Food Adventuring Around NYC
THE PLACE: Most of the coffee shops along Steinway Street in Astoria have puffs of sweet hookah smoke wafting out of the doorway. Mokafé and a few other new Middle Eastern shops (including one up the street with a very similar name) focus more on the drinks and pastries than the flavored tobacco. My friend, …
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 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 SPOT: The newest location of local favorite Breads has opened along the waterfront in Brooklyn Bridge Park recently. Hugging the border between touristy Dumbo and local Brooklyn Heights, this new stand is a welcome addition to breakfast and lunch eaters from both demographics. In addition to their famous pastries, babkas, and sandwiches, they are …
THE PLACE: I miss the Brooklyn of my era when food and drink artisans were working to bring farm-to-table food production back to the borough. It became a bit of a parody with the hipster baker or brewer. But Brooklyn Granary is not something to laugh at. They are doing some really exciting things by …
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 …
THE PLACE: We were thrilled to get a reservation at Lola’s, one of the somewhat under-the-radar restaurants that made its way onto NY Times’ Top 100 Restaurant list of last year. It’s not as buzzy as others, but for those in the know, it’s pretty popular. We sat at the chef’s counter and it reminded …
The Place: If it weren’t for the blackboard on the sidewalk or the intoxicating smells seeping out the door, you’d think Yanni’s Coffee was just a neighborhood third wave coffee shop. And you’d be right. I especially love how this is the one and only location. Yanni’s does not look to be trying to conquer …
I really should learn my lesson and not be sucked in by the newest gimmick in the food world. It almost always sets me up for disappointment. But Moonrise Bagels, which is the hottest new bagel opening in the city and has garnered the predictable long lines and social media hysteria, is something I had …
The Place: In many ways, BKK Thai feels like a Midtown restaurant, but I found it to be a lot more ambitious than what this neighborhood implies. It’s sleek and narrow with a modern, funky vibe. It very much feels like the after-theater restaurants in and around Hell’s Kitchen. Some of these places have good …
The Place: Depending upon which entrance of Essex Market you use, you might walk by Rebel Cheese after Formaggio Essex and think this food hall has two cheese shops. You wouldn’t be wrong exactly, but Rebel Cheese is quite different from other cheese shops. It’s in a prime spot of the recently relocated Essex Market …
The Place: Last year, Long Island City gained an exciting Asian food hall not so dissimilar to the ones you can find further out in Queens in Flushing, which are, of course, not so dissimilar to the ones you can find in Shanghai. On my visit to the LIC Food Hall on a cold weekday …
The Place: I was thrilled to hear that one of my absolute favorite Chinese restaurants in the city has expanded to Midtown. Lin & Daughters’ newest location is cornered into that strange little walkway between 26th and 27th Street. I have always thought of this as a little hub for fast casual offerings for nearby …
The Place: Bub’s Bakery, a completely gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free bakery, recently opened amongst all the other hip trendy food places in Noho. It’s right around the corner from This Bowl and across the street from locations of Los Tacos No. 1 and Levain Bakery. It fits right in with this line-up, featuring expensive pastries …
The Place: Nestled on the other side of the elevated subway in Astoria, this corner coffee shop is a true oasis. The tables were all taken (and there was even a wait) when I stopped by on a weekday morning. Not sure if this is just a beloved local hangout (there were lots of meetings …
I remember when Grimm started as a gypsy brewer creating sour ales on other breweries’ equipment. Since then, they have grown to be one of the preeminent brewery destinations in Brooklyn. Been a while since I’ve re-visited their sours, so I was excited to crack open Color Field. This clear pink beer is a classic …
The Place: Starting the new year on a fresh, clean note is important to me. So I always think seafood is a great first step, which conjures up memories of my recent lunch at Strange Delight, a seafood-centric restaurant and bar in the middle of Fort Greene. The chef’s counter is always a great spot …
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 …
I imagine most of us like to end (and start) the year with a little something sweet. And truly, from my time in Lisbon, I know the sweet eggy tarts known as pastel de nata don’t really need a special occassion. But since I recently got to try the playful versions at Libsonata in Crown …
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 …
