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.
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 …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… New York is so big and there are so many old school iconic restaurants that most New Yorkers never get to experience. Take Lenny’s Clam Bar for instance out in Howard Beach which has been slinging Italian seafood since the 1970’s for the residential community …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City SADLY, BŪMU IS NOW CLOSED. People get squeamish about such silly things when it comes to food. And if they refuse to try it, they are missing out on some amazing flavors. When I tell people I …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… I thought rusk was something created by this Japanese bakery, but after some research it turns out it is a thing that I somehow missed my whole life until this year. Uncle Tetsu, which is a cheesecake phenomenon in Japan, bakes full sized cakes …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… This fantastic pastry was a total impulse buy. I didn’t plan to have dessert after the incredible (and decadent) lamb pie at the new Australian import Bourke Street Bakery. But the creme brûlée looked too good to resist. A perfectly bruléed shell broke into a …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… I have no idea why an Italian bakery in the Bronx (home of the Yankees) decided to make an iconic pastry named for a nearby city with a rival baseball team. But it’s true, Conti’s Pastry Shoppe makes one killer Boston Cream Pie. A …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… One of my favorite meals this year was at Miss Ada, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Fort Greene that’s been open for two years and still going strong. In fact, all three dishes I tried have made their way onto this list. That says a …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Corn dogs are tough to find in the city – they are definitely an American food but mostly found at street fairs. But a playful take on a corn dog exists in a very unlikely place: a Korean restaurant in Brooklyn. The Seafood “Corn Dog” …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Cantonese rice rolls have become somewhat of a recent craze in the NYC food scene. And they are really good and interesting. But what doesn’t get as much press are the curry fish balls that are often served inside or on the side. The …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… There’s nothing like a freshly fried hot donut. Now when you put a unique spin on it by making the dough out of gluten less mochi (rice cake), it gets even better. I’ve had this type of donut before but never as special as …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… This crispy rice salad showcases all of Northern Thai foods amazing flavors and textures. Spicy, sour, salty, and funky with lots of crunch and a soft bite of sausage. Crispy rice and peanuts add one sort of crunch while bracing ginger spears and a …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City Many people know about and make pilgrimages to the storied Chinatown in Flushing. It’s certainly a must-visit. But often overlooked are all the other concentrated immigrant communities that are a few neighborhoods closer (to Manhattan) than …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019… Sadly sometimes a restaurant closes before I get to write about their amazing food. That was sort of the case with Nargis Cafe and their signature dish. The Uzbeki restaurant still has their original location in Sheepshead Bay, but I tried it at their …