new york essentials
When folks ask me where they need to go in NYC, I have a short list of places I send them to. I'm not saying these are the best or anything; I just miss them.
At Gray's Papaya on W 72nd and Broadway, the Recession Special, consisting of two hot dogs (just mustard) and a papaya drink, shared with my wife, is a reliable late-afternoon snack.
Pam's Real Thai is a tiny hole in the wall on West 49th Street and 9th Avenue; I always get the red curry with chicken. After eating chicken and associated vegetables, I feel so badly about abandoning the remaining sauce that I douse the remaining rice with it or just get a spoon and eat it like a sweet and spicy soup.
The omakase (chef's choice) at Sushi of Gari on Columbus at W 78th isn't deeply concerned with being authentic and I don't much mind; the sushi is amazing fish with all sorts of interesting garnishes. I my favorites are the salmon sushi with roasted tomato and the marinated tuna with pine nuts on a tiny crisp flake of fried nori. The Upper East Side location is supposedly better (Gari himself presides) but I've found the Upper West Side spot easier to get into on short notice.
I am told that the shakes at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park are amazing, but honestly. I always get the Shack Burgers, which are transcendently good. The only hard decision is whether to get the Single Shack, which has an excellent sauce-to-meat ratio, or the Double Shack, which has more of the tasty, tasty meat. The lunchtime lines are too long to deal with; go early (11:30 am or so) or late (2:30 pm) and the lines won't be too long.
Joe's Shanghai, on Pell Street, has amazing xiao long bao - tiny dumplings filled with a bit of meat and soup. They're a bit challenging to eat and there are a variety of strategies; I prefer to poke a hole in one and let it drain into a spoon, then add a bit of gingered vinegar, and then drink the soup and finally eat the remaining dumpling. There's an location on West 56th Street, which is much more expensive but equally good. Twice a year, a famous Taiwanese chef, whose xiao long bao are even better, makes an appearance at the Sheraton in Flushing, but the scheduling is just too difficult to work out.
Comments
Thanks for the Pam's Real Thai intro. It's my go-to place.
Come to think of it, thanks for the Shack intro as well! I'll vote for 2 single shacks, although Max and I discovered you can ask for extra shack on the side. I think we started a trend though as they now charge 25 cents for it!
- Dan
The best Japanese food in NYC used to be Honmura-an, but that closed.
How about your favorite pizza or favorite bagel? These are two staples of NYC cuisine.
My high school ritual was Papaya King on 86th and Lex. Not healthy but memorable.
- Gen Kanai
My favorite bagel place was Bagel Baron on 57th, but they are gone now. I never found anywhere as good.
There's a number of great pizza places; I don't have a particular favorite. We went to the one on the corner of West 58th and Columbus a lot, but only because it was close to where we lived. Similarly, we ordered from China Fun (on 72nd?) and Ollie's a lot.
- joshua
just came across your fave list as i was trying to assemble a "new york essentials" care package for someone about to move to nyc -- being an ex-new yorker myself i was surprised to see that Gari made your list of restaurant essentials. it is one of few things that i miss terribly about nyc. but i already have my reservation for omakase in a few weeks (in front of Gari of course). years ago Gari gave me his cell # so that i always got a reservation whenever i wanted! i was like a meth addict having gari almost once a week!!! :-)
great rec with shake shack too -- one of my faves as well. i also love lupa at the bar, posto pizza on 2nd ave near 18th -- get the large bacon pizza (only go there if you like thin crust), craft for their kobe skirt steak (dunno if they still have it), chin chin for peking duck and grand marnier prawns (though "our house" on like 81st and 3rd is damn good for their crispy beef and other dishes). balthazar for scrambled eggs (hard to believe but it's good). oh and don't forget the corn at cafe habana. yum. oh and kalbi (korean bbq) at kang suh on 32nd and bway.
- aliceinwonderland
Since you're a former MS employee I'm unsurprised by the Pam Real Thai shout-out. But what about Island Burger? No love for Island Burger?
- Jordan Hare