New York is one of the best intersection cities for cultures all around the world, and this is why the food culture is an amazing experience for tourists! As an extension to our 7 days itinerary, I would like to mention all the must-eat experiences and where to get them in this post.
1. Coffee: It is almost a culture in New York walking around with your coffee in the portable cups - if the weather is good, then switch to iced coffee. Well, you got the idea. We mostly visited Starbucks, since they are literally at every corner, Plus, Starbucks Rewards program is so amazing that after a week of coffee, you end up collecting enough points for a free mug and brewed coffee. Perfect deal!
As an alternative, you can head to Blue Bottle Coffee, another coffee chain and they have amazing latte's.
We also discovered this cute little Coppola Cafe with delicious espresso based coffees and gelato (the owners are Italian, so we were sooo satisfied!)
2. Comfort food: Don't get me wrong: I didn't actually try any of the food trucks parked on the streets randomly and as a person who tries to keep up with the healthy eating habit, I deliberately ran away from them. I also believe that vacation is the perfect excuse to take a break, but still where to get the snacks or comfort food makes a difference.
I didn't want to leave hot dogs because of all the Hollywood references. Gray's Papaya is the perfect place for it! They are cheap, delicious and literally at every corner. When in doubt, perfect location for a quick bite.
On-the-go is New York's motto, so either for breakfast or snacks, pastries are your friend. Taste bagels with cream cheese - basically everywhere, even from supermarkets. If you go to Coney Island or Brooklyn, you can head to food stands and get amazing pretzels.
Pub food should be another category maybe, but I'll mention it here. We decided to have one dinner associated with seafood. Even though there are many oyster or lobster places around, we skipped all of them and headed to the Fish Market. It's a small pub with really good comfort food mostly based on fish. You can go with Californian classics fish tacos, salmon burgers or good old fish and chips. They played amazing music the whole time, and we ended up watching a basketball match with the crowd - cool experience. The staff was also nice to keep offering us free shots on the house to drink with them. Cheers guys!
One thing I love about eating out in US is the burgers. I'm not talking about franchising, bad quality burgers but from high quality, grilled burgers. We found just the right place for it - and it's called Bareburger. They also have an amazing selection of vegetarian section - if you want to avoid meat.
For our final guilty pleasure, we visited Hard Rock Cafe. Fabio loves the ribs here and I love the chicken wings or burgers. We know well the quality and the price we will receive in the end of our dinner. Even though it's called Hard Rock, I am just upset that it has nothing to do with Hard Rock anymore. Anyways, it's a guaranteed destination for well made American comfort food for me, so I might suggest you as well.
3. Pastries: There is a pastry apparently you can taste only in New York, called Cranuts. It looks like a doughnut, tastes like a croissant, it's fried and filled with flavored cream! The recipe was invented by a chef in Dominique Ansel Bakery, so we thought it's the best place to taste - and it was heavenly good! The only down side is that they cook only one flavor every day, so if you have a specific taste, you might get unlucky. In either case, the bakery has other delicious products, so you won't be sorry.
Another tradition in New York is black and white cookies, invented by a Bavarian chef and became popular somehow. You can find with or without frosting examples. I tasted it in Brooklyn - but it took us a while to find where to get. Don't despair, keep searching :)
4. Brunch: Even though we didn't have time to have a Sunday Brunch in Sex and the City style, we actually had a time to have it in Seinfeld style - in the same restaurant they showed in Seinfeld! Down side is that Tom's Restaurant is not really close to the touristic locations, so you have to plan your visit intentionally to go there. Bright side is that this is why it's not very touristy and crowded. We got seated within a minute. Plus, they serve amazing food with great coffee! Amazing pancakes!
After our amazing experience with Tom's Restaurant, we took a second chance with another diner for brunch. We hoped to get an amazing breakfast as well when we visited Manhattan Diner, but it was a huge disappointment. We ended up paying more while the food was really bad quality. It was really close to our hotel and that was literally the only bright side.
5. Italian Food: New York has a huge percentage of Italian immigrants, which definitely affected the food culture around. One must-try thing is definitely sliced pizza. Even though you can get it everywhere, you have to have it while walking around Little Italy. We tried Prince Street Pizza and it was amaziiing! Even though it took us almost 45 minutes to get the pizza, it was definitely worth to wait. The only downside is that they don't have enough seats in the place, so you should find a place to enjoy your pizza. We entered Elizabeth Street Garden and enjoyed plenty of sunshine along with our pizza. Best lunch ever!
Since our experience with Prince Street Pizza was so good, we decided to try New York style pizza once more in Brooklyn. After crossing the bridge from Manhattan, it was the lunch time. The Lonely Planet Guide suggested us to try either Grimaldi's or Juliana's. The second we reached there, we realized that both places have at least 1 hour of entrance cue, and having a quicker slice pizza was not possible. We took a local tip from a couple in the line, and decided to go to Ignazio's instead. We waited about 20 minutes to get a sliced pizza to go, and when we reached there we were told that we couldn't order 8 slices because that would make 1 pizza, so we had to wait more for our custom pizza (the same pizza they were selling on the counter, still doesn't make sense!) other half an hour. Plus, the staff was kinda rude. It was a good lunch, but we could have just got the pizza from the other two places and maybe they were better - who knows...
Travelling with 3 born and raised Italians brought us to another Italian restaurant. Inspired from Lady and the Tramp, we decided to enjoy an American-Italian classic: spaghetti and the meatballs! Right next to our hotel, we found this Italian restaurant with great reviews - Carmine's. During our reservation, we were extremely intimidated by the prices but thought "well, let's do it!". It turns out, they don't serve single portions! Their food is meant to be shared by big Italian families and 4 people will be completely full with a starter and a pasta dish. Overall, visiting the place more than 4 people is almost cheap compared to the quality and the portions. We made the mistake of ordering 2 starters and a first dish, so we ended up giving half of our food away to a homeless person. Definitely go here for a dinner but just go easy with the portions!
And finally, Eataly. As an amazing quick lunch destination, we tasted amazing sandwiches and focaccias from Eataly, after visiting the 9/11 Memorial, since the location is super convenient.
6. Other cuisines: I kinda wish we had more time for classic Chinese take-outs with noodles and dumplings, Korean barbecue or sushi, but we didn't. At least, we tried some Ramen in Totto Ramen Hell's Kitchen and it was delicious! Be aware that they accept only cash.
Even though I love Spanish food and the tapas culture, I never find myself going to Spanish restaurants. When we were walking around Chelsea, we found this little cute food market called Little Spain so we stopped there for a quick lunch. They have all the classics from Spanish cuisine - patatas bravas, jamon, paella, etc. Yummy yummy yummy.
Our final choice was to try some Middle East food. Mamoun's offer great falafel with amazing prices and delicious meze options. An amazing cheap eat if you are in the East Village region.
8. Night out: Before moving to US, I kept hearing how much expensive New York is, especially for drinking out. So, my wallet was scared and uncertain about actually going out - but then I heard about amazing happy hour deals! So, almost all the places offer great discounts for cocktails - you can get an amazing sangria or margarita for less than $10 or rum and coke for $6. These prices are definitely not dramatically expensive. You can get them everywhere, so I won't bother listing. Just keep searching.
Best thing about surrounded by skyscrapers can be rooftops! We tried 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar to get a drink during happy hour, while you could also get some comfort food here. They have a pretty good view of Empire State Building. I was hoping to get an amazing sunset from here - but high walls prevented us to be out and enjoy the view together. Still, fantastic experience.
Labels: New York, United States
