NYC 5 Boroughs - A Day Of Eating!

[herbacidal]

NY Times had a great article on some Bronx places. Read below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/dining/1...ml?pagewanted=2

[Pan]

Thanks for the link. That's great reportage!

[Jen Keenan]

jrichman, I know Manhattan's going to be your pizza borough, but I can't help sharing two ideas:

Gray's Papaya – there's one in Greenwich Village and one on the Upper East Side. Where else can you get two hot dogs and a papaya drink for $2.50? Who else would've thought of such a thing?

the GelOTTO cart in Washington Square Park. One's palate needs cleansing, no?

I don't know where to get good slices but if you can't make it to Di Fara, his kids at De Marco's on Houston Street aren't supposedly doing too badly. I'd love to hear a better idea...

[Pan]

I haven't checked out De Marco's, but you can get excellent slices at Patsy's in East Harlem. Of course, that's quite a distance from the Village.

[Jen Keenan]

Yes, but if the plan were Staten Island – Manhattan – Bronx then Patsy's would kind of be 'on the way', no?

That would make Brooklyn a long way off, though...

[jrichman]

Does anyone have any specific recomendations for Arthur Ave as I have never been up there.

[Pan]

Complete eGullet search results for "Arthur" in the New York Forum

[jrichman]

Country Donuts sounds like the type of place that we are looking for - is this place cheap an dis it waitress service - just want a quick light breakfast, can I get that here??? How about this place called Eat A Ferry Bagel?

Thanks for the info - I forgot to mention that we are starting our day in Staten Island, so we sould like a breakfast type place near the ferry, nothing fancy, just someting basic and quick - a roadfood type place if available -  thanks for the info!!!

There are a number of coffee shop/take out/diner type places very close to the ferry. I'm not sure what will or won't be open for breakfast, depending upon the time, but some of them will be open. If you follow the pedestrian exit out of the ferry, cross the street (Richmond Terrace) in front of the ferry, there's a large historic building (Borough Hall) opposite the ferry terminal. If you walk up the stairs next to Borough Hall, or walk up Schuyler Street (a half-block to the right, next to a courthouse) there's Stuyvesant Place, a small commercial strip with some of these places. Directly ABOVE Borough Hall (it's all uphill from Richmond Terrace!) there's Hyatt Street, intersecting with Stuyvesant, and there's a breakfast joint. I think it's called Hillside Restaurant, 8 Hyatt Street (from Yahoo Maps.)

If you take a right on Richmond Terrace when you exit the terminal, there's a Country Donuts that's open 24 hours about 2 blocks down (just past the police station. ) Country Donuts is a funky/cheesy/sleazy formica dive with some sit-down booths that serves some basic breakfast stuff in addition to the donuts and coffee.

Just before the police station there's a tiny strip mall that might have another coffee shop in it. A couple of blocks past Country Donuts there's a funky little bodega/deli on a corner with some white plastic seats and a table outside. They (used to) have a sign outside saying something like "best coffee in NYC!"

I never tried it, don't know if it's the best or not. I'm guessing they serve standard NYC breakfast stuff like egg on a roll also.

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[JohnL]

Any of the old stalwart restaurants in the Arthur Ave area would be fun. Mario's or Dominick's.

A good idea might be to have a pizza (one of the best in NY) at Mario's (they are not on the menu -you gotta ask! Then see the "market" and have some clams etc.

also

In Manhattan-look to go to one of the old historical places that have local flavor. Old Towne is a great very old tavern with great burgers and hot dogs (they just got a nice mention in the Times for having one of the better NY dogs).

Or the Corner Bistro in the Village.

Another great experience is going to the Union Square Cafe and eating at the bar! great oysters great wines by the glass--also their BLT if it is still on the menu is superb! and speaking of fish!

The Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station is wonderful and talk about atmosphere! The staion is a great attraction by itself.

I would look for places that are more neighborhood oriented and that offer atmosphere and food you can't find elsewhere.

I love one poster who after making several really good suggestions ---recommended you have a "Philly Steak" sandwich!!!! (trust me you gotta go to Philly for that --not a bad trip for your next food excursion!

[Megan Blocker]

I am planning to spend a full day in NYC soon - a full day of eating that is!!! I want to hit each of the 5 boroughs, and have some sort of meal.  I plan to start in Staten Island, and then move to the other 4 boroughs.  I will not have a car, so I need to start in Staten Island at a place close to the ferry - for the other boroughs I can take the subway and walk, etc so distance is not an issue.

The most important point is that I want to stop at Roadfood type places - good food and cheap - you know places that are famous in the neighborhoods. Any recomendations would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!!!

