You can’t really understand New York City’s food scene until you’ve been up to New York State.
The entire land is like one big farm, giving the epicentre of capitalism access to the top shelf of American produce. The Culinary Institute of America is up there, smack bang in the heart of leafy Hyde Park, and it’s been producing the country’s best chefs since the 1940s.
New York City benefits by proximity. It’s cliché to say it’s one of the best cities in the world for anyone who loves to eat and drink exceptionally well, but it’s also honest. I love doing many things when I’m in New York City, but eating through this concrete jungle is certainly my favourite thing to do.
It’s getting increasingly expensive and untenable for the average income earner, though. For visitors like me, who can barely afford to breathe in the US, New York City’s food scene is becoming less and less accessible, reserved only for high-income earners and people who join engagement groups for social media clout.
A US$28 dish would be closer to AU$50 after tax and tip. That’s… ridiculous. And yet I still keep coming back, slapping myself with financial shock in an attempt to dig up every single layer of New York City and write about it forever.
Today, I want to write about the meals that first pop into my head every time I touch down in the greatest city in the USA.
Breakfast & A Lovely Non-American Coffee
A classic salmon bagel from Russ & Daughters
The ubiquitous bagel is both an enduring symbol of New York City’s morning rush and one of the more reliable options if you don’t know how to start your day on the streets of Manhattan. There are plenty of Jewish bakeries famous for the staple, but Lower East Side’s Russ & Daughters is unimpeachable. And it’s still untouched.
You walk in, take a number, and choose from a dizzying amount of options, customising every single aspect of the bagel. Look around on Reddit, and you’ll find numerous suggestions on the best way to play, but I’ve always found a classic Scottish King salmon, horseradish cream cheese, and salty capers does me just fine. No one needs to blow their day’s budget for some caviar (as creamy and delicious as it is).
Price: Varies wildly based on what you want, and it always seems to jump around too much. Expect to pay at least around US$20.
Rating: 7/10
Where to go afterwards: There’s a park nearby where you can sit and watch people play basketball as well. It’s just classic New York, no matter how you slice it. Make sure you walk on over to Cafe Colmado for some genuinely good (I’m Aussie, trust me) coffee beforehand.
Lunch & A Nice Martini
A lavish cheese board from Dante West Village
Gosh, I’ve spent way too much of my personal budget on these cheese boards over the years. Dante West Village doesn’t just serve the city’s best martini; they also offer bar snacks well worth the price. Every day is happy hour from 3pm to 5pm, where a selection of the bar’s best martinis drop down to US$10 (they shrink in size, however) so you’ve got more moolah to shove towards the food side of the menu.
The cheeseboard is the best way to go. You can choose between one (US$8) or three (US$22) cheeses, or pay US$42 for the full board, which nets you a variety of delicious cheeses from manchego to tangy tomme de savoie. The kitchen dresses up the board with honey, almonds, figs, and grape crackers so you can mix and match flavours in your martini.
Price: You can get away with US$8, but it won’t be satisfying; go for the mid-range option if you’re solo, or the full-board option (US$48) if you can split the cost between three.
Rating: 8/10
Where to go afterwards: It’s the West Village. Just walk around, and you’ll fall in love with everything and everyone you see.
The unbelievably light fried chicken with peanut butter from Atoboy
Atoboy, one of the most reliable Korean restaurants in the city, offers a set menu for around US$75 per person, which is a great value. The rich, tightly controlled flavours that chef Junghyun “JP” Park and his team come up with are routinely impressive.
While you’d need to fork out hundreds more for a set menu at Atomix to really get at JP’s mastery, Atoboy is a perfect example of why this hospitality group has grown into one of New York’s most valuable players. Especially since Korean food is shooting up in popularity every year.
Atoboy is simple, moody and very trendy. You’ll go through dishes like crispy squash coated in a spicy Gochujang pepper and covered in fontina (yum) and tender wagyu rib with chunjang, potato and gem lettuce (also yum). But the best thing on the menu is the fried chicken. They know it. Regulars know it. That’s why Atoboy charges US$28 extra for it.
It’s worth it.
