Any tidbits on NYC? 4 day trip or so.

… well guess I can cross THW out lol

I was just posting about our stay in France and noticed this thread. Sorry I’m too late for the OP’s trip but that wont prevent me from putting in my 2cents (or more) worth on some of the thread’s comments:
1- the reason one should go to Flushing C’town is not for Cantonese (although there are some good ones there). Its for the other regional Chinese places (like Fu Run) and, even more importantly, for the stalls in the food malls. The Golden Mall is still there, as dingy an underground place as it ever was, and is where the 1st Xi’an stall is, the 1st now famous 100 types of Dumplings place is and a bunch of other great little stalls are. And there are at least 5 other food malls that might be worth a day’s sampling before waddling back to another borough
2- in Manhattan C’town, we really like Wu’s and NY Noodletown is still a place to go. But other small storefront places spring up faster than one can try them.
3- Keens over Lugers. And I’m a born and raised 66 year old Brooklynite. Variety, environment and, in my opinion, better in every way other than the Porterhouse & the Lamb Chops… well, and maybe the schlag.
4- if you’re around E. Bushwick, then sure - Roberta’s. But, with so many choices of great pizza in Brooklyn these days, I dont see the need to trek out there for theirs. Although not the stand out anymore that it once was, I’d catch DiFara before its gone if one has the urge to travel to the middle of nowhere (just kidding - I was raised 3 blocks from there & know Dom since I was 14 - &, as I said, I’m in my 60s). In my neighborhood alone (just off Downtown Bklyn) there’s Juliana’s, Table 87, Sottocasa, Lucali and several other really good (& different) pizzas.
5- to keep on top of lots of interesting places, I recommend www.eatingintranslation.com (by Dave Cook, a friend and occasional eating companion) & www.eattheworldnyc.com

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Oh! Just saw this. Thanks for the info, but it was on my flight leaving haha.

I recall going to the Golden Mall and just wandering around there a few years ago and yeah it was… dingy haha.

In any case, I’ll do a quick run down on the places I went (I might eventually put together a post with pictures…) and … I swear I arrived at the most unfortunate time. The first three nights were thunderstorms with possible tornado alert and flash flood warnings and I almost got run over by an SUV on that first night…

I checked out Jungsik for the first night of dinner and found it to be good but… I dunno, not everything really clicked for me. I think my comparison point thought was Benu in SF so… maybe not the fairest comparison. I went with the Seasonal menu since I thought their chef’s menu seemed to be more of … well… putting in as many fancy sounding ingredients and I normally don’t quite care for that.

The next morning I grabbed some HK style breakfast at Cha Chan Tang since… there were no places open at 7 am around that area. Wandered about through Chelsea market and I thought that place was pretty amazing. Just fun looking at all the vendors and there was indeed quite a long line for Los tacos. Didn’t eat anything though as I went to Del Posto for lunch afterwards and had the prix fixe lunch. Thought they did a good job on most dishes!

After that I definitely needed a walk and went to the highline and wandered up towards Hudson Yards (this place kinda reminds me of Crystals in Las Vegas) and checked out the new little Spain market very awesome place; reminds me of Eataly. Eventually wandered into Keens for the half portion of mutton and a small fillet mignon. I quite enjoyed the mutton and thought it was quite flavorful without that extra gamey taste (probably should have gone full portion and omitted the steak). The fillet was very tender but relatively flavorless (yeah … its not known for flavor haha but I just wanted to give their beef a taste).

