New York, New York. I can fully say that I love this city much, much more now that I don’t live in it nor work in the investment banking world. Definitely the rat race was not conducive to living it up in the city—and enjoying it at the same time. While my trips to New York are always a mixture of business and pleasure, I most relish reconnecting with friends, shopping, museums, and, let’s face it, eating and drinking. Life seems to especially revolve around the last two. So many options, so little time.
These are some of my favorite eats during my last two trips to the City over Halloween and the week before Christmas, two particularly fun times to be in town. The theme on these trips seemed to keep hitting: sandwiches, pork, and Asian. I also picked up that there seems to be an increased interest on casual gourmet—cool digs with high-end food without the pretension and crazy expensive price tag. I also loved the BYOB scene, sandwich shops like Porchetta and Xie Xie, and seemed to have this obsession with noodles in any form: pasta, Pho, ramen, soba, you name it.
So I heart—and eat–New York. Until my next trip in June.
Momofuku Noodle Bar (East Village): I bet David Chang is one cool dude, if I ever met him in person, because his restaurant is a rockin’ place where minimalist design, almost Scandinavian in feel with the natural wood, gives a humble noodle bar an edgy vibe. Every time I walk in this place, there’s a line, commotion, elbows bumping into one another as diners slurp their way to the bottom of a deep bowl. The crowds come, for what else, the food! I will rearrange any day for an excuse to chow down on the addictive steamed buns followed by slippy ramen with porkbelly. Eat your noodles while the Pixies blare in the background and the open kitchen hums away. Kick ass!
Congee Village (Lower East Side): Congee is a porridge-like dish that the Chinese love, made with anything from lobster to fish blood (let’s leave it there, wasn’t a fan, especially with said fish blood version). Certainly I was one of the few Caucasians in the dining room and I had to channel my adventurous self as we chowed down on many dishes that most Westerners would shy away from like sauteed duck tongues with sugar snap peas; salt-and-pepper squid; or the most sublime green beans tossed in some garlic-laden sauce (is licking the plate in public allowed?). It is BYOB but be prepared to wait.
Porchetta (East Village): Adjectives like tender, moist, flavorful, heavenly seem to best describe this pork-centric gem off a quiet East Village street. Pretty much a decent hole-in-the-wall, the draw is the pork (forget the vegetarian items!). Yep, slap it on there–sliced pork between thick bread. Essential. Tasty. Have napkins on hand to wipe the grease away or have it dribble down your chin. Note apart, very cute Lobster Roll place, Luke’s, was just starting up across the street and a cigar room next door. Love the EV!
The Bourgeois Pig (East Village): Small, intimate, plush with a barroque-meets-burlesque decor, this hipster hang out in the East Village is the perfect spot for some delicious French wine, nibbles, and ethereal fondue (chocolate or cheese). Super-knowledgeable waitstaff will help guide you through the wine and food options. Monday nights all wine bottles are half off (yeah!). Super laid back for a chat, apparently it is cool enough that Madonna on her last NY tour with Brazilian man, Jesus Luz, rolled up. They had the cheese fondue, of course.
L’Ecole (Soho): The student-run dining room of the prestigious French Culinary Institute, this has got to be Manhattan’s best kept dining secret in terms of price-quality ratio. I was really blown away. Think a five-course meal is out of the question for lunch? Think again—and it won’t blow a hole in your wallet. With a daily rotating menu, start out with the duck confit on an escarole salad with a poached egg. Then tuck into perfectly poached artic char in a clarified broth. The sommeliers know their stuff and you can watch the hustle and bustle of Soho through the picture glass windows.
Joe’s Shanghai (Chinatown): I dream about the crab soup dumplings at this place, especially on rainy, chilly nights. I know they have an extensive menu but quite frankly, I have never gotten past the dumplings. The dough is so tender. Just one bite to slowly slurp out the savory steaming liquid. Then polish off the dumpling by dousing it in a vinegary-soy solution, washed down with a cold beer. If I could manifest instant delivery anywhere in the world, this would be it.
Jackson Diner (Jackson Heights): I had heard about this place for years and finally on my last visit, staying with my girlfriend Anna in this hood, I hit their buffet lunch my first day in town. Let me specify that that afternoon I was d-y-i-n-g for real Indian food. I was looking for the spicy variety, not dumbed down for Western weeny palates, that was so pungent that the spices’ aroma would penetrate my clothing. The buffet was ok, not the best food ever and decor fairly lackluster. But it killed the craving and after 15 hours of airline grub tasted good. On the way home, I stopped next door to visit Patel Brothers, THE Indian supermarket. And then on the way home, discovered an Indian pastry shop selling sweets like coconut burfi. You know, I could live in Queens, seriously.
Sripraphai (Woodside): This has been on my restaurant bucket list for years and I never made it out to Woodside. It always seemed like an expedition; a trip to the end of the world. That, somehow, Woodside and the 7 train were quite possibly farther from Manhattan than Patagonia. Since I was finally hanging in Queens in December, I got my wish. It was casual, cheap, spicy, hot, fragrant, and went down all too easy. This is was the place the NY Times gave 3-stars. It was delicious but somehow I walked away disappointed; it hadn’t blown my mind. Too much expectaction? I guess…I was looking for something like Renu Nakorn in Norwalk, CA (LA) that apparently was the best non-westernized Thai outside Chiang Mai. You know what, forget it. I need to go to Thailand to get the real reference.
Kasadela (East Village): Super cute, young, and hip traditional Japanese fuses with small plates and killer Sake. I must share my ignorance in the Sake department since prior to this dinner, I had assumed it all tasted like hot lighter fluid. We started with the Japanese style chicken wings (do lick your fingers please) followed by tuna sashimi on a seaweed salad, homemade creamy tofu, and other scrumptious bites whose names I cannot remember. The sake was memorable and citrusy, smoothe, balanced. I am a convert now. The best part: food, sake, and tip was US$45 for two people. Cheap eats do exisit in Manhattan. Really.
Xie Xie (Hell’s Kitchen): After a meeting at Food & Wine, I asked one of the editors where she’d go for lunch in mid-town. I kinda got a chuckle (hmm, tourist traps or delis?). Then she remembered a great new place with the disclaimer, “but it’s 4 avenues away”…which in NY-speak means nobody in their right mind is gonna walk 8 avenues round trip for a freaking sandwich. Well, I did. And this was an Asian sandwich shop and was quite possibly the tastiest thing I have sunk my teeth into for lunch in months. The Vietnamese BBQ beef redefined umami with basil mayo and carrot kimchee. Modern and young with pop design, had I really had the munchies, I would have scarfed down the Chinese pork bun version too. Next time. WORTH THE WALK PEOPLE.
Tadka (Midtown East): Indian restaurants in NY are a dime a dozen but when pressed to meet a girlfriend around 50th street on the East Side, we found this cute place with only about 6-7 tables. The food was clean (healthy), amazingly bright in flavor, and very friendly service. The naan was fluffy, the lamb saag meaty and not at all greasy, and the daal perfectly prepared. Lunch specials were a steal at US$10. Definitely a find in Midtown for eat-in or take away.
