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.
SADLY, ADELMAN’S KOSHER DELI IS NOW CLOSED. Corned beef, pastrami, knishes, chopped liver, and Jewish guilt, among other things were brought to New York by Eastern European Jews. And they were the first chefs, owners, waiters, and customers at the delicatessens. But times have changed and New York has become the melting pot of the …
Of all the gin joints in this city, Time Out sent me to this one. The strange thing about that comment is not that Time Out sent me to a gin joint, but more so that there aren’t many gin joints in this town at all. In fact, besides Madam Geneva, I can’t think of …
SADLY, FINE & SCHAPIRO IS NOW CLOSED. At the turn of the century and during World War II, the Upper West Side became a very popular neighborhood with the Jewish community. And even today, you can’t walk a few blocks without passing a synagogue. These were Eastern European Jews. You know, the ones who brought corned …
For a long time, whenever I thought of Vietnamese food I thought of very clean, healthy and light flavors – summer rolls and pho. In the last few years, I (and most of NY) discovered the banh mi. A Vietnamese sandwich traditionally made with cucumbers, cilantro, pickled carrots, and all sorts of pork: paté, roasted, …
What to do on a Sunday afternoon? I’m tired of going to the movies, I’m never up early enough for brunch, and there’s only so long I can sit at home and write blog entries. So last weekend, I ventured into Williamsburg for a different sort of Sunday afternoon. Instead of doing any of the …
SADLY, YERBA BUENA IS NOW CLOSED. Since there were two items on our list from Yerba Buena, we decided to make a full dinner of it. I usually end up doing this at all the restaurants, but it does get expensive and I keep trying to train myself to come in specifically for the one dish and …
SADLY, YERBA BUENA IS NOW CLOSED. For those with just a mild knowledge of Spanish, yes, leche de tigre translates to “milk of the tiger”. But that is not exactly what TONY recommended trying at the relatively new Latin restaurant Yerba Buena. Leche de tigre refers to the leftover fish liquid after the kitchen finishes making …
SADLY, LANSKY’S OLD WORLD DELI IS NOW CLOSED. Jewish delis seem to be an endangered species. There are only a handful left in NY from the golden age (the ’20s and ’30s) and when many New Yorkers speak of delis now, they are often referring to the bodega on the corner. And I fear there is a …
SADLY, BATI IS NOW CLOSED. I pretty much eat everything, but there are certain cuisines I like better than others. And one cuisine I’ve tried and tried, but just never get too excited about is Ethiopian. It’s a unique experience: going to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant. First off, they don’t really offer you silverware. In …
SADLY, ARTIE’S DELICATESSEN IS NOW CLOSED. Corned beef and pastrami were introduced to New York in the late 19th Century. And shortly thereafter, came the deli, the combo sandwich, and finally the Alka Seltzer. And the classic NY delis haven’t all been around from the very beginning (although Katz’s opened in 1888), but they have …
When Time Out published this list of 100 Tastes You’ve Gotta Try, I figured there would be some burgers, pizza, lots of ethnic food, a few hip cocktails or two. But I never guessed that this list would bring me to a strip club. A strip house, maybe, but a strip club? And I remember …
New York delis have that classic old-school charm. It usually involves surly waiters, flimsy menus, and a dated and unattractive dining room. It reminds you of the 1970’s and makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a Jewish grandmother’s home. One who is so busy cooking that she doesn’t have time to clean. All my …
SADLY, RYE IS NOW CLOSED. Is it just me or do all the new restaurants in Williamsburg look alike? And to frustrate me even more, most of them don’t even have a sign out front. You just have to know it’s there, or get close enough to look at the menu on the door (if there …
SADLY, STAGE DELI IS NOW CLOSED. I don’t understand why delicatessens are so celebrity obsessed. It seems it’s a requirement to have a wall of celebrity photos hanging over you as you enjoy your corned beef and pastrami. I guess famous people love delis. Is that how they stay so skinny? Stage Deli, which is down …
I love that you don’t need a car in New York. As much as we bitch and moan about the public transit system, it can really take you just about anywhere within the five boroughs. There are certain places (like Red Hook, Brooklyn) that are difficult to reach by train and will force you to …
When I posted the first episode of my web series, I reached out to some NY pizza bloggers (whose blogs I had been using for research and insight) to introduce myself and present my video. The response was pretty overwhelming and I was quickly welcomed into the community. So much so that I was invited …
SADLY, EISENBERG’S SANDWICH SHOP IS NOW CLOSED. New York City is filled with celebrities. And one reason the famous people love this city is because they can blend in with everybody else and, most times, New Yorkers don’t care if Richard Gere is eating a sandwich in the next booth. So one NY tradition I …
It’s not often that I compare eating to sleeping. Even though they’re two of my favorite activities, I generally like to keep them separate. For food, I like to be up, alert and have all my senses working. For sleep, I prefer to relax, dream and just lay there (and for as late as possible). …
Little Pepper (or Xiao La Jiao) is a misnomer. They might be small tiny particles of crushed peppers and spices, but they don’t just put a little on their Szechuan dishes. They load them with lots and lots of pepper. I speak of one dishe in particular, but this cuisine as a whole is not …
SADLY, CARNEGIE DELI IS NOW CLOSED. Let’s talk about Woody Allen for a second. You could make a very convincing argument that he is the ultimate New Yorker. Forget Walt Whitman or Donald Trump. Woody was born in Brooklyn, his jazz ensemble plays at the Carlyle every week, and he made a film called Manhattan for …