Next morning, I checked out Russ and Daughter and grabbed the nova lox with a plain bagel for breakfast. Very good though left a slight fishy taste in my mouth as I was wandering down around the lower east side and then east village. Grabbed a bialy at Kossar’s and thought it was nice and chewy as well. Essex st. market is kinda neat to walk around in though most shops weren’t open around the time I was walking. Eventually went to Hi-Collar for lunch and opted for the omurice with katsu rather than just that sandwich. I thought they did a good job on it. I did try out a drink or two at Existing Conditions and thought they do an excellent job on their cocktails. After more wandering I went to Torishin for dinner and thought they did an excellent job on the yakitori. Wish I could just keep ordering the specialty skewers for the chicken oysters but alas…

The next morning I went out and had another light HK style breakfast at the wee hours in the morning then walked around to see some attractions. I was a little bit intrigued by Maison Kayser seeing a somewhat lengthy line at a few different locations and tried out a croissant and found it well… okay. No shattering crust on the exterior, but the middle was soft and had a decent buttery note. Eh. After more wandering I eventually made my way to Eleven Madison Park’s bar and opted for the a la carte menu over their tasting. Got poached lobster wrapped with green onions and then their aged and roasted duck. My goodness, that duck is quite good! Also the portion for the a la carte was actually double the sample menu which made me quite happy. Followed that up with some extra bread and other goodies from EMP made me a happy diner. I then eventually made my way to Blanca (next to Roberta’s) and had their dining menu. Very very nice, with lots of dishes. Their bread that they served as part of the course was delicious! Reminds me of just eating the rice at Benu, so simple, but so good.

As I had a little bit of time and it finally stopped raining, warped back to Existing Conditions and tried two more drinks, the Mango faustino was quite interesting with high floral mango hints while their Vodka cranberry was simply refreshing. The banana justino I thought was even better than the mango, just captures that banana flavor.

On my final day, I opted to go eat an early brunch Roberta and got their Famous Original. Same great dough as that bread from Blanca’s yesterday! I somehow managed to scarf that down and then went over to Noodle Village and tried a small bowl of wonton noodles. I think they did a good job on those noodles but they could be chewier; broth was good but I wish they had just a little more savory note. Wontons were very good and I overall enjoyed that; don’t think I can find one around SF yet.

Overall I had an excellent dining experience once more in NYC. Don’t think you can go wrong with anything, just wish the weather was better, the trains were on time, and I wish I also paid attention to restaurant hours haha.

I do recall why I hate flying out of New York though, TSA confiscated a small jar of peanut butter that was given as my end of the meal goody at Blanca. Definitely less than 3.4 fl oz but wasn’t labeled… should’ve just declared it as part of a face mask or something. The agent had a rather surly attitude and then basically claimed that their training requires them to confiscate anything that is a paste even though their own damn app points out that the item is allowed. Gah, didn’t even taste the peanut butter.

Anywho, thanks for everyone’s help! I’ll probably recompile places I missed for my next trip. Oh and random note, the Florida lychees were quite good though expensive…

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Thanks for reporting back - Very keen on details of Blanca please. Weather last week was downright awful, had to whip out some heavy jackets .

I’ll eventually dig out the photographs haha and hope to remember some key parts. But I definitely enjoyed it though I really wish I was able to try their peanut butter goodie that they gave as an end of meal thing. Blasted TSA…

And yeah, the weather was not what I expected at all with the torrential downpour and winds

Not trying to revive a dead zombie, but I guess I’m headed back for a few days again in late October.

Though a little bit late on getting reservations. Thinking of trying to eat at Atomix, Izakaya Toto, Her name is Han, some aforementioned pizza place, maybe Modern, thinking EMP lunch once more (not sure I want to do dinner as I recall my lunch being relatively reasonably priced).

Any must eat places pop up since my last visit?

Welcome back!

I think you only touched a couple of the many places recommended, so you have a good list left.

The Eater list can get you the “hot now” component if that’s what you’re after.

Yeah that’s what I figured. Just wondering if any places had a dramatic downturn or the chef jumped ship.

I also saw on another topic about the Brooklyn exotic/rare fruit store:

Definitely want to check that out.

Wolfgang’s on Park Ave for steak is amazing. It’s run by former Luger people.
The ambiance at the Park Ave location is better than the Times Sq location.

The interior of Wolfgang’s flagship on Park Ave. is landmark (Gustavino ceiling). Gorgeous, but the noise level is LOUD. Haven’t been to the Times Sq. location, but have eaten at the 54th St. location. Though the interior is rather plain, the noise level is pleasant. Excellent steaks, of course.

