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 also writes 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.
Most people think curry and they think of spicy Indian food or rich Thai dishes. But curry can refer to many different ethnic spiced dishes. And the words bratwurst, schnitzel, and pretzel that appear on Wechsler’s menu make it clear that we are not anywhere near Asia. No, Weschsler’s in the East Village serves German …
I have recently been referred to as “the pizza guy” among my friends. I have absolutely no idea why. And everybody seems to have a suggestion for what the pizza guy should try next. I love everybody’s enthusiasm. I’ll just feel bad if I go to somebody’s favorite pizza place and then give it a …
I love being able to cross off two list items with only one meal. Locanda Verde is one of a few restaurants that received two spots on Time Out’s list. Last year, Momofuko was the only place to hold that distinction. And where are you this year, David Chang? I mostly enjoyed the meal at …
The number one item on last year’s Time Out list was the porchetta sandwich at Porchetta. And it was well-deserving. Porchetta is a hole-in-the-wall spot that serves delicious pork sandwiches in the East Village. The word porchetta refers to an Italian boneless pork roast. At Porchetta, they use the loin, the belly, and lots of …
In previous posts, I’ve called Ray’s the McDonald’s of NY pizza chains and Patsy’s the Starbucks. And now I come to another visible NY pizza empire and the question arises, what recognizable corporation can I compare Two Boots to? And after much consideration, I guess they’d have to be the Urban Outfitters – they’re hip, …
I’m doing my best to strategize with the list. Last year I missed out on certain dishes because the restaurant’s menu changed. I’m trying to get all the possible seasonal dishes first to make sure I don’t miss out again. The most obvious one is the chestnut cake doughnut at Doughnut Plant. I figured they …
If there’s a battleground for the pizza wars in New York, it might be on Bleecker Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. In the middle of the street, you can find the old standby John’s of Bleecker, which has been there since 1929. And directly across the street is the new favorite Neapolitan style …
Kombucha is a fermented tea that is purported to aid in digestion, detoxing, and hipsterness. It’s one of the latest health crazes in the urban areas of this country. I’ve been drinking it for a while in bottle form from my local health food store. The intense effervescence takes a while to get used to, …
And the list nostalgia continues. I first discovered french dip sandwiches at T.G.I. Friday’s. And even though I’m not terribly proud of it, Friday’s was a huge part of my adolescence. It was in the same shopping center as the local mall so I spent many social hours being waited on by servers with flair. …
So this list keeps making me feel young again. First, fried chicken and now these little cookies known as snickerdoodles. Snickerdoodles are basically sugar cookies that have been rolled in or sprinkled with cinnamon. They’re not my favorite cookie (give me chocolate chip over anything else), but how can the name snickerdoodle not bring you …
New York is a big city for sure, but not so big that a sense of community is lost. In Brooklyn, there is a huge community of artists and musicians and most of them never leave the borough, unless they have a gig or a David Byrne lecture to attend somewhere. And many of the …
My very first excursion on the Time Out Top 100 list was pretty easy. Since I’m still technically working on finding the best pizza in NY, I was relieved to see that there are five pizzerias featured. It’s always nice to kill two birds with one stone. And speaking of birds, the selection from Roberta’s …
There are so many different possibilities with pizza. You can have thin crust, thick crust, white, deep dish, stuffed, vegetarian, organic, kosher, leftover. The variations are endless. And what’s great (but daunting for me) is that New York seems to offer every single option. One type of pizza that was completely foreign to me was …
There have been a few times in my 8 years in New York when I’ve stayed within the 5 boroughs yet felt like I was in a vacation town somewhere far away. Going out to Coney Island makes me feel as if I should be walking around in my bathing suit and drinking piña coladas …
SADLY, CO. IS NOW CLOSED. About a year ago, the hip new pizza movement in New York City became evident when Jim Lahey opened a spare, homey pizza restaurant in Chelsea with lots of natural lighting. Lahey is first and foremost a baker and has been making delicious pizza-like concoctions at Sullivan Street Bakery for years. …
When you think of pizza, generally the ingredients that come to mind are cheese, tomato, bread, basil, maybe pepperoni or sausage, mushrooms or anchovies, maybe even olives and garlic. Thanks to California Pizza Kitchen, pineapple and BBQ chicken aren’t so far-fetched. But one ingredient that is often involved but not predominant is salt. Well, the …
SADLY, ROSERIO’S AND ROCKET JOE’S EAST ARE BOTH NOW CLOSED. Pizza and beer. Well, probably more accurately, beer and then pizza. There’s nothing better to indulge in after a late night of bar hopping than a greasy slice of NY’s treasured pizza. And I feel like there’s no better neighborhood in Manhattan to experience both …
Even self-proclaimed foodies like myself have been known to make mistakes. They don’t happen often, but most of my mistakes come from ordering food. That’s probably why I’m so neurotic when it comes to choosing an entree. I want to make sure I try the best option on offer. “Live today like it’s your last, …
SADLY, RAY’S PIZZA IS NOW CLOSED. You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension of many pizzerias all claiming to be the original and famous Ray’s. A journey into a wondrous city of entrepreneurs who have no imagination. That’s the red font up ahead and the aroma of cheesy grease – your next stop, the (Pizza) Pie-light …
Unless you inherited one or were grandfathered in, it is illegal to own and use a coal-burning oven. It’s bad for the environment and it’s competition for the likes of Grimaldi’s and Lombardi’s. We don’t want any black lung or broken knee caps. You can imagine whenever a coal-burning pizzeria closes, many budding NY pizzaioli …