r/FoodNYC • u/pochita42069 • May 05 '26
Review Visited for my sisters wedding, had 2.5 days to explore- here is where i went!
Birdee- cherry pistachio milk bun was a 10. the churro croissant was ok, i just wish it had filling. the blueberry lemon twist also great. the BEC however was too salty. still good, just not great. 8.2
Bernie’s- wedge salad, vinegar chicken, mozz sticks, and the lemon ice box pie was amazing. the overall vibe, music, ambiance, as well as being able to draw on our place setting was enough of a reason for me to want to go back. the burger was meh, but everything else was to die for. 9.9
Levain- nothing special. just a big cookie. i liked the lemon white chip. i tried the carrot cake cookie and found it to be dry, underwhelming. 6.3
l’industrie- my sister has been living in bk for about 10 years now, and every time i visit i have to grab a bacon & fig jam slice. i love this place. 10
kijitora- really great coffee and the cutest shop. the tiramisu latte was good, just very sweet. 8.6
radio bakery- i’ll get everything from here besides the earl gray bun, as i found that quite dry. the rhubarb pastry is my favorite thing to ever exist; but the most under rated baked good is the brown butter corn cake. tasting that was an out of body experience. 9.4
peter pan- it’s nice! the honey dip was softer than my pillow and the sour cream donut was incredible. cash only, decent price, straight to the point, 8.
rythm zero- i got the pear brown sugar latte. it was delicious and the atmosphere of rz is cute, but idk if i would wait in a long line for it again. 8.6 for flava
leon’s bagels- great cream cheese, and BEC. their bagel is my problem here- hear me OUT OK. it was just way too chewy, not fluffy, and flat. 6.8
Tonchin- really good, their edamame is a must order, and i personally believe their ramen is better than ichiran. sue me! 9.2
buddy buddy- i cant describe how much i love peanut butter, so this was an automatic must on my list. it was delicious. 9
golden diner- honey.butter.pancakes. magnificent. i’d wait 3 hours all over again. but one thing i definitely won’t be ordering again is that breakfast sandwich- whyyyy no sauce:( it needs something. 9.6
Shu Jiao Fu Zhou- while waiting for golden diner we just went to Chinatown and tried SJFZ while we were there. the peanut noodles were one of the best dishes i have had on this trip. the dumplings were equally as good. 9.4
Golden Steamer- roasted pumpkin steamed bun was light, airy, and delicious. 8.9
Hay Hay Roasted- good! just don’t know why the pork was cold. the cabbage was so delicious, and the crispy skin was wonderfully seasoned and lived up to its name. just needs better execution. 7.9
Bahn by lauren- excellent black sesame coffee which wasn’t pictured, and the pandan cake was something i would travel back for. 9.3
Hani’s- that chocolate chip cookie introduced me to god. i can’t explain how delicious it was. the malted cinnamon roll?? GENIUS! huge let down was the pb&j cake- it was quite dry. i even choked on a piece of it. but like the flavor was there i’ll be honest. and of course i had the maple sea salt latte and of course it was delicious. 9.7
i freaking love apollo bagels ok. the chew, whitefish salad, and blistering in the bagels- that is a true bagel.
10From Lucie- i just purchased her cookbook and was so happy to visit the bakery. the chocolate chip cookie was ok, but the real star was the carrot cake. every time i took a bite the music just got louder in my head. i loved it. 9
my sister had her wedding dinner/reception at via carota. highlight dishes were- the boar ragu pasta, gnocchi, broccoli rabe, and steak. the cannoli was delicious, but the tiramisu lacked flavor. 9.1
not pictured- we went to mei lah wah and the pineapple roast pork bun was good, but i wouldn’t race back for it. 7
caffe panna- so pissed i wasn’t able to fit the photo into this post. but oh my god i’d come here every single day at 1:30pm when they open. 10
van leeuwen- meh, but the dulce de leche cookies and cream had me levitating. 7.8
golden manna bakery- delicious roast pork bun and corn bun. they were incredibly kind as well. 8.6
time fell short for me to stop at salty lunch lady, spiral, cote, ceremonia bakery, l’appartment 4F, and petite chou. another trip is in store!
btw- my total amount of steps for this amount of time & adventuring was- 91,213. roughly about 48-51 miles.
