New York City Food Guide

The number one question I get asked most – “where should I eat in New York City?” For years I’ve been meaning to share my New York City Food Guide, and now that I live 3000 miles away, I finally sat down and wrote it up. New York City is a melting pot of cultures and unarguably serves some of the world’s best food. Even my Californian-lover husband would agree with me on this.

You want Indian food, they have amazing Indian food, you want Thai food, they have incredible Thai food. Traditionally speaking, New York City is most famous for its pizza and bagels, neither of which I indulged in too much because I’m more of a sit-down and dine type kinda gal. That will quickly change on future visits since I no longer have access to the best pizza and bagels in town. With that said, here are some of my favorite NYC eateries.

Asian

Tao (downtown/uptown): lychee martini, glazed salmon, banana bread pudding

Bagels

Ess-A-Bagel (midtown east): any bagel with jalapeno cream cheese, sun-dried tomato cream cheese

Brunch

Clinton Street Baking Company (lower east side): blueberry pancakes with warm maple butter
Jane Restaurant (soho): vanilla bean french toast, home fries, rosemary fries
The Cookshop (chelsea): huevos rancheros
The Smith (multiple locations): I haven’t been, but I’ve heard amazing things

Chai

Cheesecake

Pasticceria Rocco (west village): strawberry cheesecake, rainbow cookies

Chinese

Joe’s Shanghai (chinatown): pork soup dumplings

Cuban/Latin

Victor’s Cafe (midtown west): red sangria, ensalada de aguacate y berro, cilantro cuban tamale, tres leches

Cupcakes & Bakeries

Coffeeshop

• Pasticceria Rocco Italian coffeeshop (west village): strawberry cheesecake, rainbow cookies, lattes

Cookies

• Levain Bakery (midtown west): chocolate chip cookie
• Milk & Cookies Bakery (west village): chocolate chip cookie, white chocolate macadamia
• Schmackary’s (midtown west): red velvet cookie

Cupcakes

• Georgetown Cupcake (soho): salted caramel, strawberry
• Molly’s Cupcakes (west village): favorite. cake batter, butterscotch
• Sprinkles Cupcakes (multiple locations): red velvet, banana
• Billy’s Bakery (multiple locations): carrot, banana
• Butter Lane (east village): banana
• Magnolia Bakery (multiple locations): banana bread pudding
  

Pastries

• Pasticceria Rocco (west village): strawberry cheesecake, rainbow cookies, lattes.

French

Le Bernardin – 3 Michelin Star (midtown): outstanding experience, pricey. black truffle tagliatelle, salmon tartare, hazelnut praline

Greek

The Greek (tribeca): bifteki – beef patties, feta cheesecake
Estiatorio Milos (midtown west): milos special fried eggplant zucchini tower, Greek salad, grilled vegetables

Healthy Fast Food

Locations all over NYC

Dig Inn: wild salmon, sweet potatoes
Sweetgreen
Dos Toros

Holiday Markets

Located at Bryant Park & Union Square between Thanksgiving and New Years

No Chewing Allowed: dark hot chocolate
Sigmund’s Pretzels: truffle cheddar, garlic parsley

Hot Chocolate

No Chewing Allowed (holiday market only between Thanksgiving and New Year, WTC Oculus all year): dark hot chocolate

Indian

Indian Accent (midtown west): exceptional. potato sphere chaat, bengal rice khichdi, baked sea bass, makhan malai, doda burfi
Junoon (flatiron): eggplant chaat, piri piri shrimp, murgh lababdar, daal makhni, junoon spice naan with gruyere
Baar Baar (east village): dahi puri, potato tikki, paneer pinwheels
Rahi (west village): edamame artichoke chaat, lotus root kofta, seven mushroom khichdi
The MasalaWala (lower east side): dahi puri, chicken tikka masala, masala chai

