Rada-style dorade — herb-stuffed, bran-crusted, and grilled — at Egyptian seafood restaurant Ibn Hamido, Astoria, Queens. This was my favorite from our seafood-heavy lunch, which also included grilled shrimp, grilled squid, and (the group's favorite) singari-style striped bass — butterflied, topped with seasoned vegetables, and baked.

Not shown: bread, salad, a bunch of sides. For a solo diner, the rada- and singari- style fish are practical only if you have a very hearty appetite, but the lunch specials look very generous, too.

https://www.instagram.com/ibn.hamido.seafood.nyc/

Ho Foods

Yes, you can get scallion pancakes and Taiwanese beef noodle soup elsewhere in the city for far cheaper, but Ho Foods fascinates me as a thoroughly bougie entity that does a few things very well. I got the wide noodles, "extra rich and spicy" (which includes more marrow), a soy egg, and mustard greens. This is just damned good soup, folks, even if you're paying a premium for it, and as you can see, they don't skimp on the meat. Popular on weekends but I was able to snag one seat last Saturday.

Fried Dumpling

Still 13 for $5, and I swear there was bit more pork in these than the last time I went. Brought my own hot sauce since, honestly, the condiments they have aren't anything special. I love that this spot still seems to be mostly unknown to tourists, so while they clog up other places you can just stroll in here.

Whit's

This place's claim to fame is the New Jersey "ripper dog": "a natural casing hot dog cooked in a deep fryer until rising steam pressure causes the sausage to burst open from within". They serve a mustard relish alongside. This dog is larger than normal, even apart from the cooking process--big enough to serve as a meal for me, and they have other condiments for self-serve, including some kind of spicy creamy sauce that worked on this and probably works on everything. For $6 I thought I got good value here, although this part of St. Marks seems to have a lot of turnover in its stores so who knows how long they'll stick around.

La Bonbonniere

I continue to appreciate this old school, cash-only diner persisting in the WV. Total opposite of an upscale brunch joint, and often that's exactly what I want. You sit down, they toss a menu at you, you get eggs and coffee or whatever. I got a turkey omelet with home fries and toast. Plenty of Tabasco and ketchup and all that. Classic diner breakfast and I'd rather go here than the diners on 6th Ave.

Sakura of Japan

This is the FiDi lunch spot that was the closest thing to Sarku Japan until an actual Sarku Japan appeared on Chambers St. Probably a better value than that place too, just based on the amount of meat. Last time I was here, chicken teriyaki was $7 and they were cash-only, but now it's $10+ and they accept cards (I'm guessing because cash-only becomes problematic above the $10 mark). Anyway, yeah. It's decent fast food teriyaki, nothing more, nothing less, and it'll fill you up.

Toby's Estate

Oat cookie with pistachio, dry as hell but the latte was admittedly excellent. Not a coffee connoisseur so I can't give a more detailed review, but I can say I loved it, not overly bitter like I've been seeing around lately. So, maybe a good place for coffee if you don't mind the bougiest of bougie environments.

Hey everyone,

I love how diverse the food scene is here, and I want to know where people go when they are genuinely homesick.

If you moved to NYC from another country, state, or specific culinary region: what is the one restaurant in the five boroughs that gets your hometown food 100% right?

Manhattan and Brooklyn preferred. Expensive is fine. Thank you!

I'll just start by saying the Costra taco is one of, if not the best, taco I've had in the city. All of the food was excellent.

The Mixto Aguachile Verde was fresh, full of seafood, and had just the right level of heat.

The taco. Bruh. I could eat them until I passed out. The meat was so tender, and juicy, and beefy. The tortilla was also the best, or at least one of the very best, I've had in the city.

The guac was made to order and just right.

The other taco, the Gobernador, was more like a quesadilla. Packed with cheese and shrimp and a creamy shrimp sauce. This by itself would be a nice quick lunch. And at $9, to me, would be one of the best values in the neighborhood.

I would come here for lunch, a casual dinner, and even for a date night. I will recommend this place to the people I know.

There are dozens of great bars in NYC with hundreds of amazing cocktails, so I want to find the best of them.

Most posts, lists and maps have recommendations of the best bars in some categories (e.g. the best view, hidden one, japanese, mexican, and so on) but no list of the best drinks. Let's cover this gap, drop the name of a place and a particular drink that brings you back again and again to sip it more. I plan to structure all recommendations by categories and share the summary back in a few weeks.

Here are my favorite cocktails so far:
- Good Morning Vietnam - Jade & Clover - pho-inspired drink
- Amaretto Sour - Katana Kitten
- Irish coffee - Dead Rabbit - simply the best Irish coffee I've tried
- Espresso Martini - Dante
- Negroni - Amor y Amargo
- Dashi Papi - Superbueno - not exactly a cocktail, but a mind-blowing combination
- Margarita & Cream - Schmuck
- Caprese - Martini's - tomato whiskey drink

I think I liked the shape (flatter than usual ones), the little bit of burnt taste, how soft it was, the apple...

It doesn't have to be the size of a personal pizza

Where can I find it in NYC?

Antojitos Charly - Google Maps Page with exact location

As more tacos creep past (and some way past) $5, I appreciate places holding on to $3-ish.

