Food Adventuring Around NYC
It’s not uncommon to ask yourself: Is this a deli, coffee shop, or bagel joint? In many cases in New York, the answer is all three. Bagels & Schmear certainly is, however the name it proclaims out front indicates that bagels should be the thing taken most seriously here. That’s why I was here. In …
My wife who is gluten free, almost gave up gluten free bagels for good after breaking a tooth on one of them. This was during the early days of COVID and the possibility of seeing a dentist was terrifying. Don’t worry, it all turned out ok with her and her tooth. But she has been …
I’ve been trying to eat at Sofreh for years now. Every time we have plans to go to Barclays Center or BAM, it’s the first place I try to score a reservation. Somehow it’s nearly impossible to get into this hot Persian restaurant – even after it’s been open for 5 years. Thankfully, it got …
It seems like I’ve been doing this for so long that I’ve covered all the old time spots, but that is so far from true. While I’ve been to El Castillo de Jagua, the Dominican gem in the heart of the Lower East Side, I’ve never written about it on these pages. I think I …
Bagels are changing (evolving?) in New York City. Perhaps it started with Black Seed’s introduction of Montreal-style bagels to the city. Things have gotten darker, smaller, and crunchier since then. They’ve also somehow turned into a trendy Instagram sensation. The bagel – crazy! No doubt that started with the colorful rainbow bagels, but now, it …
Am I in a bagel shop or an ice cream shop? That is the question that came up recently at Bagel Pub. It smells and feels like bagels and at the end of the day, I’ll be walking out with a breakfast or lunch sandwich and not a cone. But the colorful display of cream …
The cronut was invented oh so many years ago (11 to be precise!) yet we are still feeling the effects of that groundbreaking mash-up. Chefs (and bakers, especially) are continuing to create visual viral concepts that lure every unsuspecting foodie to wait in a mind-numbing long line to say they’ve tried it. So needless to …
You’d think Williamsburg was a town in Texas with all the new breakfast burrito options. The latest I tried comes from a cute little bakery near the Williamsburg bridge run by a husband-and-wife team who touch on both their Vietnamese and Dominican heritages at Ceremonia Bakeshop. The pastries here, especially the mochi donuts, looked great, …
In their old space, I think I may have worked my way through Superiority Burger’s menu of inventive vegetarian fast food. I’m a bit ashamed that I hadn’t been able to visit them in their new location until now. This spring, they came back in a much larger space (with wait staff) in an old …
A Greek diner is all too common around the tri-state area. But a modern hipster Greek diner? That is something different. Baby Blues Luncheonette is a very cool local Williamsburg hang-out that opened in 2022 and has been a super fun hangout, especially for breakfast. I found the prices a bit high, but the food …
What was I doing ordering a plain bagel?? That is very out of character for me. Don’t worry – I am not going vanilla in my old age. I chose it because when I asked my usual “Which is the hottest?” question, it was unfortunately the only answer I got. Granted, I’m sure all the …
I’m counting down the 10 best dishes I tasted in 2023… Eating out was definitely different this year for me. I let go of the need to visit all the latest “hot spots” (still have not been to Bad Roman or Tatiana) and found much more comfort and enjoyment in old standbys and casual neighborhood …
Even though they spell out how special they are in their name, I was late to the game when it came to Winner. Their original Park Slope location had been on my radar since they opened days before the pandemic became a pandemic. Since then the lines to get loaves of bread, sandwiches, and cookies …
I have finally gotten over my PTSD with the restaurant formerly known as Eisenberg’s. Back when I started this blog, I wrote a less-than-stellar review of their corned beef/pastrami and chided the owner’s collection of “celebrity” photos. Well, the owner fired back contributing to my first expletive-filled comment section. Since then, Eisenberg’s was sold to …
I imagine I am a real pain in the ass. I never like to play by the rules set down by restaurants. I was very excited to try Pop Up Bagels, which is a Connecticut-based bagel company that has expanded form a backyard “pop-up” where people could buy fresh homemade bagels to having six locations …
Shortly after we filmed this video, Sam and I took a family vacation to Costa Rica. It had been on my bucket list for a long time and the time was right. So this was a rare example of where we filmed the video first and then actually took a visit to the country. I …
In the last few years, there are lots of new little cafés in the city that give the sense and vibe of Mexico City. It seems like this is a new trend or perhaps I just started noticing them now that I’ve had the pleasure of visiting CDMX shortly before the pandemic. Café Miguel is …
Peter Shelsky, the man behind the appetizing revolution in Brooklyn, moved to Paris with his family during the pandemic. His staff is keeping the shop running without missing a beat and everything is always great. However, it’s always nice to catch Peter himself in the store from time to time when he comes back every …
One of my favorite parts of vacations in Mexico, aside from the beach, mezcal, and the ability to practice Spanish, is the breakfast at the hotels. Without fail, we are offered a plate of what some might call nachos. In reality, these are chilaquiles and they are a great way to eat chips for breakfast. …
If you haven’t strolled through the concourse at Rockefeller Center since the pandemic, you may not recognize it. Where once stood chain coffee shops, generic tourist restaurants, and clothing stores, you can now find a series of high end restaurants brought to you by local food celebrities. There are some exciting destination dining options at …