This is the lightest, fluffiest fried chicken I have ever had. And I’ve been to Seoul twice. You get two sauces, spicy peanut and yangyum, and several fat pieces of the boneless chicken thighs that have been marinated overnight in a fermented jalapeno, pineapple and garlic mix before being double-fried for extra crisp. I’d eat it every day if I could.
Price: There’s no way to get the fried chicken without also getting the fixed menu, so expect to pay around US$103 for the full format.
Rating: 10/10
Where to go afterwards: You’re in Midtown. Go anywhere you want. The Empire State Building is just a few blocks away, but so is every other major observation deck. Pick one. Even if you’ve done it before, you’ll be soaking up the energy and excitement of hundreds of people who are seeing New York’s skyline for the first time.
That fresh bowl of soy-marinated salmon from NARO
NARO seems to change every time I go back to New York City. First, it’s fine dining, then it’s casual, now it’s somewhere in-between. Unlike big sister Atomix, which is as upscale as they come (and worth the price), and Atoboy, which is dark, moody and fashionable, NARO gets its identity from its location.
You’ll find this gorgeously designed Korean restaurant at rink-level at Rockefeller Centre. The building hosts several well-known New York restaurants, but this one is my go-to, from the same team behind some of my favourite culinary creations in the city.
An illustrated menu with photos of each dish doesn’t often speak highly of quality, but the cooking at NARO is smart, precise and focused on texture.
Soft textures like the bowl of delicate soy-marinated salmon are perfect for a quick Midtown lunch. Slices of New Zealand’s Ora king salmon are neatly folded over one another, brushed with a house-made soy blend for a rich, delicious flavour that’s carried well by the bed of cold kohlrabi noodles.
Pops of salmon roe on the top add to the nice, silky flavour that pairs best with one of the bar’s Korean-accented cocktails, such as the Omija Tonic (Hwanggeum Bori NARO 20 Soju, Omija, Fino Sherry).
Cost: US$28
Rating: 7/10
Where to go afterwards: Go to the Top of the Rock and try out the new SkyLift, which gently spins you around so you can inhale New York City’s stunning skyline in full 360-degree greatness.
The soft brioche bread from Moonflower
Aussie-owned wine bar Moonflower has many good things about it. First, it’s in the heart of the West Village, so you can roll through as part of a bigger bar crawl. You might want to anchor down as soon as the owners start showing you what kind of drops they’ve been excited about lately, though. They have a knack for keeping you on that stool until you’ve drunk a night’s worth of wine.
The bar pours generously, selects lavishly, and has some pitch-perfect bar snacks like whipped ricotta with sugar plums, a pasta-of-the-day, and the best cheese board you can find for $15. It’s that bread that I can’t stop thinking about, though. The way it glistens as light passes over it, or how the shiny surface seamlessly absorbs an accompanying slab of soft salted butter.
Moonflower is intimate, warm and communal in the best way.
The menu has interest, esoteric wines by the glass, and the service is classic, your-new-best-mate New York. I haven’t been to Old Mates Pub in FiDi yet, but I’d say this small wine bar is absolutely my favourite Aussie-owned business in NYC. Head along on a Sunday afternoon around 2 pm to hear live vinyl heightening the atmosphere. It’s a vibe.
Cost: The bread is US$12 a serving
Rating: 7/10
Where to go afterwards: The Village Vanguard is just a few minutes’ walk from here; check if they have any early evening shows on and get those toes tappin’.
A refreshing cucumber salad from Torrisi
For one of the hardest-won reservations in the city, Torrisi’s standout is a shocker. It’s not the pasta – although that’s very good too – but the Cucumbers New Yorkese, a tangy US$20 appetiser that’s more just a medley of fresh cucumbers sliced thinly and tossed at various stages of the pickling process. The result, allegedly an homage to The Pickle Guys in the Lower East Side, is intensely flavourful and refreshing.
Raw cucumbers are dressed with mustard, green sauce and dill, I assumed tossed quite aggressively, and served as a beautiful mess, the colour popping nicely next to plates of Tortellini Pomodoro and Cavatelli with Jamaican beef.
It’s a simple, two-step recipe, but the impact is outsized. It’s always referenced as the “must order” dish in Torrisi reviews (actual ones, not influencer ones), and after trying it for the first time last year, I’m not at all surprised.