So many steak places! Haha, still deciding might depend on where I am to figure things out.

Attempted to see if I can secure a booking at ATOMIX for chef’s counter, but uh looks like I’m ten seconds too slow? Bah.

Maybe I’ll do a walk in lounge counter. Any experience with that? Or just skip it all and go for ATOboy?

How’s your list coming @Night07?

I’ve gotten no feedback back from ATOMix, so I just presumed that I won’t have anything there lol.

Somehow, I think my expected weather pattern is going to be wet again. Lucky me -_-

In any case, thinking:

Izakaya Toto, Her name is Han, some aforementioned pizza place, maybe Modern, thinking EMP lunch. Maybe NoMad for lunch or dinner. Lox and Bagel somewhere, maybe russ and daugther again. I’ll likely be exploring the fruits and stuff in Chinatown. I missed the Brooklyn subway museum last time and the botanical gardens so probably spending a little more time around that area this time.

For drinking, I’m really not a huge drinker, I just like the ethos behind Dave Arnold and Don Lee’s bar so heading back to Existing Conditions definitely.

Mmmm dunno, the schedule’s going to be more relaxing this time around haha.

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That’s always good :slight_smile:

I’d do Atoboy over Han (though they’re different styles). (Miss Korea has a great bbq lunch special if you want to comparison-eat kbbq vs LA.)

Assume you mean Yakitori Totto. You might take a look at Nonono - a newer izakaya, I’ve really enjoyed it a few times now, they have yakitori items done well too, plus lots of other things.

Try something different for bagels and lox - maybe one of the UWS smoked fish stalwarts like Barney Greengrass.

When you’re in Chinatown you should stop by Joe’s Shanghai for an order of crab+pork xlb, for a running comparison for nyc visits and elsewhere :joy:. Just eat that there, go elsewhere for other tastes - it’s worth a progressive eating tour.

Circled back on Joe’s XLB here.

Yep, oops lol. But thanks for the Korean suggestion! Might also do Nonono, I don’t know why I tend to lean towards Japanese when in LA/NYC though, but its never an issue. Is there anything in particular at Barney Greengrass that I should order?

Ha, I missed Joe’s Shanghai last time… fine, I really should eat there to compare haha. I just had Dinesty in Vancouver, and DTF in Seattle (think the SoCal location does a better job), so would be good to compare.

Anywho, just wanted to give a heads up on a mini blurb about my quick trip @Saregama .

My first night I ate at Yakitori Totto. I got the Negima, Momo, Tsukune, Gyutan, Premium beef, hotate, ton toro, shishito peppers, shitake mushrooms, tomatoes, shishito tsukune, and the chicken oyster. I pretty much loved most things, though I’m a little more disappointed in the hotate (scallops) as I was expecting something like Raku’s butter scallop. Oh well, the best bite was the chicken oysters.

The following morning, got a nice HK breakfast set menu of macaroni and ham with two slices of buttered toast at Cha Chan Tang (okay, this stuff really isn’t meant to be high end lol).

For lunch I wandered into Joe’s Shanghai which they also claim is not related to Joe’s Ginger. I wasn’t too hungry at this point, so I just ordered the regular pork XLB (not the crab) as I wanted to just compare it to my meals at Dinesty and Din Tai Fung. Personally I am not a big fan of these massive XLB (being that big defeats the whole naming purpose of small…). The dumpling doesn’t fit in the soup spoon, rather it just spills out when you think of cradling the dumpling on it. I thought the meat was a bit more solid than I preferred and while the dumpling was quite soupy, I think its more due to how big it is. Ratio wise, its similar to DTF/Dinesty I guess, just its too big and cumbersome.

