Food Adventuring Around NYC
THE PLACE: Even though I had read about and bookmarked Fonty’s, it felt like a real undiscovered hidden gem when I accidentally wandered by one day in the maze-like streets of the West Village. Inside there are lots of tempting food products (mostly Indian or Indian-inspired and influenced) with colorful designs and intriguing flavors. The …
THE SPOT: All these years of eating pizza in Dumbo and I completely ignored Ignazio’s. Even when the guy standing on the corner screamed at me and my tour guests that this was the best pizza in Dumbo. It’s hard when Ignazio’s is competing with the likes of Juliana’s, Grimaldi’s, and now L&B Spumoni Gardens …
Tacos are hot again. Like really hot. Santo Taco, which took over the iconic La Esquina take out window this past summer, has already expanded further uptown. And it’s not the only taqueria in the city garnering lots of attention. I’ve tried quite a few of the new ones (more reviews to come) and I …
THE PLACE: ThisBowl is still as trendy as ever and recently expanded to a second location in Nomad. I predicted them to be the best Sweetgreen a few months back when I wrote about their fresh and flavorful salads, and still stand by that. Although there is something that feels a bit less corporate about …
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 …
THE SPOT: I stumbled upon a bight blue storefront in Williamsburg the other day that I thought had to be a pizzeria or Italian spot. The name Paolina threw me off. But I saw a big sign that advertised falafel. Turns out this spot, which is destined to be a hit with the Instagram set, …
THE PLACE: Just recently transformed from the Filipino restaurant Tradisyon to the bright and airy Uncle Ray’s, this little nook in Hell’s Kitchen is welcoming and comfortable. When I stopped by for an early lunch, I was the only diner and was greeted graciously by the enthusiastic waitress and the chef himself, Sergeant Kiang (“Uncle …
My search for the best falafel in New York continues…. 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. Spice Brothers is a bit sneaky …
The buzz started when Nate Skid started popping up his new pizza business at local breweries. I had heard about Nate’s and figured one day I would actually give it a try. Amazingly, I was wondering down Atlantic Avenue after a Brooklyn food tour and lo and behold, Nate’s had permanently popped up in the …
THE SPOT: On a corner between Soho, Tribeca, and Chinatown, this is the first Manhattan location of Lucia Pizza which has been operating on Avenue X in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn for over 4 decades. The newest generation of owners seem to have felt it was time to expand and play with the big boys in …
THE PLACE: Just as Sweetgreen was once a unique and delicious entry to the NYC lunch scene, ThisBowl has taken the healthy bowl-obsessed contingent by storm. ThisBowl is an Australian chain (called Fish Bowl down under) and my guess is they are hoping to pull a Sweetgreen here. After garnering huge lines in Noho, a …
THE PLACE: Not one of the smash burger places that gets all the hype in NYC, Lovely’s Old Fashioned has been sitting under-the-radar in Hell’s Kitchen for the last year or so. The old-fashioned name and feel, along with a lack of tables (only a lunch counter overlooking the griddle), truly gives a sense that …
I’ve been sitting on this incredible dish for a few weeks – partly because others have come up that are a bit more seasonal. But I realized this needs to get mentioned before the year is up (you might just find it on my Top Ten) and also I think the symbolism of writing about …
Not only is Mama’s Too in the West Village the second location of this highly praised pizzeria (the first is far up on the Upper West Side), but it’s also the second over-hyped pizzeria to open its second location right here in the West Village. That’s a lot of seconds! And it only took a …
When I visit an ice cream shop, I want to try all the flavors. I expect that. But when I stop at a taco joint, I don’t expect to want to try all the cuts of pork. But Carnitas Ramirez is not your typical taco joint. The owners of Taqueria Ramirez opened this small house …
I hope Ras Plant Based succeeds on Bleecker Street, but I am cynical. It seems to me that this block of Bleecker between Sixth Avenue and LaGuardia is one of the most difficult streets to keep a small food business going. I can’t tell you how much turnover I have seen in the years that …
There are endless number of hidden gems and secrets in New York. Case in point: it took me 20 years of exploring Chinatown, a pandemic, and an abandoned shopping mall to discover this secret subterranean dumpling shop with a very long name. Fu Zhou Wei Zhong Wei Jia Xiang Feng Wei(or booth B45) has been …
Hidden, secret food and drink establishments will always be fun and exciting. But an interesting location is not enough to sustain a place. Shacking Burger is the newest food establishment in the unlikeliest of places. It’s in a gas station on the outskirts of Chelsea. Not only is a prepared food restaurant in a gas …
We knew there were fancy fine dining restaurants throughout San Juan. It’s an under-rated food city, but to be honest, most of them didn’t really appeal to me. We were also traveling with our seven year old who couldn’t care less about elevated cuisine. So we knew fancy dinners were not going to be the …
Smash burgers, which have infiltrated their way throughout every neighborhood of NYC, are good and all but they get a bit boring. A crisped peppery flattened patty usually topped with American cheese, onions, and pickles. And probably on a potato bun or something similar. Yes, without a doubt, simple, nostalgic, and tasty when done right. …