Cost: The dish is around US$20
Rating: 8/10
Where to go afterwards: The famous Levain Bakery is just a few minutes away. And while Torrisi’s desserts are great, I’d recommend following up with a nice chocolate chip walnut cookie.
Dinner & A Glass of Chilled Red
The silky tagliolini with caviar at Casa Tua
Casa Tua makes you feel bad if you’re underdressed. The service is too polite and professional to point that out to you, but you’ll certainly feel it if you haven’t treated dinner at Casa Tua with a sense of occasion. Handsome luxury property The Surrey, A Corinthia Hotel, fits seamlessly into the Upper East Side scene, and its resident Italian restaurant and members’ club step up to the occasion with rich, simple flavours that prefer familiar classics, heightened by exceptional ingredients.
It’s hard not to love thick ribbons of tagliolini when they come dripping with creme fraiche and generously topped with melt-in-your-mouth caviar. As far as high-end dining goes, it’s fairly cliche. But the over-familiarity with such a simple dish means that most places no longer serve it as simply as here. I’m glad the kitchen decided to go against creativity with this one and just keep it consistent.
Now, will I be having it again? Probably not. Unless I win the lotto. New York City is where the budget goes to die.
Price: It was around US$48, which translates to around A$68, and that’s before you count tax and tip. It’s expensive. It’s only worth it if you are also quite expensive.
Rating: 7.5/10
Where I’d go afterwards: The Carlyle is just around the corner, so head straight there, park yourself up at Bemelmans Bar and enjoy one of New York City’s greatest moments.
That jerk chicken with a side of fun from Miss Lily’s 7A Cafe
Is this the best Caribbean food outside of the Caribbean? I’ve never been to the islands before, but I’m going to say yes. At least that’s how a friend pitched it to me when he saw I was in New York City. I’ve been back several times since, addicted to the fun service, colourful atmosphere and those delicious signature plates of jerk chicken.
Succulent skin peppered with thick, rich jerk sauce gives this 1/2 chargrilled chicken a deep, soulful flavour. But it’s the service that makes it either better. It’s impossible to feel any type of negativity in this brightly coloured space. Staff are often just as excited to be there as the guests. That’s rare.
Price: US$29
Rating: 8/10
Where to go afterwards: You’re not far from Alphabet City, so head in that direction and check out Nublu. The swanky nightclub is always fun, especially on a Monday when Ray Angry (from The Roots) brings some of his friends through for an improv jam session. I’ve seen Erykah Badu, Chris Rock and Talib Kweli in the crowd before. It’s one of the best things you do in New York City on a Monday night. And it’s only $20 on the door.
A bowl of rich Moules au Curry at Buvette
I think about the bowl of mussels swimming in curry butter from this lovely French wine bar in the West Village at least once a week.
I also feel pretty chuffed with myself; I’ve just shot off maybe my ninth recommendation for this gorgeously romantic spot. Along with Atomix, Adele’s Famous, Dante and L’Industrie, it’s now become a regular stop for me whenever I’m lucky enough to be touching down in Manhattan.
The tiny bistro is an all-day affair, and I’m going to try out the breakfast next time, given the kitchen seems exceptionally well-versed in how to make textbook French food taste like you’re having it for the first time.
You know: the wide eyes, the “fuck that’s so good”, the fight over the last bite. That’s me every time I take a seat at Buvette and ask for a bowl of curry with mussels and fries in it.
Those fries are soggy but dripping with the curry’s silky, heavy consistency. It’s almost like a consommé, with an intense flavour that soaks up into the mussels so that they can sponge it out all over your palate.
Price: US$22
Rating: 10/10
Where to go afterwards: Head on over to Small’s Jazz Club and soak up the sounds of freedom. Two drink minimum.
Creamy blue crab beignets at Bedford Stone Street
It’s not often you get to pair punchy, go-hard-or-go-home cocktails with some creamy blue crab toast.
The Bedford’s Stone Street is in FiDi’s busiest quadrant, and if you sit by the back window, you can people-watch as all the drunk al fresco drinkers act like every day is Oktoberfest. While eating those gorgeous little soldiers of creamy claw meat, kicked up with a flamin’ Cajun remoulade.
This section of New York City is fast becoming a favourite for Australian travellers because of all the Aussie-owned businesses opening up.
