That's good to know. Joe and pats is on my list as well and we'll try to sneak it in.

Ram4 wrote:I'm currently out in LA for an extended stay and they have Joe's here. I tried Prince Street Pizza on Sunset Blvd which was our "home base" pizzeria in New York (we went there just about every morning it seemed) and it was not as good as NY. Oh well. I may try Joe's at some point here and I will definitely try Roberta's in Culver City which I loved in Brooklyn. Otherwise the pizza out here, as expected has been meh. I did find a possible Chicago thin joint that looks legit which I plan to hit soon.

Sorry to hijack, but Bianco is really great. Also, it opened right after I left, but people are raving about Schellz (Detroit-ish style, based on shokupan dough). Very curious to try it. Also some good-to-great Neapolitan, which I know you don't care for.

Made an annual trek to NYC and wanted to provide a few highlights:

Okiburu House of Tsukemen A new tsukemen spot opened in the LES. Definitely the best version i've had outside of Tokyo. Thought the noodles were perfect and the dipping broth was fantastically flavored

Bo Ky I usually stay in Manhattan's Chinatown, which allows for some wonderful eating options. Stopped into Bo Ky one morning and had their Beef Belly Flat Noodle Soup. It was legit one of most satisfying breakfasts i've ever eaten. Also made my first stop into Xi'an Famous Foods. Hand pulled noodles here were fantastic!

Matsunori As i was making group dinner plans, realized that NYC has seen a large influx of "affordable" omakase sushi restaurants. Ended up selecting Matsunori based on availability and it being BYOB. $79 for 13 pieces and a handroll. I left thinking places like this would thrive in Chicago and that i'd expect some to pop up in the near future

Scarr's and Joe's We did some pizza crawling and these 2 have become very dependable spots along the way. Scarr's was objectively better, but can't beat the quintessential NY slices that Joe's serves.

NYC is filled with cocktail bars/bars. A few favorites were:
Bar Goto Great drinks and they had fantastic wings
Analogue Nice, relaxed cocktail bar in the west village
Pubkey Divey cocktail bar in Greenwich Village which had great drinks and a helluva food menu (smashburgers, hot dogs, chopped cheeses)
Bar B This was an Italian standing tapas wine bar with Japanese influences in Chelsea. Alright, that's a lot of words that don't seem to go together. But it was great, and if i lived near here, i'd be a regular

This was my 3rd trip to NYC since Sep '21 and it was first time the city felt back to "normal". Also, I still can't believe how much nicer LaGuardia is now compared to before.

Good timing, since I’m currently in NYC. Gonna try to hit that tsukemen place if there’s time.

We’re staying in K-Town, so most of my recs are from around here. For a quick, cheap lunch E-Mo Kimbob is a take-out window serving up made-to-order kimbap in a dozen or so varieties. We tried the eel and the spicy squid and both were very fresh and delicious. Tried to ask the two ladies who were constantly cranking the stuff out if they were indeed emo, but got a confusing answer. Great lunch, though. (CASH ONLY)

Two names that always come up when you ask for where to eat in K-Town are Her Name is Han and Osamil. The first serves pretty exemplary versions of the classics (stews, pajeon, bibimbap) without necessarily reinventing the wheel; the second takes all sorts of liberties and combines disparate cuisines. I’d happily eat at either again, but there are so many more things I want to try at Osamil. It’s in a similar genre to hanchic in LA and (Maybe? Never been) Jeong. The uni bibimbap had so much flavor.

Hey, remember when everyone went crazy over xiao long bao? Back before ramen and Detroit pizza and whatever everyone’s excited about now (cordyceps, I guess?) Anyway, for a time there, Nan Xiang in Flushing was considered by many as a top practitioner of the art. A few years ago it closed, then reopened in a bigger space and now there’s Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao in Manhattan. To me, the xiao long bao here are not quite as memorable as those original ones were, ten years ago, but who knows if I’m just mythologizing. Still very enjoyable!

Finally, I think I already wrote about it in the other thread, but I just want to reiterate how awesome All’Antico Vinaio (2 locations) is.

Ooh, we hit up All’Antico Vinaio as well and can vouch for the awesomeness. It was right after a late breakfast so I didn't appreciate it fully. But definitely worth a visit.

