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 2017… SADLY, SEAMSTRESS IS NOW CLOSED. At cocktail bars, I usually request to try something unusual and unlike anything else I’ve tasted before. At the singular Upper East Side cocktail lounge Seamstress, I got just what I asked for and it was so incredibly interesting. This …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… SADLY, FIFTY IS NOW CLOSED. It takes a lot for me to take notice of deviled eggs. They’re pretty ubiquitous and usually feature the same mustards or spicy flavors. The version at Fifty, an undersung gem nestled in the West Village, celebrates trout. Each perky egg …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… Not sure why nobody thought of this earlier, but Trapizzino is a company from Rome that invented this sandwich-pizza hybrid. Using leavened pizza dough to create pockets, Chef Stefano Callegari can fill it with whatever he sees fit. I truly loved the classic chicken cacciatora …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… SADLY, NUR IS NOW CLOSED. Steak tartare is one of those dishes that seems to be difficult to innovate. But Israeli chef Meir Adoni has reinvigorated the dish to an artful plating that is flavorful and filling enough for a main course. The hand-cut beef is …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… Li-Lac makes some incredible chocolate from peanut butter cups to mint bars, but the most addicting thing I tried at this chocolatier from 1923 were the butter crunch bits. Not as overly chocolatey as other offerings, these are by far the most addicting. The …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City It’s the holiday season, which means most of the local bakeries and dessert spots roll out holiday-themed specials. Thankfully we’ve moved on from the pumpkin spice everything and now you’ll see egg nog cookies, peppermint ice cream, and gingerbread …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… I might be one of the last food people in New York to discover this dish. Missy Robbins opened Lilia last year in Williamsburg and all the food writers rejoiced. Most especially, they singled out this plate of delicately filled tubes of pasta. Each bite …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… SADLY, CAFFÉ & GELATO IS NOW CLOSED. I have yet to do my official search for the city’s best cannoli (one day – just you wait) but I think I may have already found them. And they are not from any of the bakeries that make …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… Much like the Shark Eye at Mother of Pearl and a Bloody Mary (or Red Snapper) at Old King Cole Bar, the Sakagura Martini has become the stuff of NYC cocktail legend and in just a matter of a year. While it is very visual …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… My first post on this site was for the still excellent pizzeria Kesté. This year they expanded big time with locations in both Williamsburg and the Financial District. And they also got a little fancier with a few new appetizers that were not available …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… You may have seen cans of Rise Coffee in local grocery stores around New York, but they actually have a little storefront in the Lower East Side. When I say little, I mean it’s basically just a stand that is very easy to miss. But it …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… SADLY, JOY LUCK PALACE IS NOW CLOSED. Perhaps I fell for the cute, Instagram-friendly shape of these custard buns, but they were really my favorite thing at the dim sum meal I had at Joy Luck Palace. They are stuffed with a not-too-sweet egg …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… Pasquale Jones is certainly not the first business to put clams on a pizza, but they have done justice to the tradition started at places like Lombardi’s and New Haven’s Frank Pepe. The hipster chefs here run an expert wood-fired oven crisping the sides …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City SADLY, AUTRE KYO YA IS NOW CLOSED. When people ask me what’s my favorite restaurant in the city, I laugh and roll my eyes responding about how impossible that is to choose. But the truth is I …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… Dessert is not always on the agenda for me at Indian restaurants, but maybe I should be a bit more open-minded. I’ve tried a few pastries and Indian sweets, but nothing has knocked my socks off like the makhan malai at Indian Accent. This ball …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… SADLY, RAMEN LAB IS NOW CLOSED. This is one of the dishes on my list that is no longer available in New York. But you could try it if you visit Johnny Noodle King in Detroit. Back in May, they were the featured ramen chefs at …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… Some people have heard about the gins or whiskeys made in Brooklyn, but many New Yorkers have no idea that there is a traditional Puerto Rican spirit being made in the Bronx. To make the pitorro, Port Morris Distillery uses a mix of brown …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… Before I discovered it at Middle Eastern restaurants, I had almost no use for cauliflower. But this cuisine is perfect for the often bland white florets. Au Za’atar knows exactly what to do with them by marinating and then frying them to a perfect crisp …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… SADLY, SAMESA IS NOW CLOSED. Leave it to hipster chefs to put an interesting spin on the bar snacks we know too well as chicken wings. Here they fry them and season them with a dry rub of za’atar spice. It gives it a distinct …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… Translating to “little potato pan”, you can get a good sense of what these loaded skillets consist of. On their own, they are the best hash browns you’ll ever had with a generous portion of bacon and onions. It comes topped with your choice …