The ritzy Wall Street Hotel is owned by the Paspaley family, and a conglomerate of important Australians has opened up Old Mates Pub just down the road in breezy Seaport, pitching a classic Aussie pub just inches from where New York City was born.
The crab beignets are fine. Nothing mind-blowing, but the simplicity is always key here. Some creamy, perfectly cooked claw meat is flecked with a Cajun-spiced remoulade and served on perfectly crisped, puffy beignets.
Take it down with a shot of premium Tequila, because why not, and you’ve just had a much more satisfying meal than you would have expected from a bar with more than one location (the other one is in Brooklyn – I haven’t been yet).
Price: US$19
Rating: 7/10
Where to go afterwards: Homesick Aussies should head on over to Old Mate’s Pub for an unmistakingly local pub, or, better yet, soak up the history of Fraunces Tavern and the many stories that sit behind this hardy institution.
Insomnia & Shots of Vodka
A rewarding mixed platter with spicy rice from Adele’s Famous Halal Food
Every time I fork a mixture of lamb, chicken, sauce, rice and pita into my mouth at 4am in my hotel room, I sound like Chet Hanks. Adele’s Famous, permanently parked on the corner of 49th and 6th, within view of the Radio City Music Hall sign, is the stuff New York City legends are made of.
Rock up between 6pm and around 4am, and you’ll find a block-long queue packed with drunk 20-40-somethings happily waiting up to two hours for their chance to devour the city’s most reliable snack pack.
Forget the kebabs, when you get to the front of the line, you want a mixed platter of their best (that’s chicken and lamb) with a liberal spray of creamy white sauce, “hot” (if I can handle it, it’s not hot) red sauce, rich green sauce, and tangy BBQ sauce over a bed of crisped spicy rice and pita.
You’ll get it all shoved into a plastic orange bag, or you can make do with the tables and chairs that lie scattered around the water feature in front of the Time-Life Building.
Either way, ripping that plastic cover off reveals a smouldering pile of halal chicken and lamb, seasoned for richness and placed over a bed of spicy long-grain basmati rice—all the liquids and fat drain onto a bed of pita. The meat is so tender and full-flavoured that it’s like eating chicken for the very first time.
I think there’s some salad as well. But I don’t notice the salad. This is not a healthy meal. But it’s likely the single greatest thing I’ve tried from a food cart, anywhere.
I have braved that queue around eight times now, and I’m already thinking about the fourteenth. Two-hour waits be damned. This is the best meal you can have for $10 in New York. And, at the risk of sounding like Kenny Bania, I’ll repeat it: the best.
Cost: Around US$10
Rating: 9/10
Where to go afterwards: Go to bed for fuck’s sake (or to go Mansions in Queens)
A slice of fig and bacon jam from L’industrie Pizzeria
If you know someone who swears Joe’s Pizza is the best slice in New York City, then why? Why do you still know that person?
Joe’s Pizza may have the brand equity and late-night generosity. And to be fair, the original on Carmine St is good bang-for-buck. But it’s far from the best slice of pizza in New York.
That’d go to third-wave representer L’industrie Pizzeria, touting technique (the three-day cold fermentation gives a really smooth, biscuity texture) and high-quality ingredients for queues that could rip an hour out of your day if you don’t have good timing.
I’ve tried most toppings from L’industrie now and melt at the thought of their fig
Cost:
Rating: 8/10
Where to go afterwards: Marie’s Crisis or Small’s Jazz Club
The Nacho’s Nachos from Superbueno
What the hell do they put in these things? Good time cocktail bar Superbueno, on the corner of 1st & 1st in the Lower East Side, has the best nachos in the world. I’ve never been to Mexico, but that’s how confident I am that these blow virtually everything else out of the water.
Grab a Green Mango Martini and pair it up with this enormous plate of nachos covered in mole negro with mushroom carnitas, poblano, pickled jalapeno, red onion, crema, a house Mexican cheese blend and, of course, cilantro. It’s pungent, powerful and one of the best things you can eat on the Lower East Side.
Cost: US$22.50
Rating: 10/10
Where to go afterwards: Continue your cocktail-and-food journey over at Bar Snack and grab one of their bang-on spice bags. Or you can head on over to Moxy LES, where there’s always something fun happening in the edgy lifestyle hotel.