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Have you read Ruth Reichl's new memoir (Garlic and Sapphires)? There's a great account of a food tour of New York (I think she hits three boroughs - Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan). You might want to turn there for inspiration!

For Queens, my recommendation would be Sripaphai, a Thai place in Woodside. It's excellent, you can sit outside in nice weather, and it's super-cheap. One of the great hidden treasures. It's also about two blocks from the 7 train and only 15 minutes from Midtown.

[jrichman]

Results of the eating day to be posted shortly!!!

Edited June 3, 2005 by jrichman (log)

[jrichman]

Our NYC 5 Boroughs – A Day Of Eating Tour was amazing!!! Thank you so much to everyone who made recommendations for our trip. We went to each of the 5 boroughs and had great food in each of them.

Staten Island

The day started in Staten Island with a trip on the Staten Island Ferry. Here, we stopped at a place close by to the Ferry, Country Donuts which is a 5 – 10 minute walk from the ferry. It is a 24 hour place that serves all sorts of stuff. We started our day with an egg and cheese sandwich on an everything bagel – hot sauce was added for a little extra kick! The sandwich was delicious however we should have requested the bagel be toasted.

Staten Island Ferry

Country Donuts Sign

Egg And Cheese Sandwich At Country Donuts With Some Hot Sauce

Brooklyn

Our next stop was Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn. I would like to start by making it clear that this is the best slice of pizza that I have ever had! We had a square (Sicilian) slice which was delicious, but the best ever was the regular slice. The combination of the thin crust, fresh sauce, and various types of freshly sliced cheese (most pizza places have the cheese pre shredded – here at Di Fara the cheese is sliced as the pie is being prepared) make this pizza truly amazing! The place itself is also worth a discussion – from the newspaper articles on the wall, to the old style cash register, to the fresh basil being grown in the window, the place is classic. We’ll be making plenty more trips back to Di Fara.

Di Fara Pizza Sign

A Regular And Square Slice Of Pizza From Di Fara

Manhattan

The next stop was Manhattan, and we decided to go to New Green Bo in Chinatown. The place itself is right in the heart of Chinatown, a small place, but we were lucky and got seated within about 10 minutes of our arrival. We decided to have an order of scallion pancakes and Soup Dumplings, both of which were excellent. The scallion pancakes were crispy and quite tasty – a great appetizer to keep on the table and snack on throughout the meal. Next we got the Soup Dumplings (they are called something different on the menu, but I believe that they are the first item under the appetizer section). These dumplings were so tasty and fun to eat – meat filled with soup in them as well. Poking the hole in the dumpling, letting the soup drain out onto your spoon – delicious!!! They also provided us with two different types of sauces that were delicious. One sauce was for the dumplings, the other for the scallion pancakes – but I though that both sauces were great on each item.

New Green Bo Sign

Sauces At New Green Bo

Scallion Pancakes At New Green Bo

Soup Dumplings From New Green Bo

Bronx

After eating in 3 boroughs we were pretty full, so we decided to take the long subway ride and walk up to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx – what an amazing area. All the Italian shops were very interesting with various meats, cheeses, etc. I especially enjoyed the Market and all the meats hanging from the ceilings in the shops. The choice of where to eat was pretty difficult, as there were so many good places around. We decided that it was time to cleanse our pallet, so we got some refreshing Lemon Italian Ices from Egidio Pastry. The ices were delicious and worth the trip. They were very refreshing especially after a full day. They got us ready for our final borough, Queens.

Egidio Pastry Sign

Lemon Italian Ices From Egidio Pastry

Pictures From Italian Shops At Arthur Ave

Queens

Our last stop was in Astoria Queens for some Greek Food. We arrived and headed right to S'agapo for some authentic greek cuisine. The place was real nice and we decided to sit outside. The display of fresh fish was very impressive and it was quite an authentic place, all the waiters and owners were talking greek to one another. We started with some Tzatziki Sauce, Pita and Salad, all of which were delicious – I can not recall the exact name of the salad, but it was not a traditional greek salad. After these two dishes, we were still hungry and went for the classic Saganaki – not sure what kind of cheese it was but a mild cheese with some great flavor.

Tzatziki Sauce, Pita, And Salad From S'agapo

Saganaki From S'agapo

It was great to eat all of this food in each of the boroughs – we definitely have more trips to come in the NYC 5 boroughs as there is so much to explore!

[Pan]

Thanks for that great post! I'm glad you enjoyed your adventure in the Five Boroughs.

[jrichman]

Thanks - we really did have a good time.

Thanks for that great post! I'm glad you enjoyed your adventure in the Five Boroughs.

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[Kobi]

Great post and great pictures!! Great idea, too!!!