Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Top Dishes To Eat in NYC Before You Die?


MadelaineCriden

Recommended Posts

I've only lived in NYC since January, but I've already amassed a list of dishes/ prepared foods that after eating them, I realized I just wouldn't have wanted to have lived without trying them at least once (awkward sentence...sorry)

I'm not talking about a "best of NYC" list here, although some "best ofs" will undoubtedly be mentioned, but instead your favorite dishes or prepared food items (like cookies, bagels, etc that aren't exactly "dishes") that you couldn't see living without having tried once. Basically, you haven't lived a full foodie life if you haven't eaten these things in NYC. Eventually, I'd like to expand this topic to more U.S. cities and even around the world, but for right now, let's limit it to dishes you can only get in NYC.

One stipulation: it has to be something that wasn't a fluke or on some seasonal menu, etc. Someone should be able to check out this list and (fingers-crossed!) replicate the experience!

Here are a few off my list:

City Bakery's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gem Spa's Egg Cream

Daniel's Sea Bass in a Crisp Potato Shell

San Domenico's Egg Yolk-Filled Raviolo

Mei Lai Wah's Roast Pork Bun (cha siu bao/siopao)

Katz's Pastrami on Rye (ordered juicy, of course!)

:laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LB's "Surf & Turf"

JG's egg with caviar

JG's frog legs with young garlic soup

(ok..so technically those are probably on the menu at JG Shanghai..but i don't know for sure)

cauliflower at Momofuku Ssam

fried butterscotch at WD-50

pork leg with mustard greens at Sri

raw scallop with rock salt at Yasuda

fatty duck at Fatty Crab

The Pork Chop at Little Owl

mint "love letters" at Babbo

goose liver ravioli with brown butter and sage at Babbo

Edited by Nathan (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

LB's "Surf & Turf"

JG's egg with caviar

JG's frog legs with young garlic soup

(ok..so technically those are probably on the menu at JG Shanghai..but i don't know for sure)

tung po pork at Shanghai Cafe  (you can get tung po pork in many places of course)

cauliflower at Momofuku Ssam

fried butterscotch at WD-50

pork leg with mustard greens at Sri

raw scallop with rock salt at Yasuda

fatty duck at Fatty Crab

The Pork Chop at Little Owl

mint "love letters" at Babbo

goose liver ravioli with brown butter and sage at Babbo

Hi,

Representing the out of towners, what are LG, JG and Sri?

Tim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shake and burger at shake shack.

Bo Ssam at momofuku ssam.

Corn on the cob from the red hook ballfield vendors

Spicy Beef tendon from Grand Sichuan

Di Faro pizza

Blue Ribbon bone marrow with oxtail ragu

John Deragon

foodblog 1 / 2

--

I feel sorry for people that don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day -- Dean Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

- Pork Belly at Veritas

- Fricasee of Seasonal Mushroom with Polenta and Truffle Oil at L'Impero

"If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony."

~ Fernand Point

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shake and burger at shake shack.

Bo Ssam at momofuku ssam.

Corn on the cob from the red hook ballfield vendors

Spicy Beef tendon from Grand Sichuan

Di Faro pizza

Blue Ribbon bone marrow with oxtail ragu

I'm going to disagree on the Shake Shack (which I love).

neither of those are "only in NY". the burger is Wisconsin-style. the custard is Wisconsin-style (albeit not as thick). the concretes are St. Louis style.

ditto for corn on the cob and the spicy beef tendon. which is why I'm withdrawing the tung-po pork from my list.

Edited by Nathan (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whitefish salad at Russ & Daughters

Roast pork with ginger scallion sauce at Big Wong

Pan fried cod sandwich with extra side of tartar at Mary’s Fish Camp

Brussel sprouts, kimchi and bacon at Momofuku Noodle

Gnocchi at Hearth

Home fried potatoes at Peter Luger

Pretzel croissant/mac & cheese at City Bakery

Duck meatballs at A Voce

Short ribs at Café Gray

Patatas bravas at Tia Pol

Tom kha gai at Sripraphai

This could keep me busy for hours.

Adding: bagels at Ess-A-Bagel

Gelato at Laboratorio del Gelato or Otto (not intending to re-open this debate)

White bean and balsamic bruschetta at Otto on tuesdays

Edited by daisy17 (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm...I think we're running far afield of the original parameters ("only in NY")...

I'm not sure my pork leg with mustard greens qualifies at Sri (is this a traditional Thai dish?) tom kha gai certainly doesn't.

I love the gelato at Otto and respect the gelato at Il Laboratorio....maybe the sweet corn gelato at Otto (which is great) is completely original? maybe the olive oil coppetta as well (Meredith did not invent olive oil gelato).

ditto for patata bravas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going to disagree on the Shake Shack (which I love).

neither of those are "only in NY".  the burger is Wisconsin-style.  the custard is Wisconsin-style (albeit not as thick).  the concretes are St. Louis style.

Ahhh, Nathan, but you're not eating them in Madison Square Park, in the shadow of some of the greatest buildings in NYC!

My list has to include...

Katz's Pastrami

Gray's Papaya Recession Special

A Slice - DiFara's or Joe's or...

Baby roast suckling pig at Great NY Noodletown (and their shrimp wonton soup)

Fried Dumplings at Fried Dumplings

That egg cream at Gem Spa!

Breakfast from Russ & Duaghter's - eaten at home, whitefish salad included - Kossar's bialys

A Yonah Schimmel Knish

Balthazar's fries

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure I follow.  So if you can get it somewhere outside of ny it doesn't make the list?  I mean, i'm sure they have pork chops and bagels in lots of other places.

that's what the very first post said:

"but for right now, let's limit it to dishes you can only get in NYC."

so..that's what I tried to do in mine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm...I think we're running far afield of the original parameters ("only in NY")...