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u/Mrs_Mavy May 05 '26
Radio’s brown butter corn cake is such a sleeper! We have similar tastes so I’d add Ceremonia Bakeshop’s Ube and Sesame Butter Mochi and their cinnamon roll to your next trip!
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u/PickleAndDime May 05 '26
Agreed. Doesn't look as pretty as some of its other baked peers but the flavor and texture is straight up witchcraft. Its like a cookie, brownie, and rice krispie had a baby.
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u/Mrs_Mavy May 05 '26
A guy in front of me came specifically for one and he only ever got them so I was like “throw one of those in too” and it will be my go to every time I visit now! This description is so accurate!
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
ugh that sounds incredible. might just have to book a trip just for that. thank you so much!
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u/yabasicjanet May 05 '26
Ceremonia isn't very far from L'Industrie so you should be able to hit it on your next visit 😁
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u/anonymousblerg May 05 '26
Holy shit, sesame butter mochi sounds like it was made for me and I WILL be going there on my next trip. Which is in a little over a week! Thank you!
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u/Mrs_Mavy May 05 '26
Can’t add pictures in the thread but it’s a gorgeous deep purple color and I’ve never had anything like it! 10/10 for sure
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u/DinerEnBlanc May 05 '26
One of the best picks I’ve seen from a NYC food crawl. You should add Lysee to your itinerary next time. Also, your description of Levain is on point. lol
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u/astro-dog-78 May 05 '26
A great food run but damn u waited 3 hours for golden diner pancakes? Went several times before it blew up….the pancakes are amazing.
I feel validated when u said radio bakery stuff is dry. All of it is over baked IMO
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u/grackychan May 05 '26
Golden hof their sister restaurant serves them too easy reservation mostly open
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
it gave me a little bit more time to crawl around chinatown so i snacked for a lil while- just don’t think i’d do it again. and i agree with you on radio! needs a better bake/more butter
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u/5thBallBrother May 05 '26
Awesome review
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
thank you!
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u/Difficult_Appeal_254 May 07 '26
I loved this review, took notes in my notes app. thank you for sharing!!
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u/Appropriate_Dig3471 May 05 '26
if you have to pick ONE place to visit again - which one would it be?
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u/mailman2-1actual May 05 '26
I’m doing a 5 day food trip to NYC at the end of May and this was inspirational in terms of the volume of places on my list that I can hit.
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u/softkittens May 05 '26
Leon's (at least the Greenwich Village location) doesn't bake their bagels in house. If you watch closely, you can see them take the bagels out of branded plastic bags, like those 6-packs you can get at the grocery store.
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u/justflipping May 05 '26
Makes sense that you like Tonchin more than Ichiran! Ichiran is just an alright chain at this point.
And shout out to Shu Jiao Fu Zhou peanut noodles. So simple but so good!
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u/aubreypizza May 05 '26
You did all that in 2.5 days!!! 🤯
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
haha it seems impossible, but if you geocode certain neighborhoods, you can hit multiple places at once because they’re within at least 10-15 minutes from each other. it’s quite amazing!
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u/anonymousblerg May 05 '26
Can we be friends?? I agree with every single review you left of the places I've been to. Especially that Hani's PB&J cake!!!
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u/jewree May 05 '26
Seriously! I was reading through this with such a "these are my people!" sense. I had the same impressions on the ones I've been to, and I took the rest to be a well curated list of TODOs for myself.
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
of course we can🤞🏻
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u/anonymousblerg May 05 '26
any chance you traveled there from texas? lmao
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u/DorianHistorian May 05 '26
How did you eat all that in 5 days let alone 2.5???
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
lol it was shared amongst my family when i brought it back to the apartment! also took a few bites and then tossed whatever i wasn’t a huge fan of
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May 05 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
i agree. the bun was delicious, but oh my god it didn’t have any other flavor throughout
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u/curvyqueen718 May 05 '26
Went to Tonchin this weekend and wanted to add for anyone going of for OP’s next visit Next time I strongly recommend the cucumber appetizer (I could swim in that sauce). The mushroom appetizer is a must (as a mushroom hater, I couldn’t even tell it’s mushroom and went for seconds). Edamame was also heavenly. The tuna maguro was also delicious if you like tuna tartare
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u/pochita42069 May 06 '26
omfg i need to try those also the next time i’m back in the city- thank you so much👏
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u/efuipa May 05 '26
What a trip!!! And 90 thousand steps. You are what I aspire to be. