As we discussed the prospect of heading to New York just before Christmas, one thought crossed my mind. Food. It wasn’t because I had worked up an appetite planning our trip, but it was the idea of experiencing some of the best foods on the planet. Throughout history, millions of people have made the journey across the Atlantic, arriving at Stanley to begin a new life in New York. It’s only fitting that, as these millions of people brought across their variety of cultures, the city’s colloquial nickname of The Big Apple came to fruition.
N.B The origin of the name, The Big Apple, is somewhat uncertain. It dates back to the early 1900s, were it was used in the context of New York receiving a disproportionate share of the nation’s ‘sap’ in The Wayfarer in New York. I prefer the claim that a woman named Eve ran a brothel in the city, hence the name. Unfortunately that one’s been ruled out!
If you ask any Brit of their perception of America, several words may spring to mind. Power. Wealth. Capitalists. Gluttony. Stupidity (only reserved for the select few…). A stereotypical view of the USA is that of size. As you walk the streets of the city, the skyscrapers loom above, cascading shadows across the people below. A medium sized drink from Burger King, as I quickly realised, resembles what I can only imagine an XXL drink in the UK would look like. Now combine the American Dream with an immigrant’s recipe for an Ancient Greek dessert given to Olympic Athletes as far back as 776 BC, and what do you get?
New York Cheesecake
What’s the difference between a good cheesecake and a great cheesecake? Strength. Too cheesy and you’re eating a calorific, glorified cheese board. Not cheesy enough and you feel cheated. Coming to New York meant we had to find somewhere that crafts the perfect combination of cream cheese and base. Step forward Eileen.
Eileen’s Cheesecake, nestled in between Little Italy and Chinatown, has in my opinion the greatest cheesecakes in the city. Eileen has won countless awards for her tasty desserts, even being rated as ‘New York’s #1 Dessert’ on TripAdvisor. As you approach the tiny store, along the bustling Cleveland Place, you wouldn’t expect to see the vast array of cheesecakes on offer inside. She also bakes mail order cheesecakes, which retail online for more than I would ever consider spending on a dessert! That being said, the recipes are on point, with great tasting flavours combined with a succulent base and a layer of cheesy-enough cream cheese.
If you are planning on paying Eileen a visit, I strongly recommend ordering something a bit different off the menu. Granted, her vanilla cheesecakes are divine, but some of the flavours such as banana and red velvet, are certainly ones you wouldn’t see in Tesco! Well, you might see them, but you won’t get them of the same quality!
Whilst we’re on the theme of mainstream desserts with a unique twist, over towards Maddison Square gardens we discover another much loved American classic.
Donuts
Spelt the ‘American’ way for good measure, people from all walks of life can find time to skip their diet for a day and indulge themselves. What better place to indulge than on the streets of New York?!
Varieties of doughnut, other than your classic glazed or jam filled, are nothing new. In the UK, we’ve had the Krispy Kreme (pronunciation of this is a debate saved for offline…) invasion in recent years, where a cookies and cream filled doughnut is a staple in the kitchen at work. Someone’s birthday? A quick visit to a Krispy Kreme drive-thru on the way to the office for a couple of dozen doughnuts is widespread. So what’s so different about Doghnut Plant?
Well firstly, you have a choice between yeast and cake based doughnuts, to cater for various dietary requirements. Eggs aren’t used in the recipes either (apparently) and all the doughnuts are made fresh daily in the on-site bakery. The range of flavours, some of which you would think shouldn’t work together, provide a unique opportunity to treat your tastebuds (and your bank balance; they aren’t super cheap, but then again not a rip off!) to something a little different.
We were boring, and tried some safe flavours. Nonetheless they were good quality doughnuts and certainly worth a visit or two!
Giving sweets a break (briefly), New York does also have some fantastic savoury establishments to try out.
Tacos
What says America like a Mexican delicacy brought over by the thousands that Mr Trump is trying to stop entering the country by ‘the wall’; tacos have become a food enjoyed by many all over the Western world. With your choice of meats, salad and sauce crammed into a tortilla, a good taco is enjoyed messily, with excess filling oozing from the sides. Napkins are certainly required!