Good point. I second the bagels at Ess-a. Also, the pizza at Grimaldi's (although someone may point out it's originally from New Haven.)

"If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony."

~ Fernand Point

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that's what the very first post said:

"but for right now, let's limit it to dishes you can only get in NYC."

so..that's what I tried to do in mine.

Right - and you can only get Shake Shack burgers at the Shake Shack in NYC!

The original post also said items which weren't seasonal or a "fluke." So I think that knocks off a bunch of items from places like Momo, WD-50, and the like.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that's what the very first post said:

"but for right now, let's limit it to dishes you can only get in NYC."

so..that's what I tried to do in mine.

Right - and you can only get Shake Shack burgers at the Shake Shack in NYC!

The original post also said items which weren't seasonal or a "fluke." So I think that knocks off a bunch of items from places like Momo, WD-50, and the like.

true. but you can get the shake shack burgers elsewhere! (just cause they're new to NY....(the Shake Shack is pretty directly modeled on Kopp's)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Big spoonfulls of Fresh Ricotta from Alleva's dairy on Grand St

on garlic toast with a slice of tomato

tracey

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

"It is the government's fault, they've eaten everything."

My Webpage

garden state motorcyle association

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've only lived in NYC since January, but I've already amassed a list of dishes/ prepared foods that after eating them, I realized I just wouldn't have wanted to have lived without trying them at least once (awkward sentence...sorry)

I'm not talking about a "best of NYC" list here, although some "best ofs" will undoubtedly be mentioned, but instead your favorite dishes or prepared food items (like cookies, bagels, etc that aren't exactly "dishes") that you couldn't see living without having tried once.  Basically, you haven't lived a full foodie life if you haven't eaten these things in NYC.  Eventually, I'd like to expand this topic to more U.S. cities and even around the world, but for right now, let's limit it to dishes you can only get in NYC.

One stipulation: it has to be something that wasn't a fluke or on some seasonal menu, etc.  Someone should be able to check out this list and (fingers-crossed!) replicate the experience! 

Here are a few off my list:

City Bakery's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gem Spa's Egg Cream

Daniel's Sea Bass in a Crisp Potato Shell

San Domenico's Egg Yolk-Filled Raviolo

Mei Lai Wah's Roast Pork Bun (cha siu bao/siopao)

Katz's Pastrami on Rye (ordered juicy, of course!)

:laugh:

Madelaine, welcome to the eGullet Society! You have posted an excellent but very difficult topic as your first one. As such, I look forward to more challenging topics like this.

For me:

Jean-George's turbot, Monte's clam sauce, Ferdinando's panelle special, Wylie Dufresne's squab (any time he and any way he makes it), fried dumplings at No.1 Dumpling, Grimaldi's 12 noon pizza, Otto's olive oil gelato are a few that pop into my head.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, so there have been a few questions about the guidelines of this topic. Basically, I realize there are bagels available everywhere, but if you think ess-a-bagel is a memorable, not to be missed, one of a kind, bagel, then it makes the list because its something not-to-be-missed, and unique to NYC (it being from ess-a-bagel, not the fact thats its a bagel!-I'm not debating the origin of the bagel here...).

For example, croissants are available all around the world, even homemade ones, and I won't argue with those who claim that France has the best croissants you'll ever find, because I agree. However, Te Adore on 13th and University makes really great ones, as does Payard, so I'd say that croissants from Payard are a food to have in NYC before you die, because you haven't fully lived if you haven't experienced their delicate, super flaky croissants made from scratch every day.

Seems like all the posts so far are right in line with my original question, so if you're confused, I suggest just checking out other people's responses. Also, I think Shake Shack is a fine entry. :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've only lived in NYC since January, but I've already amassed a list of dishes/ prepared foods that after eating them, I realized I just wouldn't have wanted to have lived without trying them at least once (awkward sentence...sorry)

I'm not talking about a "best of NYC" list here, although some "best ofs" will undoubtedly be mentioned, but instead your favorite dishes or prepared food items (like cookies, bagels, etc that aren't exactly "dishes") that you couldn't see living without having tried once.  Basically, you haven't lived a full foodie life if you haven't eaten these things in NYC.  Eventually, I'd like to expand this topic to more U.S. cities and even around the world, but for right now, let's limit it to dishes you can only get in NYC.

One stipulation: it has to be something that wasn't a fluke or on some seasonal menu, etc.  Someone should be able to check out this list and (fingers-crossed!) replicate the experience! 

Here are a few off my list:

City Bakery's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gem Spa's Egg Cream

Daniel's Sea Bass in a Crisp Potato Shell

San Domenico's Egg Yolk-Filled Raviolo

Mei Lai Wah's Roast Pork Bun (cha siu bao/siopao)

Katz's Pastrami on Rye (ordered juicy, of course!)

:laugh:

Madelaine, welcome to the eGullet Society! You have posted an excellent but very difficult topic as your first one. As such, I look forward to more challenging topics like this.

For me:

Jean-George's turbot, Monte's clam sauce, Ferdinando's panelle special, Wylie Dufresne's squab (any time he and any way he makes it), fried dumplings at No.1 Dumpling, Grimaldi's 12 noon pizza, Otto's olive oil gelato are a few that pop into my head.

Thanks, docsconz! I have been a member for a while but finally just got up the courage to post! Glad I did :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How about

Panini at 'ino

Oysters and Pearls at Per Se

Gnocchi with anything at Lupa

almost as good gnocchi with anything at Babbo (different receipe)

Gelato by Mario Bitali...anyplace

Fish baked in a salt crust at Esca

Crudo at Esca

Breads at Tabla

I drool just thinking about all of them... :smile::smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...