I eventually wandered for a small afternoon snack at Tim Ho Wan. I gave their baked bbq pork buns and siu mai a shot and quite enjoyed their buns. I actually can’t recall a good comparison with the HK version as its been like two years lol but I think Mott 32 is a good comparison (both the Las Vegas branch and Vancouver one) as I had them both these past two/three months. I thought the NYC buns had a little bit too much sauce for my taste but otherwise I quite enjoyed them (the buns weren’t that cheap though, still 6 bucks but still half the price of Mott 32 lol). I think Dragon Beaux/Palette Tea House if you’re in SF is equivalent to Tim Ho Wan’s version and the same price. The siu mai was good though there was a little bit of gristle in it. I was hoping they had soup as a special since I remember having some in Melbourne, but none at NYC. Random snack in between, I saw pasteis de nata from Joey Bat’s around the Rockefeller plaza and thought they did a really nice job. A little more powdered sugar and cinnamon than the one I recall eating at Margaret’s and Lord Stow’s in Macau but this might be more true to the actual Portuguese version (I’ve never been haha). Flaky crust and nice soft custard though a little bit sweeter than I preferred, still quite nice though!

Following that, for dinner I went to Ivan Ramen. Had their chicken paitan with two slices of tomatoes added thinking it might help cut down the richness. The ramen also had a wedge of lime that really helps but I only really added it towards the end of the meal. The first bite I really enjoyed the ramen, but as it goes on, the richness of the broth turned more salty than savory for me.

The next day, for breakfast I ventured towards Dominique Ansel’s bakery and grabbed a DKA and a Honey Rosemary with fig Cronut. DKA is delicious as ever and the Cronut filling was a little lighter than my previous one, but had a good fig note with savory rosemary essence. Quite good and probably terrible for my arteries.

Following breakfast, I eventually tried lunch at Peter Luger with their steak for one. This was just a day or so after that scathing NY Times review so maybe they reformed themselves a little bit, but I thought it was quite good! Medium rare and juicy with a nice sizzle when it arrived!

Eventually I wandered back and had dinner at Ramen Totto. Had their Spicy Mega Paitan and Spicy Tokyo fried chicken. Very enjoyable, I preferred this version over Ivan’s. Their fried chicken and ramen weren’t too spicy but perfect for the wet weather.

The last day for breakfast I went to Barney Greengrass and had their Eggs with side of Sturgeon and Nova Scotia Salmon. I think I preferred their sturgeon over the salmon as I found the salmon’s saltiness a bit too overpowering for my scrambled but quite good. Also I had no idea what people normally ordered here so I was thrown this way by my server.

For lunch I wound up at Eleven Madison Park and went for the a la carte lunch option. Had an interesting squid dish for an appetizer and their famed dry duck for lunch! For dessert went with an interesting pear plate and thought that was fantastic (loved the gelato/ice cream pear one).

Lastly for dinner I went to Atoboy since I was unable to secure a reservation at AtoMIX. They do pretty much a prix fixe menu so I opted for their Chrysanthemum salad, their steamed egg dish with additional uni, and their galbi. The meal came with two different kimchis (Pear and cucumber) and a special rice (seaweed). The salad was rather refreshing and a little light, had a nice savory note with the cheese but sweetness from the plum. Per the server, I added some fresh sea urchin to my steamed egg and honestly didn’t think it was really necessary. The egg dish itself was great and had bits of sea urchin in it as well. The seaweed rice reminded me of my meal at Benu actually, when they had added dehydrated green onions on top of the rice. In any case, went very well with the eggs. Lastly the galbi arrived and it was delicious, the meat didn’t have any overt gristly bits. Tender and not overcooked! My meal at AtoBOY was great, makes me wonder what I missed at AtoMIX though…

I didn’t get anything dessert related (like cakes or pies), but each night I visited the fantastic bar Existing Conditions. Regarding the food options, I got:

Kiev Nuggets (Crispy Chicken Thigh, Porcini Powder, Salted Butter, Herbs) I loved these things, the butter was within the chicken nugget and basically oozed out making the things juicy as well.

Peekytoe Crab Dip (Chili Oil, Peppadew Pepper, Parsley, Wonton Chips) This was probably the small plate that I really didn’t quite care for. Not that its bad, just not my thing.

