Our Favorite NYC Restaurants by Neighborhood: South Street Seaport

Multi-story historic buildings lining a pedestrian street with several cafe tables in front of them

Many of the historic swaths of New York City, particularly in Manhattan, have been razed, replaced by soulless high-rise glass towers. But there’s one underrated neighborhood that still oozes with Big Apple historical ambience: the South Street Seaport.   Of course, like all those other erstwhile atmospheric districts that are now literally history, the South Street […]

Our Favorite NYC Restaurants by Neighborhood: the Lower East Side

Multi story brick apartment buildings on New York City's Lower East Side

The Lower East Side, today one of the best dining destinations in New York City, knows a thing or two about change. In the middle of the 19th century, so many German immigrants planted themselves on the Lower East Side that the area became known as Kleindeutschland, or Little Germany.   Around the turn of the […]

Top 12 Vietnamese Restaurants in NYC

Several plates of Vietnamese food on a black surface

When Vietnamese immigrants began arriving in the United States en masse after the war ended in 1975, they ended up in places like New Orleans, Orlando, San Jose, and Orange County, CA. It’s no surprise that these cities are some of the best places to eat Vietnamese food in the country.    New York City has […]

10 Best Spanish Restaurants in NYC for Croquetas, Paella, Tortilla, & More

Person's hand holding a round clay dish of artichoke hearts sprinkled with diced cured ham.

Everyone’s heard of the New York neighborhoods Little Italy and Chinatown. Fewer may know Koreatown and Little Guyana. But very few know of Little Spain. That’s because much of it has vanished.  On West 14th Street (and a few blocks north and south on the Chelsea/West Village divide), “Little Spain” was home to New York’s […]

Where to Go for the Absolute Best Steak in NYC

Piece of steak sprinkled with coarse salt on a white plate with a serving of greens in the background

Despite the rise of plant-based restaurants hitting the mainstream dining landscape in New York City and elsewhere, new and big steakhouses are still firing up their burners for the first time. And hungry carnivores are lining up.   Chef Andrew Carmelini’s Italian-accented steakhouse, Carne Mare, as well as the British-import Hawksmoor and the knockout delicious Gage […]

Outer Boroughs Eating Excursion: Little Poland to Himalayan Heights

Pair of chopsticks poised above a Chinese dumpling dish in soy sauce

In some ways, New York City is the world in microcosm. There are reportedly 600 different languages spoken throughout the five boroughs. When you go to the ATM in, say, hyper-diverse Jackson Heights, Queens, you’re given the option of doing the transaction in one of 16 different languages.   Here are some other staggering statistics: […]

The 8 Best Day Trips from NYC

View of a former Victorian castle perched on a rock above a body of water with rolling green hills in the background

New York City has so much to offer—restaurants serving nearly every cuisine in the world, amazing museums, even the best public park on the planet, among so much else. It’s easy to forget there are things to see and experience outside this metropolis of five boroughs and nearly nine million inhabitants.   But, in fact, taking […]

Our Favorite NYC Restaurants by Neighborhood: Harlem

Intersection in an urban area with a multi-story brick building in the background and the word "Harlem" painted onto the building in the foreground.

If you don’t already reside in Harlem, there’s always been a reason for hungry people to gravitate to this neighborhood across 110th Street in Manhattan. The district has long been the go-to neighborhood for Southern/soul food as well as West African and Ethiopian restaurants.   But it wasn’t until Ethiopia-born, Swedish-raised super chef Marcus Samuelsson opened […]

Best Sushi in NYC: 10 Essential Spots

Small piece of pink sushi on a gray square plate.

In 1963, Craig Claiborne—the very first food/restaurant critic of The New York Times— reviewed two new Japanese restaurants, Nippon and Saito. The former was the very first sushi restaurant in New York. In the review he mentioned sushi, noting that it “may seem a trifle too ‘far out’ for many American palates.”  Raw fish has […]

Vegan Restaurants in NYC: 15 Essential Spots

Two small bowls of white rice and two dishes with cauliflower in a brown sauce, all garnished with herbs

Remember when the very utterance of the word “vegan” would induce eyerolls and sighs among everyone at the table? Or when explicitly vegan and vegetarian restaurants were limited to words “Earth,” “Peace,” or “Buddha” in the name?    Being a vegan is no longer marginalizing. After all, New York City mayor Eric Adams is a proud […]