I’m counting down the 10 best dishes I tasted in 2022…
Ever since the great pandemic of two years ago (the one that is, yes, technically still raging), I am very grateful for another year immersing myself in the food of NYC. Yes, lots has changed. I’m not able to as freely get to the far reaches of the outer boroughs or dine at the finest dining establishments, but I am still exploring in the neighborhoods I frequent at the price point that I can afford.
And I’ve had some incredible dishes that remind me just how much I miss the full breadth of the NYC dining scene. Here I present my annual Top Ten.
NUMBER 10: TACOS at TAQUERIA RAMIREZ
Taqueria Ramirez, a buzzy little spot on a side street in Greenpoint, reminds me of some of the excellent spots I was taken to in Mexico City just weeks before the pandemic.
Like many taco joints, the menu is pretty simple with just five meat fillings and nopales (cactus) which also has the option for a crispy pork skin add-on.
No chicken or carne asada here, but instead deliciously tender stewed beef and pork parts. The expertly layered pork butt with hints of chile and annatto were as delicious as any pastor I have tasted around the city. A big chunk of pineapple brings sweet and tangy to the party.
The suadero, however, was other worldly. This is made from what is called “rose meat” and comes from the muscle between the ribs of a cow. At Taqueria Ramirez, it is stewed in a big cauldron of broth and lard along with the other two meats (tripe and sausage). The meat is tender and soft with lots of fatty meat flavors that just melt away. Price: $4-$5
| TAQUERIA RAMIREZ |
| 94 Franklin Street (at Oak Street), Greenpoint, Brooklyn (718) 366-0586 |
| instagram.com/taqueria_ramirez |
NUMBER 9: CHILI CRAB PASTA at NATIVE NOODLES
Native Noodles started as a stand at the awesome Queens Night Market and got a good deal of press when they opened their Washington Heights storefront in the midst of the pandemic.
The affordable options mostly focus on different noodle dishes, including the lip-smacking Chili Crab pasta.
It’s overloaded with crab meat covering the noodles like freshly fallen snow. The wide noodles (think linguine) are slicked with a rich chili crab sauce tingling with chiles, ginger, and garlic and thickened with egg. It’s got spicy, sweet, with buttery seafood notes. Endlessly addicting. Price: $14.50
| NATIVE NOODLES |
| 2129 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 165th and West 166th Street), Washington Heights (646) 370-6290 |
| nativenoodles.com |
NUMBER 8: CRUNCHY COCONUT RICE SALAD at DHOM
I was stoked when I learned a new more affordable Laotian restaurant from the owners of Khe-Yo, recently debuted in the East Village. Its menu of mostly small plates showcases the Southeast Asian flavors of Laotian cuisine.
This messy salad was full-on textures and flavors. A garden of green lettuce, mint and lime leaves hid among a heaping serving of crunchy sweet coconut rice and crisp bean sprouts. Then there was sweet herbal pork sausage crumbled up among these wonderfully chewy little fatty slivers (of what I learned was tuna). Hot peppers loomed around the plate and when tossed with a sweet carrot and peanut sauce, the flavor bomb exploded.
This dish, with its rolodex of flavors and textures, is a great example of Laotian cuisine and a wonderful testament as to why we need more restaurants serving this under-represented food. Price: $12
| DHOM |
| 505 East 12th Street (between Avenue A and Avenue B), East Village (646) 833-7965 |
| dhomnyc.com |
NUMBER 7: CHICKEN YASSA BOWL at EAT OFFBEAT
The newest spot in Chelsea Market, Eat Offbeat, is a great example of the interesting, important culinary curation that happens in this seemingly touristy destination.
Similar to The Migrant Kitchen and Emma’s Torch, Eat Offbeat has a social mission to represent and support the immigrant community. This business has been around for a few years now, catering and doing delivery. The Chelsea Market location is their first storefront.
The menu features global dishes from different immigrant chefs, from varied countries like Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, Venezuela, and more, that are designed to be mixed and matched into hearty, flavorful bowls.
I chose for my base the Chicken Yassa, a traditional Senegal stew of chicken and onions slicked with a sauce made from lemon juice, garlic, and mustard. It had a wonderful sweet-spicy-tangy flavor with bursts of salt from green olives. The chicken fell off the bone and completely melted in my mouth. This was home cooked food at its finest. Price: $15.90
| EAT OFFBEAT |
| 75 Ninth Avenue (between West 15th and West 16th Street), Meatpacking District Inside Chelsea Market (646) 889-8006 |
| eatoffbeat.com |
NUMBER 6: KOONG KAREE at SOOTHR
Lately, exciting Thai restaurants around the city have been offering dishes that are brand new (to me, at least). And that’s why I ordered the Koong Karee at the fashionable East Village restaurant Soothr (pronounced “sood”) meaning “recipe,” but maybe more importantly, rhyming with “good”.
Koong Karee has become one of their more popular dishes, maybe because of its uniqueness around NYC. It is a dish that comes form the capital of Bangkok, specifically centering around that city’s Chinatown and influenced by Chinese immigrants.
The flavors are also quite unique. This shrimp curry is comprised of plump crustaceans cooked in a rich egg sauce, Flavorwise, the glossy egg yolk comes through and provides a nice sweetness that tames a strong curry powder presence. There is also a mellow herbal crunch from celery, red peppers, and onions. Price: $22
| SOOTHR |
| 204 East 13th Street (between Third and Second Avenue), East Village (212) 844-9789 |
| soothrnyc.com |
