrass. (Weekday, not weekend). I think this place is much more authentic than some delis mentioned above. There is really no place else like this in the world, in my opinion. Quintessential NY, (without the tourists)
kschuman at 5:46PM on 04/28/09
Barney Greengrass is a great recommendation... Often overlooked.
Maybe it's time SE: NY developed a recommendation section, by Neighborhood and/or by cuisine type. The Guide is a nice start, but would like to see something User Generated and fluid...
Chris De Noia at 6:14PM on 04/28/09
I love Barney Greengrass (closed Mondays), although it is probably a bit redundant if you go to Russ & Daughters as well. R&D is convenient if you are already going to be on the Lower East Side.
kathryn at 10:32AM on 04/29/09
if he's alone for the day, send him shopping at zabar's for treats to take home. he can stop at fairway while he's up there.
cybercita at 11:02AM on 04/29/09
I took him to McSorley's last night for some good old-fashioned ale and merrymaking. I love that place - it was great.
I've never been to Barney Greengrass, but I will definitely check it out.
We'll also be heading out to Flushing soon, for some real NYC-style culture shock.
Now if only his trip was a few weeks longer...
Thanks for the help!
cook au vin at 12:01PM on 04/29/09
Two more:
Pancakes at Clinton Street Baking Co. and fried chicken at Blue Ribbon.
Sweet Freak at 9:25AM on 04/30/09
Not sure I'd call pancakes or fried chicken quintessentially New York -- but those are two great places, regardless!
kathryn at 11:43AM on 04/30/09
pizza: Joe's on Carmine for a NY slice; for something different, try Sullivan St Bakery in midtown (they have excellent bread, too; try the pugliese and the raisin walnut).
burger: Shake Shack - if it's nice outside, go to the original in Madison Square Park; there will most likely be a line, but that is what New Yorkers seem to not mind doing, waiting.
hot dog: Gray's Papaya (multiple locations)
cupcakes: Magnolia's is the tourist spot, but Two Little Red Hens on the UES makes some really delicious cupcakes.
Katz's, Balthazar, Momofuku Ssam Bar, WD-50 are truly unique to NYC and worth checking out.
sirbakesalot at 3:26PM on 04/30/09
The Chinatown Ice Cream Factory!
BreadAndButtercream at 8:55PM on 04/30/09
Some other great quintessentially NY places:
-Dumpling House for some killer dumplings and banh mis
-Catching a drink @ the boathouse on 79th street OR
-Catching a drink on the roof @ the Met
-Pho @ Pho Bang on Mott Street
-Epistrophy for some cute hipster brunch and/or wine in the afternoon
-One of the many awesome places in K-town (32nd street btwn 5th & 6th): BBNY's double fried garlic chicken (the place is pub style and on the 2nd floor so a little hard to find), BCD's sundubu (seafood tofu stew), Gahm Mi Oak's Sul Lung Tong (oxtail soup)...
-Brunch or dinner at Cafe Habana (go on the weekdays if at all possible!) for some yummy grilled corn topped with cojito cheese, and other tasty Cuban dishes.
maikitchen at 8:31AM on 05/01/09