Where in New York can I enjoy such a treat, I hear you ask? Chelsea Market.
Nestled within the food quarter of the bustling market sits an authentic looking taco store, self proclaimed ‘Number 1’ – Los Tacos No 1. With the tacos made fresh to order in front of you, and the option of adding some nachos to your order, it is a great place to try some proper Mexican food.
For what you get, it is quite expensive, however it is certainly one to try in New York. The fillings are bursting with flavour and the tortilla (which you get to chose from a list) is soft yet suitably crunchy. Due to its location, there is nowhere to sit (unless you cheekily sit in one of the other larger food places nearby), but for the Mexican food lover this should not deter you!
What could possibly compliment a great taco in the afternoon? Well obviously some more baked treats.
Bakery
By the time you’ve left Chelsea, headed North East back into Manhattan and across to Times Square, you’ve obviously built a bit of an appetite back up. Who wouldn’t?! Your savoury side is fulfilled from the 2 tacos and nachos you’ve just demolished, so it’s time to indulge yet again.
If you’ve seen or heard of Buddy, the American bakery chef famous from the TV Series Cake Boss, then you may know that other than his flagship store in Boston, he also runs one in New York.
Unfortunately, the shop is very commercialised; there are pictures up all over the place from the TV series, merchandise to buy and in the small (ish) space the store occupies, it can be quite distracting from the cakes on offer. Once you manage to get to the front of the queue, you’re greeted by a friendly smile and an array of cakes, biscuits and other baked treats you’d expect to find in any bakery.
We went for a selection, trying bits of the classics like carrot cake, brownie and red velvet cake, to name but a few. There’s limited seating in Carlo’s Bakery, but we decided to take ours back to the hotel for with a British cuppa before heading out for the evening. The cakes tasted brilliant; they were crumbly and flavourful and certainly went down a treat!
Breakfast
The most important meal of the day, covered last. That’s how it fell for us on our visit to New York anyway! For most of the week we skipped breakfast (I know, not good) and opted for an early lunch, however on our final morning we knew we had one place we just had to try.
Times Square Diner and Grill in, yup, Times Square was recommended to us before our visit and it certainly did not disappoint! On arrival we had to queue outside for quite a while, as they called people in as space opened up – it was very popular! Once in and seated, we were ‘hosted’ in quite a rushed fashion and they were very quick to ask if we were finished to clear our cups and plates.
Aside from the average service, the food was fantastic. The menu had a vast range of brunch options, including (as you would expect) pancakes, bacon and lots of syrup. We all had something different and tried bits of each others, and all of the food tasted brilliant. It was also, for the popularity and location, very reasonably priced!
A great place for a brunch if you don’t mind a bit of a wait (you can’t book tables in advance either, so don’t bother trying) and don’t care too much about hurried service.
And The Rest?
Purposely I haven’t included any places for dinner on this list. We went to a few different restaurants, my personal favourite being Virgil’s Real BBQ in Times Square, but there’s definitely some enjoyment to be had in wandering the streets finding somewhere based on how you feel at the time and where seems busy. That being said, if you desperately want some suggestions, just drop me a message!
Of our list of places to try, unfortunately there were 3 that we weren’t able to try out. That said, to me this sounds like another justification for visiting again soon! Like I need any justification…
Pisillo Panini near the Fulton Centre and City Hall is highly recommended for their (yup, you guessed it) paninis. We didn’t properly explore this part of New York, other than visiting the humbling World Trade Centre in the rain.
The Halal Guys are a street food vendor who, apparently, provide the best street food in New York. All around the city you’ll encounter countless hot dog vendors with their little carts (one of which caught fire while we were there and had 2 fire engine crews respond to put it out!) but the Halal Guys are highly recommended.
Levain Bakery on Amsterdam Avenue, a few blocks behind the American Museum of Natural History, is commended as producing the best cookies in New York. As if enough sweet places hadn’t already been covered! We were certainly all caked out whilst there, but (like with Pisillo’s) we were in the area when it was raining so weren’t exactly hanging about!
If you try any of these 3, please let me know and I can update the post with your views on them! Or if you try out any of the places in this post please comment how you found them to be! The reviews are based on our own experiences and are not endorsed in any way. Happy eating!