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 2015… Num Pang is known for their meat-heavy Cambodian-style sandwiches. And they’re great with cilantro and pickled vegetables on a buttery baguette, but I discovered that the flavors are just as bold and unique in salad form. I’ve been addicted to their chimchurri-glazed chicken salad this …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2015… Cha An Tea House is a pretty unique oasis in the East Village. This small Japanese tea house provides you with a refined experience for after or pre-dinner tea, toasts, and desserts. I like to end the night here with a few sweets, most …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2015… Mochi is more common today than ever, but it’s usually inside of ice cream or on top of some frozen yogurt. For the uninitiated, mochi is a chewy, stretchy Japanese rice cake. Almost like a marshmallow, but not as fluffy and with a really unique texture. …
I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2015… How could a noodle dish be good without the noodles? Brilliantly, SkyIce (who are also known for their unique Thai ice creams) swaps out noodles for strips of papaya. They retain the same crunch and tenderness as the traditional noodles and with the rest …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City You can go into almost any fancy coffee shop or bakery in the city and they now have a gluten free option: cookie, muffin, scone, you name it. It’s advertised on their shelf and offers something to …
There are lots of breweries to visit now in the city, but perhaps the most diverse is Threes Brewing out in Gowanus. It is a huge multi-use space where they often have live music, brew fantastic farmhouse beers, and have a rotating food pop-up. On this video, the food on offer was from smoked meat …
My search for the best corned beef/pastrami in New York continues…. SADLY, BEN’S BEST KOSHER DELI IS NOW CLOSED. Part of the deli experience is the deli man. There is even a documentary made about this cultural icon. While I was sitting at Ben’s Best Kosher Deli, I watched the owner Jay Parker walk around and …
It hasn’t happened yet, but it will get cold in this city (unless global warming has changed all that already). And the best way to warm up during the cold season is, not with a coat, but with locally made spirits and cocktails. Village Voice will be showcasing the exciting local distilling scene once again with …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City There are too many hidden gems in this city. You could spend a lifetime searching and you’ll still only uncover a handful. Church of Sweden is just that. It’s a Swedish church that’s been in the middle …
Come back every Wednesday for another funny, informative video documenting my inept food adventures. NY Craft Cocktail Tour explores the craft cocktail culture of New York from local distilleries to specialty spirit shops to amazing cocktail bars and speakeasies. We’ve all heard about this revival in speakeasy-type hidden bars. Well, the first to do it here in …
My search for the best pizza in New York continues…. When people ask me about the best pizza in New York, I always have to ask what style they want. Do they want a typical New York slice, wood-oven Neapolitan pies, thin grandma-style, Sicilian, Roman-style? We have all those styles in New York. But up …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City I am so spoiled living and eating in this city. I used to be afraid to order roast chicken when going out to dinner at a nicer restaurant. Not anymore. But now I have certain expectations that …
Come back every Wednesday for another funny, informative video documenting my inept food adventures. Restaurants come and go so quickly in this city. I never got to Five Points, which was a neighborhood favorite in Noho, but I’m pleased to see that it’s replacement, Vic’s, is more than capable of filling its shoes. Vic’s has …
SADLY, TURKISS IS NOW CLOSED. When one falafel joint closes, another opens. It doesn’t always work that way, but it almost always does in and around Bleecker Street in the West Village. Yatagan sat on Macdougal Street for years churning out doner kababs and falafel. I never made it to Yatagan, but now that it’s …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City You’d think by now we’ve seen every possible iteration of tacos. I can’t imagine Goa Taco is the first to re-imagine the Mexican wraps with Indian paratha bread and I can’t imagine they will be the last. …
My search for the best pickles in New York continues…. I recently met up with an old friend from college and I thought he was going to laugh at me when I said we should meet at a bar that specializes in beer and pickles. Surprisingly, he said, “That place is around the corner from …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City I like to think I know about every restaurant in the city. That’s impossible, of course. But I’m pretty close to an expert on the food offerings in New York. So it’s even more shocking when …
Come back every Wednesday for another funny, informative video documenting my inept food adventures. It’s been a long time since I’ve released a full-on webisode of Eat This. For the latest episode, I decided to hit the road. Below is the first Eat This episode outside of New York. Brian gets a call to come …
I bring my sense of food adventure with me on the road, searching for the most authentic, iconic, and delicious dishes of a different region… I knew I’d have my fair share of seafood in Boston, but I didn’t realize it would practically be my entire diet for a week. I like to eat the …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City I’ve been going to the Smorgasburg in Brooklyn for years now and each time it’s more and more maddening. The crowds are frustrating, the prices are too high, and much of the food is not as good as …