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.
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 cakes. Some bakeries also give a nod to Hanukkah. One of the traditional treats for the Festival of Lights …
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 Sakura 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 …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… I thought the concept at Pig Bleecker was pretty ingenious. As far as I know, it’s the first restaurant to take components and techniques from American BBQ and incorporating them into other more refined dishes. Some dishes worked better than others, but by far …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2017… I’ve often sang the praises of the yeast bombs made by Dough – always slathered with a perfectly balanced flavored glaze (blood orange is king). But this year was the first time I had tried one of their stuffed doughnuts. and I don’t think I’ll …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City SADLY, FIFTY IS NOW CLOSED. When I talk about falafel, I usually say if I was forced into becoming a vegetarian, this is the food I would eat all the time. But I realize that is a …
I’ve been to Lisbon more than any other city in Europe. I have truly been seduced by the beauty, the food, and the people of this great historic capital. But it wasn’t until I took the Experience Lisbon Walk that I really got under the skin of this city. My guide Sofia from Lisbon Urban …
My search for the best pizza in New York continues…. The students at Fordham University in the Bronx are luckier than most college kids. Not only are they steps away from the most densely populated authentic Italian food mecca in NYC (Arthur Avenue), but they also get to have Pugsley as their local pizza joint. …