Favorite New York Bites (so far)

I’ve officially lived one year in New York! It was hard, I won’t lie, but the marvels of the food around me made it a little easier. It’s overwhelming for sure- everywhere you turn there’s the “best new restaurant” or “dish you must try,” and every week or so, my “NY Eats” Google Maps list grows by a couple spots more. It is currently at 181 different restaurants, and I’ve only eaten at 31 of them. I’ve still got a lot of ground to cover.

So I’d thought I’d share a bit about my favorite bites and some spots I’m really prioritizing for the next year in New York. Quick disclaimer: this is not a “Best of New York” list. This is purely my opinion, and a place for me to shoutout spots I’ve loved eating at since moving here.

Mochi Donut, Win Son Bakery (above)

It’s hard not to over-order at Win Son Bakery. I’ve done it every time I’ve eaten there, with no regrets. It’s hard to go wrong, as well. Honorable mention from the menu includes the scallion pancake egg sandwich, the peanut-butter chocolate bolo bao, the fan tuan, and the snow pea salad with tofu skin. But the real show stopper is the mochi donut. It’s gluten free, made from mochi flour that gives it its iconic stretchy, chewy texture. Each texturally perfect bite is only made better by the salty-sweet sugar mixture that covers each donut. The salt level is on point and makes you crave the next bite. I’m not the first to wax poetic about Win Son’s mochi donut, and I’m sure I won’t be the last.

Everything Bagel with Scallion Cream Cheese, Absolute Bagels

I’m not here to start the best bagel in New York debate… but the best bagels I’ve had in New York have been from Absolute. They’re chewy, yet plush. They don’t skimp on the toppings- each bagel has a healthly amount of garlic, onion, sesames, etc. The bagel itself is so tasty, I could easily eat several without cream cheese. I always get the same order- an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese- and there are always fantastic. I have little motivation to get bagels from another shop because I can so distinctly remember the perfect bite, flavor, and chew of Absolute’s bagels.

King Trumpet Mushrooms, Llama Inn

Llama Inn was one of the restaurants I was most excited to try once I moved here. While my parents were in town visiting, we had a delicious meal there of crispy squid ceviche, beans, mussels, and I had a delicious mocktail. But the tender, smokey, almost meaty king trumpet mushrooms with sesame and macha were my favorite bites. Eating them was one of those moments at a meal where you’re chewing your first bites of a dish and your eyes widen in delight as you look at your fellow diners and see they’re doing the exact same thing. There were only two skewers to split between the three of us and they were gone too soon. We almost ordered another plate of them, but wanted to save room for the rest of the meal.

Grilled Shrimp, Rolo’s (above)

Perhaps the messiest I’ve ever been at a restaurant was trying to get every last bit of buttery meat out of the grilled shrimp at Rolos. I even asked the waiter what was the most efficient way to get it all out. He said that he ate them whole, shell on an everything. That was a little too much for me, so I did my best to pry the shells away from the tender juicy insides. These shrimp were seasoned perfectly with a great char flavor from the grill, which gave them a crave-able savoriness that made me want to order a second plate. This dish came highly recommended by several coworkers and I’m so glad I listened to them. Worthy of honorable mention at Rolo’s are the wood-fired polenta flatbread with calabrian chili butter, the hamachi crudo with salsa verde and pine nuts, and the sweet cream ice cream.

Ciabatta, Winner

Winner does baked goods so well. I’ve enjoyed their sourdough loaves, scones, sandwiches on their plush hoagie bread, their coffee coffee cake, and their malted chocolate chip cookie (my favorite chocolate chip cookie I’ve eaten in New York thus far). But what really blew my mind was their ciabatta. I’d never had ciabatta with such a plush and creamy crumb. It’s great for sandwiches and on its own, which I’m not sure you could say about most ciabatta. Ciabatta isn’t the most glamorous of breads, but Winner’s ciabatta is everything that’s special about well-crafted bread.

Banana Bread and Coconut Ice Cream, Superiority Burger (above)

When we first ate at Superiority Burger, we ordered every dessert. I was with my parents and boyfriend, and knew we were all up to the task. And I simply couldn’t pick just one or two. There was a chocolate custard pie, a griddle cake with cream cheese ice cream on the side (crazy good), and cassis and pear sorbet. But the show stopper was the most special banana bread I’d ever had. It was served in a glass dish, with a slice of cake at the bottom, under a scoop of coconut ice cream, with a couple pecans and chocolate sauce to top it all off. I’d never had a banana bread so moist! And yet, it had toasty, crispy edges- a perfect combination of textures. Even better, was the classic hot-cold contrast of a warm slice of cake, topped with cold ice cream. It was perfect.