The tsukemen place opens at noon but seems to seat folks a little earlier than that. Otherwise it seemed to fill up fairly quick.

cilantro wrote:Finally, I think I already wrote about it in the other thread, but I just want to reiterate how awesome All’Antico Vinaio (2 locations) is.

By the light of Dear Sweet Carol Channing's Ghost, All’Antico Vinaio has me looking up flights to NYC

Dolcezze D’Autunno
Lardo, gorgonzola, truffle honey

Highlights from a recent NYC trip. Ate a lot. These are the bites worth going out of the way for:


There's a free bus that leaves LaGuardia every 15 minutes 24 hours a day and drops people off at the Roosevelt/74th train station. Steps away is Nepali Bhanchha Ghar, which has the best momos I've ever had. This place has been my first or last stop on my last several trips to New York. There are other momos in the neighborhood that get raves and I should probably branch out at some point. Maybe I'll do a momo crawl one day. Anyhow, get whatever filling you like (I love the goat), but make sure you get the option where they're served in a bowl of the magnificent jhol.


It's about a 3 minute walk from there to Tong, a Bangladeshi food cart where these fuchka are available. The shells are made to order and your choices are spice/not spicy and with or without egg. I recommend spicy with egg. Just outstanding and fun to eat. Note: Tong also has a brick and mortar location but I haven't been. I assume it's great. At the cart, they put out stools for you if you aren't taking your food somewhere else.



World class pizza and world class soft serve in one place? Yep, at the Manhattan location of L'Industrie (Brooklyn location has both as well). The burrata slice is much hyped and every pit of it is deserved. Great crust, great sauce, great cheese; this might be the best slice in NYC at the moment. I might have liked the ice cream even more (though the 90+ temperature and high humidity surely influenced that hot take). Swirl is always the right choice with soft serve. The flavors on my visit were cantaloupe and olive oil. Perhaps not a natural pairing, but my goodness did it work.


I'm no expert on Burmese food but I thought the mohinga at Rangoon in Brooklyn (there's a Chelsea location too) was exceptional. So much flavor and that onion fritter in there was a culinary masterpiece. The tea leaf salad was also great, though I should have asked for more chiles, as was the cold tamarind noodle.


I was eating with a pescatarian so I couldn't get the goat roti at Ali's Trinbago Roti Shop. I'm not going to say the vegetarian roti made me forget about goat, but this was fantastic. No seating but there's a concrete park with a few benches a couple blocks away.


The famed veggie burger at Superiority Burger was a massive mushy disappointment (though the pickles and tomato on top were great). But feel free to ignore me on that one since my dining companion and I are clearly outliers. Do not ignore me on this: the apricot sorbet is one of the best ice creams I've ever had. Unfortunately, the sorbet flavors change every few days, but this one was good enough that I'd vouch for every other flavor they come up with. So tangy and sweet and inexplicably creamy.


I'm a sucker for pandan and Bánh by Lauren didn't disappoint. The macaron was the winner, but the bánh bò nướng (honeycomb cake) and coffee cake were both very good. I was alone on this stop so I couldn't try the pandan chiffon cake, but that's the priority for my next visit.


I've explored a lot of NYC over the years but I've never made it as far north in Manhattan as D'Lili Bakery. I'd seen the quesillo on the Eating in Translation Instagram account and it looked great. I couldn't tell you the definitive difference between quesillo and flan, though the quesillo seemed denser than the flan I'm used to. Anyhow, this was great. Would I make a special trip all the way up to 207th street just to get it? Probably not, but there's plenty of other stuff to do up there.


And once you're done up in that part of Manhattan, you can easily take a bus east into the Bronx. 20 minutes on the bus and a 10 minute walk will get you to the Arthur Avenue neighborhood, where the homemade mozzarella at Casa Della Mozzarella is top notch and stars in some really great sandwiches. This is the mozzarella, artichoke, & tomato. It was a great, great sandwich. Had I added some prosciutto or other salty meat, it would have reached legendary status. Let me put it this way: when most people tell me an Italian sandwich is as good as Graziano's, I think they're idiots. If someone told me they think Casa Della Mozzarella is as good as Graziano's, I'd say I need to do more research but they might be right. The smoked mozzarella is also excellent.


