(New York, New York). Too little time; not enough meals. There are some cities where it is a struggle to find enough time to indulge in all the delicious food offered - and New York is definitely one of those cities. Whenever I visit now, I will try to do a new "high-end" restaurant, and then try to squeeze in some old casual/cheap favorites.
On this trip, I was able to squeeze in following:
Mark - on St. Mark's Place - is a narrow dark bar that serves tasty sliders. I couldn't believe I had forgotten how much I loved this place but as I was re-visiting St. Mark's Place one day I walked by and literally did a double-take. Then I felt a wash of guilt at forgetting this dear place where I had spent many many hours hanging out with friends over drinks and addictive little sliders on soft buns reminiscent of hawaiian rolls. So good....
Joe's Shanghai Dumplings - The best soup dumplings I've had in the United States thus far are #1 Din Tai Fung (Arcadia location) and #2 Joe's Shanghai Dumplings (in original Chinatown location). Unfortunately I didn't make it to the original location and settled for eating in the Midtown location since we were hungry and just got out of the art museum nearby. The soup dumplings were still tasty - but knowing I was paying more for the lesser stepchild version still grated... So if you are in NYC, go to the original and feast on dumplings (and get the calamari and fried pork chop too)! For truly amazing soup dumplings, go to Taiwan - the original Din Tai Fung location is extraordinary.
I also had tasty, cheap dumplings at C&C Prosperity Dumplings in Lower East Side but I read recently that they've closed again mysteriously. They were previously located in Chinatown as Prosperity Dumplings but mysteriously closed there too. Not sure what's going on there but I suspect there might be labor and/or health violations involved. Too bad, because the dumplings were super good and super cheap.
Ippudo - MY FAVORITE RAMEN joint in NYC. A popular, hipster restaurant that is always busy but never disappoints. What's funny is Ippudo in Japan is actually quite a divey, chain restaurant. The only thing they have in common is delicious ramen (although they are actually different tasting). And in the US location, you can also get cocktails and wine, as well as tasty appetizers such as the spicy pork buns (which are my second favorite pork buns in NY; the first being Momofuku's pork buns).
Goa Taco - This was a new discovery from watching the youtubers - the Fung Brothers - whom I actually saw filming on St. Mark's Place in front of Papaya King. What a small world! Goa Taco is in the LES and serves some tasty, creative tacos. Probably the best "fusion" taco I've tried since Kogi so many years ago. I think we had the pork belly and spicy lamb - messy but good.
On our last day my husband and I were feeling rather tired and sickly, which normally happens at the end of a trip filled with lots of late nights, eating and drinking. Several locals told us about Congee Village so we decided to check it out and it was a pleasant surprise. Tasty, home-style cooking for cheap. We had some stir-fried lo mein and congee - perfect to ease our overactive tummies! I'm guessing this is a good place for dealing with hangovers...
Places I didn't get to go to on this last trip (but wished I could):
- Shake Shack - one of my favorite burgers of all time
- Baohaus - Taiwanese style buns with fusion flourish
- Crif's Dogs - hot dogs and cocktails .... enough said
- Momofuku Ssam - my favorite pork belly bun (and right across the street is Momofuku Milk's crack pie)
- Mamoun's Falafel - tasty and cheap, a favorite amongst local university students
- Pearl Oyster Bar - OK, not so cheap but still one of my favorite lobster rolls ever. The butterscotch ice cream sundae is also divine.
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