Pickle Fries (I don’t remember exactly what they had but it was like cornmeal battered pickles that were fried). Quite good! It sounds really odd but there’s still a good crunch on the exterior with a pickle in the middle. Multiple sauces came with the dish to dip.

Pommes Deragon (French-Fried Mashed Potato Sticks, Everything Bagel Sauce, Spicy Carrot Aioli, Neonata Mayo): A toss up between the kiev and these, but I loved the pommes deragon! These fried mash potatoes had a nice crispy exterior, with soft potato fluff in the middle. Four sauces to choose from, and these were just an absolute delight.

Drink wise, I sorta went all out. I’ll start with the non-alcoholic ones:

Spruce Mousse (If you are pining fir some spruce. Spruce Tea, Clarified Grapefruit, Champagne Acid) Thought this was actually very nice. The Spruce element was something I didn’t expect and had a hint of bitterness that I enjoyed).

Serendipity (A savory tropical sipper for when you’re in an Old-Fashioned frame of mind. Clarified Tomato, Clarified Passionfruit, Grapefruit Twist): This was delicious and I ordered it on two different days. That passionfruit flavor is just sublime. The clarified tomato juice is actually rather interesting as it doesn’t immediately remind you of a tomato.

Stingless (Honeyed bubbles from the stingless Melipona honey bee, the only natural polinator of the vanilla orchids. Carbonated Melipona Honey, Clarified lime, Vanilla). I really liked this one, there’s this great hint of vanilla in sweetened honey with a hint of lime in the background that balances out the drink.

Grand Isle (Tasmanian honey from the rainforests of the wild west coast.
Carbonated Leatherwood Honey, Lime) This one is a tasty drink but a little too similar to Stingless which I thought was a tastier drink.

Next up are the alcoholic ones with the first two being carbonated drinks, and the last two are nitro muddled (herbal items are frozen with liquid nitrogen and then muddled and mixed with the rest of the cocktail):

Jack Rosé (Like bobbing for apples in a vat of sparkling rosé.
Apple Brandy, Blanche Calvados, Sweet Vermouth, Pomegranate, Lemon Cordial, Champagne Acid) Simply delicious for me, reminds me of well apples haha.

Cape Codder (We use fresh cranberries, not juice. Refreshing as hell.
Vodka-Cranberry Justino, Clarified Lime) As their blurb implied, super refreshing.

Hoja Santa (Fresh Hoja Santa, Mexico’s sacred leaf, highlights this summer crusher.
Tequila, Orange and Lime Juices, Green Chartreuse, Hoja Santa, Parsley): This was actually quite refreshing as well, its odd to have these herbal notes shine in the drink.

Purple (Who knew something so purple could be so refreshing?
Aquavit, Acid Adjusted Grapefruit, Purple Basil): The purple basil’s herbally notes are super apparent and quite delicious as well.

I did get a stirred drink called an Apple Martini 2.0 but I don’t think I took a picture of the description nor ingredients… oops. I thought it was quite nice, with a strong apple hint.

The last three drinks were part of their special menu. I had a shaved cocktail ice drink and the last two were drinks produced with the red hot poker. Just watching bartender shove this super heated metal and watching the alcoholic drink ignite was always fun to watch. The two warm drinks has the carmelized sugars from the burnt alcohol added, very interesting and great on these cold nights.

Overall, I still find NYC fun to visit and especially eat and drink!

oh edit: I was rather disappointed in visiting the orchard in brooklyn. I thought there would be different weird varieties of apples or maybe tropical fruits imported from across the world and I didn’t find the selection all too different than Whole Foods or like Brooklyn Fare Market. Manhattan’s Chinatown also had more tropical fruit selection as well.

I will give a great shout out to Kalustyan’s though! The sheer enormity and selection of different spices, additives, and herbs was mind boggling.

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Thanks for sharing!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdVYABCOqCh/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Sound like someone retired for 2 years and then too bored at home.

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