New York City Eats 2020

For those of you who have been following my IG, you might know that I spent the holidays with family in New Jersey. We stayed about 30 minutes from New York City, so whenever we got the chance, we went to Manhattan to order takeout from some of our favorite places. Sadly, I didn’t take as many pictures as I had hoped, but I still wanted to do a roundup of all the restaurants we visited and highlight the dishes that I recommend for when you get a chance to visit.

  1. Xi’an Famous Foods

    What we ordered:
    Cumin Lamb Burger – sliced lamb sautéed with spices and stuffed into a crispy flatbread-like bun
    Stewed Pork Burger – stewed pork belly stuffed into a crispy flatbread-like bun
    Lamb Dumplings in Soup – boiled lamb dumplings served in a spicy and sour lamb broth
    Spinach Dumplings – boiled dumplings with spinach, wood-ear mushroom, egg and vermicelli filling, served with a spicy and sour dipping sauce
    Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand-Ripped Noodles in Soup – hand-ripped wide noodles topped with sautéed lamb and served in a lamb broth
    Stewed Oxtail Hand-Ripped Noodles – hand-ripped wide noodles mixed with stewed oxtails and a black vinegar-based sauce
    Liang Pi (Cold-Skin-Noodles) – steamed wheat flour noodles tossed with bean sprouts, cucumbers, cilantro and gluten cubes in a spicy sauce

    Highly recommended: The Liang Pi was by far our favorite. Perhaps it had to do with how well it traveled compared to all the other dishes because we had to drive all the way back to Jersey to eat, but it was chewy in texture and full of spicy flavor and aromas.
  2. Sala Thai

    What we ordered:
    Tom Kha Gai – spicy and sour coconut-based soup with chicken and bunashimeji mushrooms
    Pad Kee Mao – spicy stir-fried rice noodles with crispy duck
    Pla Muk Tod – fried turmeric calamari with a bell pepper-peanut vinaigrette dipping sauce
    Larb Pla – fried branzino fillet served with Thai chili-lime dressing and black sticky rice
    Massamun Curry – spicy coconut curry with potatoes, onions, peanuts and lotus seeds, served with jasmine rice
    Kang Kao Peuak – taro puffs stuffed with minced shrimp, roasted coconut flakes, cilantro, garlic and kaffir lime leaves

    Highly recommended: All of the dishes were absolutely delicious. Tom kha, pad kee mao and curries are my go-to’s at Thai restaurants, and the ones here are super solid and the ideal comfort food. The branzino was the most unique dish and my personal favorite. The calamari and taro puffs were the perfect appetizers, but were just slightly under seasoned.
  3. Magnolia Bakery

    What we ordered and highly recommended: Two words – banana pudding. Magnolia is famous for their classic banana pudding, made with layers of vanilla wafers, fresh bananas and creamy vanilla pudding. We love it so much that we got four large tubs of it!
Banana Puddings
  1. Russ & Daughters

    What we ordered:
    Bagels – sesame, onion and everything bagels
    Classic Bagel & Lox Sandwich – Gaspé Nova smoked salmon with onions, capers, tomatoes and scallion cream cheese on a sesame bagel

    Highly recommended: Their classic lox sandwich is a must! The salmon is cold smoked for a mild flavor and satiny in texture. Their smoked salmons are world-famous, so get some of those, some bagels and some schmears to assemble your own bagel and lox sandwiches. I gotta be honest though, their bagels didn’t stand out for me because they were dense and salty, whereas I prefer bagels that are soft, chewy and not overly salty.
Classic Bagel & Lox Sandwich
  1. Katz Delicatessen

    What we ordered and highly recommended: You can’t go wrong with their mainstay meats – pastrami and corned beef. We got their Pastrami Sandwich and Reuben (made with corned beef) and boy, were they delicious and filling. Each sandwich came with a generous tower of meat. There’s a reason why Katz is legendary.
Pastrami Sandwich
Reuben
  1. Yi Ji Shi Mo Noodle Corp

    What we ordered:
    Pork Rice Roll
    Cilantro and Scallion Rice Roll
    Beef Rice Roll
    Shrimp Rice Roll
    Tea Eggs

    Highly recommended: Steamed rice noodle rolls (or cheung fun in Cantonese) are one of my favorite things to eat of all time. I was shocked to find that Yi Ji makes cheung fun with the same look and taste as the ones I grew up eating in China. They even made the cheung fun using a similar contraption. These fresh noodles are thin, soft, slippery (in the best way possible) and extremely flavorful. Needless to say, these rice noodles brought on some serious nostalgia. This is the best cheung fun I’ve had in the U.S., so any rice rolls on their menu are highly recommended.
  1. Wah Fung No 1

    What we ordered and highly recommended: Their BBQ pork (or char siu in Cantonese) is some of the best I’ve ever had. We got the char siu over rice with a free side of steamed cabbage. Not only was the char siu itself amazing, I loved eating the rice with the char siu juice mixed in. If you want cheap delicious eats, you have to stop by this Chinatown staple.
  1. Razza (Jersey City, NJ)*

    *Razza isn’t in NYC, but their pizzas are so amazing that the New York Times called them the best pizza in New York.

    What we ordered and highly recommended: We got the Jersey Margherita (made with Jersey tomatoes), Guancia (topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, guanciale and pecorino) and the Burrata pizza (similar to the margherita but using burrata instead of mozzarella). I’m not exaggerating when I say that these are the best pizzas I’ve ever had. The pizzas had a thin, springy crust with a perfectly charred outer rim and a fluffy base. They had soupy centers but held their shape when we picked them up. All were made in a wood-burning oven, using a perfectly salty and sweet tomato sauce and simple, high-quality toppings. It makes sense that they beat out all the other pizzerias in the city.
Jersey Margherita
Burrata
Guancia


Don’t forget to subscribe on the right!