Pad Kea Mao , One More Charm Thai

Within the first week of moving into our new apartment, it lost power. Unable to cook for ourselves, we decided to venture out to find dinner. I was craving something savory and delicious, comforting and flavorful. That’s when we found One More Charm Thai in Park Slope. A small space with warm, friendly staff, One More Charm Thai is the spot I’ve eaten at the most since I’ve moved here. My favorite Thai dish is pad kea mao and I think their version might be my favorite I’ve had yet. The noodles are chewy and perfect vehicles for the sauce, which is the perfect balance of savory, sweet, sour, and spicy. It’s hard not to order the pad kea mao every time I go to One More Charm Thai, but each new dish I try wows me.

Ramp and Cantal Escargot, Laurel Bakery

Hands down, the green garlic croissant from Laurel is the best pastry I’ve had since moving here. I don’t want to sound hyperbolic, but the flaky laminated layers were so perfectly thin and crispy, yet melt-in-your-mouth buttery. And the filling was savory and slightly funky in a way that balanced so well with the richness of the butter. But it wasn’t a heavy or overly filling pastry. It’s a pastry with finesse, giving you all the flavors, but not going overboard. Obviously, I loved it and would like to eat many more of them, but am also really excited to try other savory treats from the Laurel Bakery team.

Concord Grape Financier, Oxalis (above)

To be frank, my whole meal at Oxalis could go on this list, but I thought I’d write about the one dish that I can still feel the first bite of, almost 10 months later- the concord grape financier, with shelburne cheddar. The cake was baked in a small fluted mold, with deep purple grapes polka-dotting the caramelized, chewy surface. What’s so special about financiers is the contrast of the chewy edges with the tender crumb on the inside. The cake was served with a creamy cheddar sauce, as a play on wine and cheese. I’ll admit I was a little hesitant to try it with the cake, but once I did I found it to be a unique and really delicious flavor combination of savory and sweet.

Kimchi Fries, White Tiger

People can have pretty strong opinions when it comes to their ideal french fry. For me, a great fry is as thick as a pinky finger roughly, crisp on the outside, and melty creamy on the inside. It shouldn’t taste too oily nor too salty. Pretty fantastic fries that meet those parameters can be found at White Tiger in Prospect Heights, dusted with red flecks of kimchi powder, served with a host of sauces to choose from. We got ours with chili aioli and spicy fish roe mayo. Since moving to New York, I’ve discovered the joy of eating fries with mayo and am grateful for this long overdue epiphany! These fries fit the bill for me: crisp outsides and the creamiest of insides. My boyfriend, a fiend for fishy flavors, was enthralled with with the fish roe mayo and told the waiter how great he thought it was. Special shoutout to the waiter who brought him a tiny container of it with the check!

Cardamom Bun, Otway Bakery (above)

Otway was one of the first bakeries I visited after moving here and I was immediately taken with their heavily spiced, perfectly plush cardamom bun. I’d had cardamom buns before, but the balance of sweet and spicy in Otway’s is special. I’m also not the biggest sweet pastry fan, and found this to be exactly my kind of sweet treat. There isn’t too much to say other than it’s beautiful to smell and look at, well executed, and one of my favorite pastries in the city. I’d recommend you go and try one for yourself!

Chinese Broccoli, Nom Wah Tea Parlor

We are salty snackers: lovers of chips, pretzels, popcorn… most salty, crispy, crunchy things. So, after a day of some healthy snacking, we headed out to our dinner plans at Nom Wah Tea Parlor. We ordered dumplings, scallion pancakes, turnip cakes, and Chinese broccoli. The broccoli was the first plate to hit the table, and I didn’t realize how much my body had been craving vegetables until those first couple of bites. It was so fresh, so juicy crisp, so green, so simple. A true testament to how good an uncomplicated dish can be when it is done perfectly. I’m pretty sure it was steamed or boiled and then lightly tossed in a sauce- maybe with oyster sauce and soy sauce? We frequently and fondly reminisce about that broccoli dish, and I’ve tried replicating it many a time at home. While my attempts turn out well, they just don’t hold up to those first few bites.

_

And here are a few spots I’m really eager to try during my next year here:

Kisa Kopitiam Zooba Mắm Esse Taco Abuqir Ensenada Little Grenjai Sobre Masa Tolo ACQ Bread Co. Thai Diner and L’Industrie