Food Adventuring Around NYC
The Place: The smell once you walk into Justin’s Salt Bread lets you know you’re in the right place. Somewhere between a coffee shop, a bakery, and a communal gathering space, the vibe is comfortable and trendy. You probably won’t find a seat, but you’re here for the namesake specialty and maybe one of their …
THE PLACE: Claud is a cozy upscale wine bar owned by a team that has since opened up some other well-regarded sister restaurants all around it. Upstairs is Penny (the seafood haven) and a few blocks north is the brand new Stars, which is a more intimate space with a greater focus on the wine. …
THE PLACE: I knew Nounou Noodles was new but I didn’t realize it was “new new”. The waiter told me they opened just a few weeks ago. When I came for a weekday lunch, it was just me and one other table, but I could envision this place filling up for the evenings. It’s a …
I’m counting down the 10 best dishes I tasted in 2025… This was the year where I surrendered to the fact that I won’t experience every single viral dish in the city and, frankly, realized I don’t really want to. While a few of the hottest and most in-demand bites found their way on my …
In a neighborhood over-run with bacon egg and cheese sandwiches, it’s nice to have a unique, alternative breakfast option. The long-time favorite Taiwanese haunt Ho Foods (which has expanded since I first visited in 2018) serves a special breakfast menu on Thursday-Sunday. And it’s worth seeking out! A warming bowl of Savory Soy Milk with …
THE PLACE: For those that have bemoaned the lack of good Vietnamese in New York, I have great news. Banh Anh Em opened earlier this year in that strange area between the East Village, Union Square, and Gramercy. The surrounding bars all have a fratty quality, but this little restaurant with a sizable counter hosts …
THE PLACE: The long lines at Danny & Coop’s in the East Village have not only been because of the general food hysteria in NYC over the latest fad. It also has to do with the fact that this cheesesteak business is celebrity backed. You might not recognize Danny (Danny DiGiampietro, the owner of Angelo’s …
Just like the rest of New York City, I’ve fallen hard (in that 90’s high school crush sort of way) for crisp, seasoned smash burgers Even if I wanted to, I can’t stop dreaming about them…
THE PLACE: Man, I miss giving the Cocktail Tours I used to run before the pandemic. Not just because they were awesome and I got to hang out at some of the best cocktail bars in town, but also because I really got to explore the local late night food scene in the East Village. …
THE PLACE: Shortly before the pandemic, I remember stopping by Nowon for a really fantastic bowl of clams in a black bean sauce. It very much felt like a late night bar stop with a burgeoning menu of Asian-influenced bar bites. Coming back all these years later, it was nice to see them in the …
Have you noticed that coffee shops now moonlight as florists and flower shops are now also cafés? How often do we need both flowers and coffee at the same time? Perhaps I have not thought of every single situation…. until now.
THE PLACE: Both times I’ve come to Hani’s for breakfast pastries, I managed to avoid any sort of hyped up queue. I did walk by the bakery later in the day once and saw the crowds congregating, so I must have just been lucky. It’s one of the newer gourmet bakeries with a fine dining …
The kids at school all talk about it and my son has begged me to bring him home a cookie from the over-hyped Crumbl. But when I found one of the locations in the city, I had to run the other way. If you’ve walked by Crumbl in NYC and noticed the massive lines out …
My search for the best falafel in New York continues…. SADLY, SPICE BROTHERS IS NOW CLOSED. Falafel hasn’t been quite as successful when given a gourmet spin. It lives very comfortably in the world of street food and fast food and while unique spins on the chickpea fritter are welcomed, high prices usually are not. …
THE PLACE: There are certainly no other Irish Soda Bread Shops that I can think of in Manhattan. Perhaps that is why Mary O’s has had a huge line since the store debuted a few months ago. In addition to having a niche product, the bread at Mary O’s has developed a massive following when …
THE PLACE: This prime corner bar space has changed hands many times in the last few years, but it’s current tenant is possibly the most major player in the cocktail scene that has inhabited this space in recent memory. ¡Superbueno! has been beloved by those in the drinks industry and in 2024, it was named …
THE PLACE: One of my favorite Korean restaurants used to sit at this open storefront on First Avenue. It was heartbreaking when Oiji closed – although that restaurant went even more upscale in a much more expensive iteration called Oiji Mi. Thankfully, the gang from Hand Hospitality (behind other Korean favorites like Atoboy and Her …
Tompkins Square Bagels has only been open since 2011 but it has become as big and iconic of a player in the New York bagel scene as Ess-a-Bagel or the now closed Absolute. It took Alphabet City by storm (an area that was in need of a fresh bagel shop) and has since expanded to …
Bakeries open all the time in this city. It seems everybody is taking the time to let their dough rise and laminate their croissants (and stuff them with all sorts of colorful fruits and nuts). It’s inspired me to burst into song with this parody of Dua Lipa’s hit song Levitating. I present Leavening….
THE PLACE: One of the newer speakeasies in the city, Paradise Lost is a super fun new tiki bar that has become a little secret among local bartenders. A (mostly) unmarked door that requires a hostess to buzz you in, reveals a kitschy transportive hallway leading to a “tropical hellscape” that is as fun and …