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 I’ve been drowning in cocktails lately. For the last few months, much of my time has been spent creating a brand new tour for Urban Adventures. The topic? Craft cocktails in New York – past and …
Back in the 1980’s, New York City has put a cap on the number of permits available to street vendors. This has caused a very expensive black market and has forced many new immigrants to operate illegally. The Street Vendor Project is working on a new campaign to eliminate the cap and allow more fair …
My search for the best pizza in New York continues…. SADLY, ARCADE BAKERY IS NOW CLOSED. Arcade Bakery makes me want to start a new pizza category. We have Sicilian, Neapolitan, Roman, Chicago, etc. But nobody is really talking about bakery pizza. And maybe we should. I’ve had pizza in a traditional bakery before but it’s …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City SADLY, BÂTARD IS NOW CLOSED. Going into the James Beard nominated Bâtard, there were two dishes I knew I had to get. This fancy (but approachable) new restaurant in the old Corton space in Tribeca has …
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. I’ve put together a brand new tour for Urban Adventures, one of the tour companies I work …
My search for the best cheesecake in New York continues…. In a vibrant Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, you’d expect there to be many answers to the question “Who makes the best cheesecake?” Maybe that was the way it used to be in Carroll Gardens, but today, the Italian residents that are left in this post-gentrified …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York CityEast of Sixth Avenue, Bleecker Street is where restaurants go to die. With the abundance of college students and tourists coming through here, you’d think this stretch of Greenwich Village would be prime real estate to open …
My search for the best dumplings in New York continues…. As I was leaving Shu Jiao Fu Zhou, someone spied me taking photos and politely told me how great the place was and that he comes there every day. Not sure if that was a plea for me to give it attention or a warning …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City One of the most beautiful yet maddening things about many seasonal American restaurants is that their menus change constantly. Sometimes a new menu is printed up every day. I went into Meadowsweet hoping to try their …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City My newest scheme is to visit some of the hottest restaurants in New York City at lunchtime. I’m often free after my tours, hungry, and these places are much easier to get into at lunch, sometimes …
Come back every Wednesday for another funny, informative video documenting my inept food adventures. Most people go out on an egg hunt once a year – to celebrate Easter. Here in New York City, that’s something we do every single weekend. It’s called brunch. Join me on my latest search for a modest plate of …
My search for the best pizza in New York continues…. My default when reviewing pizza used to be to focus on the standard margherita pie or cheese slice. But the pizza world has changed since I started this journey in 2009. Fancy toppings and specialty ingredients have sort of taken the place of tomato sauce …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City Prices at New York restaurants are getting out of control. I understand there a lot of factors to this (rent hikes, food costs, aggressive PR), but it’s getting to the point where I laugh in shock …
Come back every Wednesday for another funny, informative video documenting my inept food adventures. NYC Brewery Tour explores the growing craft brewery scene in the city and visits all the unlikely spots that are brewing fresh, delicious beer. Right on the border of Queens and Brooklyn sits Transmitter Brewing. It’s an unusual location (you have to …
My search for the best beer in New York continues…. Of all the breweries that have opened in New York over the last few years, none are quite like Threes. It’s smack in the heart of burgeoning Gowanus and seems to be perpetually packed with people. One of the tour companies I work for (Urban …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City SADLY, THE GORBALS IS NOW CLOSED. Walking around the food tables at Village Voice’s Choice Eats, I begin to wonder how the represented restaurants and food businesses decided on the dishes they brought to the table. Is …
Come back every Wednesday for another funny, informative video documenting my inept food adventures. Some people say there is no way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day without all the noise and craziness. Well, yesterday I tried to get a taste of the Irish without getting involved a large, noisy, smelly crowd. Finnegan’s Wake proved a …
My search for the best cheesecake in New York continues…. SADLY, TWO LITTLE RED HENS IS NOW CLOSED. To crust or not to crust? That’s the question when it comes to cheesecake. Both sides have their devotees but I’ve never really taken a strong stance. But after trying Two Little Red Hens luscious New York-style …
Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City You’d walk by Broadway Bakery without giving it a second glance. Maybe you’d run in for coffee or a slice of pizza, but you certainly wouldn’t think it was a place full of culinary delights. It …
Now that the weather is starting to get nice again, it’s a perfect time to hop on a bus and visit some breweries on Urban Oyster’s NYC Brewery Tour. Since I helped design the tour, I was luck enough to get an inside look at all the operating breweries in the city. One of my …