New York City Eats

And here it is – finally! A post dedicated entirely to what I ate during my time in New York City. Em and I ate and drank at about 60 different places in four weeks. I kept a detailed list on my phone to make sure this was documented accurately because, you know, food is life.

Before flying out we had a Google Doc with about two pages dedicated to cafes, restaurants and bars to check out – most of them recommended by friends and the Internet. Of course every now and then we’d stray off course and turn to trusty Google Maps (“a good Italian place with 4 stars or more within walking distance”) or Instagram (#nyceats).

I don’t know how to accurately compare food in NYC to food in Sydney because we did edit our list quite well but overall, food in New York = bigger portions (oh my god), generally more bad for you, more experimental.

I was quite diligent with taking photos of all my meals at the beginning of the trip. But as time went on and I realised just how much we actually ate out, I got lazy. Instagram will do.

When my friends ask me what my top five NYC eats are, it’s quite to curate that list. But, I think, if I had to, if I HAD to, it’d probably be (in no particular order):

DBGB Kitchen and Bar (299 Bowery, New York)
This place was perfect. Great service, great food, great drinks. We ordered, ate and left within an hour because the place was so efficient (and because we pretty much inhaled every meal). An entree, main, split dessert and cocktail plus tax and tip set me back about $USD80 which isn’t too bad considering everything was AHMAZING. You must order the duck and pineapple.
Fette Sau (354 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn)
Not for vegetarians. This is a meat lover’s paradise. You order BBQ pork, brisket, sausages and other deliciously unhealthy foods by the pound in this rustic-looking canteen. You can balance out the protein with some broccoli salad and beans but I suggest you just eat all the meat.
Dominique Ansel Bakery (189 Spring St, New York)
I don’t really have a sweet tooth (beside for gelato) and I found this place to be mind-blowingly good. Home to the trademarked Cronut®, this bakery is every person’s dream and every dentist’s nightmare. There’s everything on offer: chocolates, fruits, hot desserts, cold desserts. BUT the obvious choice is the frozen s’more: honey marshmallow wrapped around a Tahitian vanilla ice-cream with chocolate wafer crisps, served on a smoked willow branch. HEAVENLY. I had it twice.
Roberta’s (261 Moore St, Brooklyn)
Hillary Clinton’s a fan and Beyonce’s a fan. Need I say more? There’s usually a two-hour line outside this hole-in-a-wall eatery but I’ve found 9pm to be a good time to go (and they do takeaway). It’s nothing insane but they just do really, really cool woodfire pizza. Try the Crispy Glover.
Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream (2 Rivington St, New York)
I visited this place solely because of its Kanye menu (because Kanye’s only happy when he’s eating ice-cream), which is HILARIOUS. I’ve been here twice and have always gotten the sorbet – mainly because it’s always been friggin hot. Get the blackcurrant.

Of course one of the things I most looked forward to beforehand was Shake Shack. And you know what? It was alriiiiiiiight. The curly fries were good. The shakes were okay if you like dental cavities. I’d actually recommend Five Guys over Shake Shack if you’re after some buns.

And of course Em and I had to check out Katz, home of the orgasmic pastrami burger (that’s When Harry Met Sally if you haven’t seen). It’s always super busy and operates around a ticketing system (ticket marked, pay later). The vibe is incredible and the waitstaff are great (it was one lady’s birthday the day we ate there and the staff got everyone to sing Happy Birthday and brought out a cake for her and it was really nice, okay then).

If you think you’re game by all means eat the entire pastrami sandwich (which isn’t that cheap – about $USD21 tip and tax included) yourself. I did. And oh my food baby. (Though not as bad as the food baby/coma we got after ordering way too many dumplings from Prosperity, which is now unfortunately closed 4eva.)

Speaking of eating until you’re sick, the way that America does “brunch” is not the way that Australians brunch.

For us, as you’d know, brunch = coffee, avo, eggs, sourdough, acai bowls and muesli.

For Americans, brunch = fried chicken and waffles, mimosas, wine and mac ‘n’ cheese.

Yep. And they only do it on weekends. Just prepare yourselves whenever somebody suggests heading out for “brunch”.

America’s also known for having really crap coffee. And that is correct. They have no idea when it comes to it. I once heard, no joke, someone say that Starbucks has the best coffee and Toby’s Estates was only for pretentious pricks with no taste. True story.

Because we’re quite the coffee snobs, Em and I were very particular when it came to coffee. My order’s a flat white so whenever I saw that on a menu I shed a single tear. Here’s some good places to check out (they’re mostly Australian cafes, ofc) if you’re after a caffeine fix:

Laughing Man Coffee & Tea (184 Duane St, New York)
Five Leaves (18 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn)
Two Hands (164 Mott St, New York)
Toby’s Estate Coffee (125 N 6th St, Brooklyn)
Swallow Cafe (49 Bogart St, Brooklyn)
Blue Bottle Coffee (1 Rockefeller Plaza, New York)
Little Collins (667 Lexington Ave, New York)
Bluestone Lane Coffee (55 Greenwich Ave, New York)
Jack’s Wife Freda (224 Lafayette St, New York)

And then there’s the markets.

From Chelsea to Brooklyn, there’s so many stalls to check out and not enough stomachs to fill.

Smogarsburg (90 Kent Ave, Brooklyn)

A great outdoor food market (with an accompanying flea market next door) by the water. It’s on every Saturday in Williamsburg and every Sunday in Dumbo. There’s so many options that picking just one is quite a harrowing task (come with an empty stomach and you won’t have this problem obvs). They have everything from scotch eggs to ramen burgers to mango on a stick to donuts. The only downside is that there’s not a lot of shade to sit under and it can get really hot. But just buy some aqua fresca and you’ll be alright.
Chelsea Market (75 Ninth Ave, New York)

There’s not as much to pick from here as Smorgaburg but it’s still pretty darn difficult deciding what to eat. Situated opposite the Google building, Chelsea Market is opened every day. They’re very big on seafood and it’s a good option for $1 oysters and lobster rolls.

Gansevoort Market (52 Gansevoort St, New York)

Right by the High Line and Whitney Museum, Gansevoort Market has everything from the extremely healthy to the extremely unhealthy. Here you can get BACON ON A STICK with either: a) maple sriracha or b) s’mores. Ridiculous. You’re welcome.

Gotham West Market (600 11th Ave, New York)

It feels and looks like a food court thanks to the communal seating and the way the vendors have been arranged, but it’s anything but Maccas and KFC on offer. Moderately priced, I recommend getting the Ramen at Ivan’s and then following up with Ample Hill Creamery (they have crazy ice-cream flavours like The Munchies), mainly because that’s what I did ha.

Hopefully this post has been interesting/helped if you’re heading to New York soon. If it hasn’t, here’s the full list of where I ate and drank in chronological order. I would recommend every single one of these places but what I mentioned above are the highlights.