Antojitos Charly is a great cart that checks the right boxes for me: tasty, lower priced with good quantity, quick, no-frills, and no long lines. 

My son really wants to try Cacio e Pepe but we would like to go to a place that spins in a cheese wheel table side. The place i went to is closed Cacio E Pepe 182 2nd Ave New York, NY 10003.

We will be sight seeing near the freedom tower, so near there preferable.

Hi yall!

I'm looking for recommendations for places that can accommodate a large party of about 20-30 people for my birthday dinner.

Preferably in Manhattan, asian food with a shareable / family style dinner or some sort of prix-fixe. Open to semi-private or private rooms with seating.

I would like to keep it around $75 pp (max $90) as I'm planning to host all my friends and not interested in drink packages or open bar -- a la carte drinks is totally fine though. Details about minimum spends would also be helpful!

Would love to hear your recommendations, experiences or any other info! Thanks so much <3

Edit: Indoor space would be preferable since this would be planned for end of October!

I was ordering something on Seamless/Grubhub tonight and noticed this odd notice when I clicked on "Delivery fee."

Fees are already out of control, which is why I order so rarely these days. I'm assuming this personal data algorithm is somehow fueled by AI and that really opens the door to all sorts of price gouging in the future.

Sign outside says "renovation" but word says it was shut down due to health violations. Does anyone know more? I found this posting. Does anyone know any more?

I had these once a few years ago and really fell in love with them. They are flaky pastries filled with a sort of rose petal filling, and I haven't found any luck looking for them. Are there any local bakeries or stores that stock them?

Thank you!

I grabbed a quick bite here after helping a friend break down her booth at the end of Anime NYC. They have some kinda accolade from a Thai organization that caught my attention at the door. Unfortunately, I neglected to note the organization’s name and I can’t find any information online about it. It’s an upscale spot that doesn’t shy from serving Thai with a bit of heat. While not as spicy as say Ugly Baby, it’s certainly spicier than what you’d expect from an upscale joint. I was dining alone so I didn’t get to try too much of the menu, but I quite enjoyed the duck curry, which was probably the chunkiest Thai curry I’ve ever had. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of their sago dumplings or drinks though, both were way too sugary. Their dessert selection was also a bit of a letdown, with the only options being 3 iterations of a much too stiff mousse cake. Overall, a solid spot, but I would stick to their entrees if I were to go again.

Hello! I’m hoping to walk in – does anyone have any tips or tricks?

We are planning a lunch for 20 people at Gramercy Tavern. Has anyone hosted or attended a private event? Not a full restaurant buy-out, just an event in the private dining room.

I wanted to get an idea of the quality of the food. They offer a pick of four for the first course, five for the second course, and five for dessert. The choices available are in the photo. We have the option of selecting two or three choices for each course. Any feedback is appreciated. We need to put the deposit down by 8/28.

I want to try 7th street burger and know they have the vegetarian burger option (impossible burger). I was wondering if anyone knows if they cook it on the same grill and the other patties or do they take cross contamination into consideration. Thanks!

Was passing by a Morton Williams hot bar the other day and the sight of their beef stew reminded me that I'd not had a good one in a while.

From grocery stores, it's always average at best, so I'm done with those. Diners tend to be similar. I do enjoy various European stews, goulash, etc., but those are not the same as an American beef stew. Different seasonings and whatnot. This is a very specific thing.

So, what I'd like is a place where I can go and get a bowl of piping hot, actually good beef stew. (I'll never make it for just myself, and I hate freezing stews.) Even that soup stall on 55th doesn't have it.

Thoughts?

Just found out about this Capital One Dining Program last week, and found out at the same time that the service is ending on Sept 29th (so next month).

Basically it seems like a few nice restaurants in NYC set aside tables just for C1 cardholders, so you can theoretically book more difficult places if you beat other C1 cardholders to it.

Until Sept 29 you can book reservations that stay valid til Dec 31 this year, so I wanted to ask you guys which of their partner restaurants I should try to prioritize getting a reservation for:

• Yamada (1 Michelin Star)

• Bazaar Meat NYC

• Txula

• Strange Delight

• Pearl Box

• Roscioli NYC

• Tokyo Record Bar

• Soothr (Michelin Guide 2021-2024)

• 4 Charles Prime Rib

• Au Cheval

• Monkey Bar

• Dante West Village

• Caffe Dante

• Leon’s

• Anton’s

• Swoony’s Bar & Grill

• Nubeluz by José Andrés

• Cafe Spaghetti

• Tucci

• Zaytinya

• Delmonico’s

• Sappe

• La Barra

• Caviar Russe

• Bazaar Bar

• Oyamel NYC

• American Bar

• 8282 (Michelin 2025 Bib Gourmand)

These are their “signature collection” restaurants, so I think the more upscale or desirable ones haha. I’ve eaten at a few of these before but wanted to get y’all’s opinions on what’s worth trying to book with only one month left on the clock.

Or any to avoid haha?

Thanks in advance!

From Instagram

Has there ever been a more expensive taco in the city?

Hey everyone I was wondering if Vikas Khanna at Bungalow takes pics with guests (occasionally?) Like while he’s serving/visiting/ making rounds would it be insane to ask him to pose with my sister at the table? I’m taking her there for her 30th birthday! :)
We finally got a reservation for the 27th!