Food Adventuring Around NYC
Brian Hoffman is a classically trained actor who is now a full-time tour guide, blogger, and food obsessive. He leads food and drink tours around New York City, which not only introduce tour-goers to delicious food, but gives them a historical context. He has written food articles for Gothamist and Midtown Lunch in addition to overseeing this blog and a few food video series, including Eat This, Locals Know, and Around the World in One City. His latest series is an international cooking show with his son which can be found on this site.
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Traditionally, laing is a Filipino dish made of shredded taro leaves. Tsismis, a new and very exciting Filipino gastropub does not seem to do things traditionally. Instead of taro, they use the very popular ingredient kale – shredded and cooked down with coconut milk …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… It’s pretty ballsy to take the classic Italian combo sandwich and eliminate the meat. Orchard Grocer does it to satisfying effect with fake mortadella, but the version at sandwich champs Court Street Grocers is even more impressive. Here they use thinly sliced roasted butternut squash in place …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Don Angie might have been my most memorable meal of the year. And while this salad was the least memorable dish I had, I can’t help but write about it. Even the least spectacular dish at this Italian spot was spectacular. A play on …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… It’s crazy that I lost my phone right after one of the best (and most expensive) meals of the year. Everything we ordered at Crown Shy is just a memory now and I have no photographic evidence to prove I ever ate it. You have …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Now here’s a mash-up that Dominique Ansel wishes he would have created. John Coppola, the sandwich wiz from undersung Bread & Spread in Dumbo took his masterful porchetta sandwich and gave it a shot in the arm. This crisp roasted pork is seasoned with …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… It looks like the carrot dog is no longer offered at the hype machine vegan restaurant By Chloe. Perhaps it was from the critical backlash or it was just a special promotion. But I actually do hope these carrot dogs made by Ducks Eatery’s …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… The two dishes I tried at the homey Albanian restaurant Çka Ka Qëllu were hearty and filling. The crepe-like Fli was a savory layered cake that was pleasantly sticky and rib-sticking. It was served with a pickled tomato and a chunk of tangy cheese. …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Get used to seeing this restaurant name on this list. The small meal I had at Miss Ada was one of the best of the year. And this lamb appetizer was probably the heartiest thing I tried. Incredibly tender and spiced, braised lamb sat atop …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Most folks who live or hang out in Bushwick know Sally Roots. It’s a breezy, happy spot with little spins on Caribbean comfort food. Forget crab cakes, these nicely fried patties of salted cod have a ton of flavor and textures. They’re incredibly satisfying …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… This underusing Bushwick pizzeria is doing things a little bit differently. All the pizzas at Ops are naturally leavened using a sourdough yeast. The chew on the pie I tasted was incredible with a deep rich yeasty flavor. The bubbly char bits played nicely with the …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… The Margherita slice at the very popular L’Industrie didn’t look like much, but it actually stands up to most of the city’s other to-go slice joints. The crust is impeccably crisp and the cheese and sauce combo had a nice rich tang. All of …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… No NYC pizzeria this year got more hype and praise than the new slice joint from the Frankies (of Frankies 457 Spuntino and formerly Prime Meats). I visited twice and was hot and cold (see a full pizza review here), but I have to admit …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City When a hot new restaurant announceS they will start serving weekday lunch, I rejoice a little bit. My schedule is a bit different from most and the best time for me to go eat somewhere is …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Since I reviewed their brewery, IcoNYC has opened up a new tasting room in Long Island City. One of the beers you should definitely try (if you can still find it), is the ruby red Hib Hob. It features tart hibiscus up front that …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Big bold high-alcohol beers are still the rage in the craft beer world. Whether it’s a giant pastry stout or an extra-bitter IPA, big and bad is sometimes thought of as better. But I am sometimes attracted to the simple and easy drinking. Enter …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Evil Twin is doing some really wacky things with beer and this was by far my favorite concoction. Many major brewers have put out things called Hard Root Beer. This is something totally different: an actual Root Beer beer. It smelled unmistakably like the soft …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… The restaurant scene at the South Street Seaport is changing. Case in point is one of the new Momofuku’s to open. Bar Wayō is a destination bar with creative bites. The best thing I tried at lunch was a surprising clam chowder. They don’t …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… I have never had an experience of eating fatty meat and not feeling slightly guilty at my gluttony. Honeybee’s does away with that guilt because all of the food here (like at all of Ravi DeRossi’s restaurants) are completely vegan. The pulled pork blew …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… I’ve heard that the heart of the modern food scene in Israel is actually in the city of Tel Aviv. Well, the owners of falafel joint Nish Nush have decided to take that influence and run with it at 19 Cleveland, which calls itself …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Nowon just opened to the public less than a month before this posting. But they seem to already be firing on all cylinders. Jjajang refers to a Korean-Chinese dish usually made with noodles and a thick black bean sauce. Here that inspiration is put …