The best Indian meal I've ever had was Semma. It's a pain in the ass to get into. Either be online at 12:01 AM far in advance to claim a table or get there early to snag a walk-in seat at the bar. It's completely worth it, but just a pain. This trip was booked a week ahead of time and timing made walking into Semma a practical impossibility. Adda, from the same restaurant group, is in Long Island City, so it made a very convenient final meal before getting to the airport. This was an exceptional meal from start to finish but the dish that sticks with me is the "Paneer Chilly," a housemade paneer coated in spices. So simple but so, so delicious.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Highlights from a recent NYC trip. Ate a lot. These are the bites worth going out of the way for:

Hell of trip. I know most but not all; great work. FWIW, my wife & daughter went to Superiority about a month ago & didn’t like it either.

I will say re the Semma folks: love Rowdy Rooster but wasn’t impressed with Dhamaka.

Great recap. Hit up l'industrie when I was there in March and it's definitely going to be a part of the rotation

I was back in New Jersey and New York last month so I figured I would mention what I had. I went to four places in NJ and then my friend and I went to five more in Manhattan and Brooklyn on our one day that we had. This was our typical NYC residency, more of a one-off gig.

DeLucia's Brick Oven Pizza (Raritan, NJ)*
Patsy's Tavern (Patterson, NJ)*
Ralph's Pizza (Nutley, NJ)*
Star Tavern (Orange, NJ)
Prince Street Pizza (Manhattan - Little Italy)
Ace's Pizza (Brooklyn - Williamsburg)*
Fini (Brooklyn - Williamsburg)*
Pizza Collective (Manhattan - Upper West Side)
Made in NY Pizza (Manhattan - Upper West Side)*
* - first time for me

All four NJ joints were versions of New Jersey bar pie style which is a very unusual and individual style based on each place. Thin pizzas cooked in a pan and finished on the deck of the over to crisp and brown the bottom. All had totally different dough and texture so it was really cool coming across the very different pizzas. DeLucia's is from 1917 and was highly touted but was a big disappointment. The crust was a little thicker than expected and flavorless. Patsy's was much better (open 1931) with a cool old school vibe. At Ralph's I was able to get slices, and the thinner the better. I never get sausage out East as it's usually a let down and I tried one slice (that was also a little thicker) with crumbled sausage. Nothing special at all. The plain cheese slices were excellent with oily and flavorful cheese. Star Tavern I had before and it was so tasty. I love how oily the cheese gets. So much flavor. It is so much better eating in the restaurant fresh out of the oven as it does not travel well. A return to Prince Street for a fresh mozzarella slice which they do about as good as any. Very similar to the one at Scarr's. Then over to Ace's which does their version of a Detroit. The cheese seemed to be brick, the dough was a bit thick for Detroit and the sauce was wrong for this style. It needs to be on the mild/sweet side. So this was a miss for me. Fini served a very good classic slice and my friend liked his grandma square. We both love Pizza Collective which serves Roman style squares. We shared margherita and cacio e pepe squares that were fantastic as always. Lastly I had a very good classic slice at Made In NY Pizza right by Pizza Collective. My new problem is choosing between old favorite and going to more new ones. It gets harder and harder! Prince Street is always our morning start the trip pizza spot as they open at 10. I don't have to have it every time but it's the tradition. There is one in Los Angeles so I have had it out there a few times. It's good but it's not quite the same. I can definitely say the New York location is better. They have that really old oven, which has to be the difference maker. Unless you subscribe to the water theory. Could be both. Always love visiting NYC even if it was for a day.

Thanks Ram! Seems like a labor of love. I grew up eating east coast style pizza and enjoy your reviews.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:The famed veggie burger at Superiority Burger was a massive mushy disappointment (though the pickles and tomato on top were great). But feel free to ignore me on that one since my dining companion and I are clearly outliers.

I'll stick up for Superiority -- never had the veggie burger there in many visits to both old and new locations but any yuba sandwich they make is going into my fat face immediately. The collard greens sandwich was also very enjoyable.

I agree that their new pastry chef is very talented and the desserts are quite good, albeit insanely overpriced.