Italian

Carbone – 1 Michelin Star (greenwich village): exceptional. spicy rigatoni vodka, zucchini flowers, Italian rainbow cookie cake, carrot cake
L’Artusi (west village): olive oil cake, spaghetti
Babbo (greenwich village): pappardelle bolognese, mascarpone cheesecake, (I wasn’t impressed by the vegetarian items)
Rubirosa (nolita): fresca, vodka, tie-dye, tuscan kale campanelle pasta

Japanese

Nobu 57 (midtown west): miso black cod, Peruvian chicken skewers

Korean

Hangawi (midtown east): lychee mojito, stuffed shitake mushrooms, bean curd with kimchi, combination pancakes, tofu chocolate pudding

Mexican

La Esquina (lower east side): grilled corn, grilled fish tacos
Toloache (midtown west): guacamole, truffle quesadillas, margaritas 

Michelin Star Restaurants

Carbone – 1 Michelin Star (italian/greenwich village): exceptional. spicy rigatoni vodka, zucchini flowers, Italian rainbow cookie cake, carrot cake
Le Bernardin – 3 Michelin Star (french/midtown): outstanding experience, pricey. black truffle tagliatelle, salmon tartare, hazelnut praline

Middle-Eastern/Moroccan

Mamoun’s Falafel (west village): falafel
Casa La Femme (west village): branzino, french fries, babaghanoush, hummus, crabmeat kofta 

Pizza

Roberta’s (midtown east, brooklyn): favorite. margherita
Rubirosa (nolita): favorite. fresca, vodka, tie-dye, tuscan kale campanelle pasta
Joe’s Pizza (west village): fresh mozzarella, plain cheese
Razza Pizza (jersey city): margherita

Romantic Restaurants

Salinas (chelsea): red sangria, croquetas del dia, seco paella
La Lanterna di Vittorio (greenwich village): pesto lasagna, pomodoro e basilico, tiramisu, warm pecan pie
Casa La Femme (west village): branzino, french fries, babaghanoush, hummus, crabmeat kofta 
The River Cafe (dumbo): chocolate Brooklyn bridge cake

Spanish

Salinas (chelsea): red sangria, croquetas del dia, seco paella

Street Food

The Halal Guys (midtown west): chicken & rice

Thai

Thai Villa (flatiron): exceptional. royal pad thai, hok talay, coconut sticky rice, Thai iced tea

Trendy

The Stanton Social (lower east side): red snapper tacos
Catch (meatpacking district): cod lettuce wraps, mushroom spaghetti

Vegan

By Chloe (soho): guac burger, sweet potato fries, chipotle aioli sauce, beet ketchup

OVERRATED NYC RESTAURANTS

Bar Pitti: rude service, obnoxious staff. food is average with the exception of the famous pappardelle alla fiesolana.
Afternoon Tea at The Palm Court – The Plaza Hotel: it’s an experience at a landmark hotel, but the food is overrated.
Ilili: it’s not the same anymore, their food has been off the last two times I visited.
Prince Street Pizza: wasn’t impressed, nothing special about the sauce.
Red Bamboo: unimpressed.
Chez Josephine: poor service, average food.. don’t believe the hype.
Veniero’s: definitely not the best cheesecake in NYC, so disappointed with the classic Italian desserts. 

NEW JERSEY RESTAURANTS

Bakeries & Desserts

La Bon Bake Shops (south plainfield/other locations): brown derby, hungarian cheesecake
The Original Fudge Kitchen (ocean city): vanilla nut fudge, chocolate nut fudge
Thomas Sweet (new brunswick): any ice-cream and topping combo

Farmers Market

Delicious Orchards (colts neck): dutch apple pie, pecan pie

Indian

Simply Chai (new brunswick): rose gold, dhamakedar falooda, air-fried magic masala fries

Pizza

Razza Pizza (jersey city): margherita
Joe’s Pizza (martinsville): cheese pizza
Manco & Manco Pizza (ocean city): plain pizza, white spinach pizza

And for more inspiration, check out my NYC Bucket List – I’m still working on it! 🙂