I recently went to New York (I am a lucky lucky girl) and completely fell in love with the city! Well, that’s a bit of a stretch, but I’ve definitely started a love affair. I didn’t do too many touristy things this time around, opting rather, to catch up with friends (love that btw, having transplant friends to help me experience the city as an ‘insider’/ ‘local’) and food trot my way through NY’s downtown. Anyhow, here is a (completely NON-exhaustive, you know, with NY being a food mecca and all…) list of places I went to.. and a few that are on my future list of “must eats”
Mad For Chicken or Bon Chon in K-town for korean fried chicken are highly recommended for the fried chicken aficionado. I went to Boka in Saint Marks (which serves Bon Chon chicken) and was super happy with the crisp (it’s double fried), flavourful (thoroughly coated in sauce) chicken. My friend and I ordered the medium combo (6 wings, 3 drumsticks) for $12.95 USD and decided to half-and-half the flavours: soy garlic and spicy. Reservations are highly recommended. Boka also fills up very quickly.
Oh-Taisho also in the St. Mark’s Area (NYU miniature Korea/ Japan town) serves delicious skewers and has a very fun atmosphere. Think Guu or Zakkushi in Vancouver. It serves up a variety of skewers from chicken gizzard ($1.50) to bacon wrapped asparagus ($2.75), and the drinks are cheap! $15-85 for a bottle of Sake? Yes please! For $6.50, it’s worth ordering their “fresh grapefruit” cocktail; you squeeze a fresh grapefruit into your cup of alcohol. Reservations are not taken, but I found the wait time fine. If it’s a weekend, be prepared to go early or wait forever.
I haven’t checked this one out, but Kenka is also highly recommended. It is similar to Oh-Taisho and has the added kitsch of a complimentary bag of sugar to craft your own cotton candy… fun!
If you’re ready to venture to Brooklyn, Grimaldi’s serves authentic coal-brick oven pizza. For the non-directionally-challenged, you can supposedly cross the bridge and reach your destination by following the signs to “Dumbo” in 30 minutes. I meandered and used 3 hours, but the goal was still reached! Their pizzas are hugemongous, and come with a wonderfully thin chewy and crispy crust. Larges are $14 (8 slices), Smalls are $12 (6 slices), and additional toppings are $2-$4 regardless if you only fill half a pizza with chosen topping. They do not take reservations, so be prepared to line up if you visit during peak hours.
For the traveller who refuses to leave Manhattan, Lombardi’s in Little Italy serves pizzas akin to Grimaldi’s: authentic coal-oven NY pizza.
Friend of a Farmer near Union Square thrilled me with their cosy atmosphere, fantastic french press coffee, and fresh and delicious portobello sun-dried tomato panini $11.50. I dined for under $20 and seriously considered visiting this place again during my 5 day stay. Reservations not needed but taken.
Crif Dogs Despite being barred admittance from their ‘secret bar’ (a telephone booth is a front for their ‘hidden’ bar, how cool is that?!) I would return to this late night hot dog restaurant for their hot dogs (and also to get into their bar… I want to see it, damn it!) Favourites include the Chihuahua (a bacon wrapped dog with avocado and sour cream) $4.50, the Spicy Redneck (a house dog, bacon wrapped with chili, coleslaw, and jalapeño) $4.75, and the Waffle Fries.
Maialino Danny Meyer’s newest restaurant has an gorgeous open concept. The service is impeccable and I also had my only celebrity sighting (Tyra Banks!) here. The bread, apparently from Grandaisy Bakery was ineffably delicious. We were ordering our third basket, well into our dessert. My main, fettuccine alla carbonara, $16, I was less than impressed with, but my friend raved about her main: porchetta al uovo panini, $14. In her words: “think thick slices of porchetta with melt in your mouth pieces of fat (but not too much) under the skin that’s a wee bit charred with rosemary and some other herbs.” Dessert-wise, if you order the gelati and sorbetti, the caramelized pear and tiramisu are unnervingly close to the real thing (as if they blended the food into gelato form). Stay away from concord grape though (it leaves a gross aftertaste.) Early reservations are recommended, but don’t hesitate to try your luck; I called three days in advance and managed to secure a table for 8 on Saturday at 12PM.
Taim prounounced “tah-eem” (don’t be a simpleton like me and say “tame”!) The chef and owner has previously worked and thrown down with Bobby Flay. This place has the best falafels: prepared fresh daily and everything on the menu is strictly vegetarian. There are three falafel flavours Green (parsley, cilantro, mint — traditional), Harissa (tunisian spices — mild spicy), and Red (roasted red peppers — not spicy). I ordered the Red falafel sandwich $5.25 and taim french fries (with saffron aioli) $4. The food is incredibly tasty, generously portioned, and even the staunchest meat-eater will be satisfied with taim’s falafels. My sole warning? Be prepared to wait a good while to order, and better yet, to make it into this closet-sized restaurant to order!! Also, avoid the indian chai $2.25… complete rip off.
Ippudo this ramen place is definitely a contender against Momofuku and even though I can’t compare the two, a few of my foodie friends favour Ippudo. The Hirata Buns (2 pieces, steamed buns filled with your choice of pork or chicken, served with Ippudo original spicy buns sauce), $8, were so good that we ordered two servings (we weren’t hungry BTW). I don’t like tofu but was favourably impressed with Bakuretsu Tofu (spicy tofu casserole with minced pork and crunchy noodles served in a hot stone pot), $9, and my ramen, Akamaru Modern (‘the original tonkotsu’ soup noodle with Ippudo’s special sauce, pork belly chashu, cabbage, kikurage, scallions, miso paste & fragrant garlic oil), $13, was delicious and satisfying. The noodles, unexpectedly thin, (to be honest, I’m not well versed in my ramen noodles at all! >_<) were a fantastic al-dente chewiness and the broth was really flavourful. Reservations are a first-come-first-serve basis, so better to come earlier than later as this place fills up quickly. Friends have been known to wait for an hour plus here!
a few future “must-try” places on my list!
Peter Luger’s, brooklyn — authentic, #1 steakhouse in NY
Shake Shack, flatiron — roadside-style burger and milkshake joint, also danny meyer’s
Chickalicious, st. marks — hand made desserts made fresh daily. 3 dishes for around $12
Babbo, greenwich village — Mario Batali… I need to fine dine next time!
Katz’s Deli, lower east side — HUGE sandwiches. apparently $15 per, but very worth it.