I wanted to report some stops I made in a trip this last weekend. I was mostly there to see people so food stops were a balance of being appealing, but also convenient.

TL;DR version is Lysee and KJUN are high on my list to return to, but there was plenty of other good eating.

Here goes:

Pastries

- Lysee: This was the best of the bunch and among the better pastries I've had anywhere. I had a kouign amman, a babka and a chocolate croissant over a couple of visits. The kouign aman puzzled me because it was enormously tall. Almost seemed popover-esque. You really had to rip it in half to be able to fit it into your mouth, which made it hard to enjoy all parts of the baked good at the same time. It was tasty, but I've never seen one shaped like this. The chocolate croissant and the babka were just delightful. Fully of buttery, flakey flavor (but not overwhelmingly so) and just the right amount of filling. The chocolate croissant had high quality chocolate. The pastries are a bit more expensive than I'm used to paying around here, but only marginally more than some other New York stops. But the quality was special. I plan to visit again on a future trip.

- Supermoon Bakehouse: I had the kouign brulee croissant and a ginger chive danish. I think the ratio on the kouign brulee croissant (seemed a lot like a kouign amman to me) was better than at Lysee (shorter, more traditional). There was a sweet filling but it wasn't overpowering. It seemed pretty well made , but well made. They also made short baguettes that looked good, but I didn't try one.

- La Cabra Bakery: This appears to be a multi-location shop, but the only one in the US. It was convenient to some other plans so I stopped in for a regular croissant and an almond croissant. The almond croissant was too sweet the flavor of the filling featured too much almond extract flavor for me which overpowered the actual almonds. The regular croissant was quite flaky and well colored.


Lunches and bites
- Tokuyomatcha & Onigirazu: New York seems to have a pretty healthy set of shops that specialize in omusubi and other rice based snacks and sandwiches (onigiri and the like). Some have been around for a while. This one seems newer, with a couple of locations in Manhattan (the rest are in Tokyo). I stopped into the NoMad location. I got a pretty basic salmon onigirazu (sort of a larger sandwich shape). This was made to order (unlike some that sit around in the fridge) and was tasty. However, it suffered a bit like any nori coming into contact with warm rice and the seaweed wasn't super crispy. I'm told that the ingenious packaging technology (where the rice is kept separate from the nori) which I saw in Japan 20 years ago is on display at the Kinokuniya bookstore (Japanese chain) near Bryant Park. I may check that out on a future visit.

- Rucola Brooklyn: The thing to report here was the slow roasted pork sandwich. It was very tasty. The little gem salad here (looks like this has changed on the most recent menu to escarole) was fine but not as good as the one at the next stop later in the day. According to my friends, it's a good spot for celebrity sightings since it draws a lot of folk who aren't working on weekdays - if you're into that sort of thing.

- Crave Fishbar: After walking around a bit in the park, we exited in search of a bite. A raw bar and seafood seemed like a good first stop. We headed to the one on the Upper West side. We had a half dozen oysters each of varying types. They were well-shucked and presented and a couple really stood out flavor wise. We also enjoyed a little gem salad and the squid ink spaghetti. Both were really good. The squid ink pasta didn't taste too much like squid ink, but the shrimp were cooked well and the Fresno peppers helped make the clam juice-based broth delicious. We had excellent service. I would stop in again.

- Turntable Chicken: This was the 2nd stop after the fish bar above. This is apparently one of 3 locations in a block and a half in KTown near Madison Square Garden. It was my first time in KTown here and it was bustling. It definitely reminded me of stops in Korea and Japan with commercial stops 4 and 5 floors up all along the street. This was apparently the LP & Karaoke location of this local mini-chain. I didn't see any karaoke, but I did see a lot of old time radios as decor. We had 6 piece regular drumsticks, kimchi pajeon, and a side of pickled daikon. I was arguably not super hungry at this point, but it was fairly good. The chicken was just slightly crispy and tangy. The daikon was an enormous portion but standard. The pajeon was - like just about every other pajeon I've had - disappointingly not very crispy. Nice atmosphere and was glad to see KTown.

