Foods You Must Eat in New York City
Senior Travel Writer
The New York culinary scene is ever-changing, but one thing holds true: the best NYC food is as iconic as the city skyline. Hot dogs and cheese pizza. Deli sandwiches and blue-plate specials. Italian and Jewish eats, so authentic that you’d think you were on the edge of the Mediterranean. Check out the best food in NYC, including legendary dishes given a modern spin.
New York pastrami sandwich at Empire Diner
Diner, American
Wu-Tang Clam pizza at Milkflower
Pizzeria, American
Astoria pizza parlor Milkflower isn’t here to reinvent the classic New York slice, but will offer you an alternative to standard red-sauced, cheese-topped pies. Case in point: the Wu-Tang Clam pizza. Aside from its excellent name – which throws up the W for the Staten Island hip-hop group – it’s stacked with grana padano, fresno chili, parsley, garlic and cherrystone clams. Remix it with add-ons including anchovies, streaky speck bacon and egg, if that’s your jam.
Everything Dog at Crif Dog
Restaurant, American
Hot Honey Yardbird at Red Rooster
Restaurant, Soul Food
Mofongo at Malecon
Restaurant, Caribbean
Though Malecon has a spot in the Manhattan Valley, their classic dish of mofongo (fried plantains) is best experienced at their restaurant in Little Dominican Republic, way uptown in Washington Heights. Let the aromas of the Caribbean lure you to the top of Broadway and set your phone to island time. Your only care should be deciding which two ingredients to pack into your mashed green plantains. Fried pork chunks and cheese? Garlic shrimp and green sauce? Any of the above will do.
Cacio e tartufo at L’Artista
Restaurant, Italian
It’s in Hamilton Heights, not Lower Manhattan, where you’ll find exceptional northern Italian cuisine prepared by Turin-raised chef German Rizzo. L’Artisa will send your appetite on a first-class flight to Italy’s Piedmont region with their dish of cacio e tartufo. Need we say more than spaghetti alla chitarra topped with pecorino toscano, parmesan and white-truffle shavings? Perhaps only: would you like a negroni or Aperol spritz with that?
Matzo ball ramen at Shalom Japan
Restaurant, Japanese, Asian, Vegetarian
Babka at Bread’s Bakery
Bakery, American
Save dollars for New York’s dishes by digging into the city’s cheapest hotels. Alternatively, consider a stay in the middle of Manhattan or discover the Big Apple’s famous hotels with stories to tell.
This is an updated rewrite of an article originally by Julia Goicochea.
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