- Malai Ice Cream: This was a stop after the Indian dinner referenced below. I wasn't hungry but was told I should experience this place. The flavors on offer here were truly unique. You will not see them many other places. The ones in the shop were far more esoteric than what I see online available for mail order. I think what I settled on was rose based with almond. I liked it, although flavors my friends got (which I'm forgetting) had stronger spiced notes and were a bit better. Definitely an interesting place to explore and sample.

- Russ & Daughters Cafe: This spot is always worthwhile, although I was with a cousin who isn't that into deli food (found out too late) so we didn't opt for noshes I might have otherwise been interested in sharing (chopped liver, etc.). The classic board with salmon is good - although seemed a little slight on the salmon to me even by NYC standards.

Dinners
- Sozai Izakaya and Ramen: The salmon skin salad and the gyu tan (grilled beef tongue with yuzu kosho) were the standouts here. Hamachi kama, unagi don, and another small dish I'm forgetting were nothing special. We picked it for its proximity and ability to seat us quickly. I'd look elsewhere next time.

- Indian Table: This is a Goan influenced spot in Brooklyn, so there were a fair number of items with Portuguese influence. We sampled a fair number of dishes among 5 people: Croquetas de Bacalhau (salt cod croquettes), Masala Bhindi (cooked okra), Tandoori Mushroom, Konkan Railway mutton, Lasuni Gobi (crispy, sauced cauliflower), Kalchi Kodi (fish curry)along with various grilled breads and Pao (the puffy roll). I think the mutton and the fish curry were my favorites. Overall, I'd say I wouldn't rush back to this one.

- KJUN: This mashup of Korean and Cajun food was something my host had never heard of until the previous night - despite it being just a couple of blocks from her Midtown apartment. It wound up making sense to stop in for an early dinner just before I flew home. I'd say this was the best meal of the trip. The chef was born in Seoul and had extensive professional experience in New Orleans, which I guess explains the concept. We had Japchae boudin balls, Korean pear salad, and Kimchi Jambalaya. I wouldn't say that everything was a 50/50 fusion of Korean and Lousianian flavors, but I will say that everything was delicious. There was plenty more on the menu that looked worth trying and I'd love to check it out again on the next visit. This is a small restaurant but apparently is doing well (they were not always opened on Sundays, but there was demand for it). I'll also say, I've met few people in my life who were as enthused about where they worked as one of our servers. She had effusive praise for the working environment and the chef and that just isn't a given these days. All in all, a terrific way to end the trip.

I think the best drink I had on the trip was The Pretender at Barely Disfigured just before dinner at the Indian Table. This seemed like a fun spot. I also enjoyed a beet-flavored mocktail at Raine's Law Room in Chelsea but it doesn't seem to be on their current menu.

Lysee
44 East 21st Street
New York, NY
Manhattan

Supermoon Bakehouse
120 Rivington Street
New York, NY
Manhattan

La Cabra East Village
152 2nd Ave
New York, NY
Manhattan
Sozai

TokuyoMatcha & Onigirazu
115 East 27th Street
New York, NY
Manhattan

Rucola
190 Dean St
Brooklyn, NY

Crave Fish Bar
428 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY
Manhattan

Turntable LP & Karaoke
34-36 W 32nd St
New York, NY
Manhattan

Malai Ice Cream
268 Smith St
Brooklyn, NY

Russ & Daughters Cafe
127 Orchard St
New York, NY
Manhattan

Sozai Izakaya & Ramen
19 W 45th St
New York, NY
Manhattan

Indian Table
234 Court St
Brooklyn, NY

KJUN
154 E 39th St
New York, NY
Manhattan

Barely Disfigured
257 Smith St
Brooklyn, NY

Raines Law Room at the William
24 E 39th St
New York, NY
Manhattan

Had a fantastic meal at Dhamaka. It was just me so it was small sampling but the Kashmiri Gosht Chaamp, (lamb loin, garam masala, and ghee), and the Dhaba Dal were outstanding. Dhamaka is located in a huge food court but once you are inside the restaurant it does not have that vibe at all. I thought prices were okay for NYC these days with the two dishes, plus Chapati and one glass of wine under $60 before tip. Also noteworthy that the lamb was technically an appetizer but there was plenty of food. I took home more than I could eat in one seating. Service was very attentive and accommodating.

That was a great meal.

119 Delancey Street
Essex Market
Mon-Sun 5-10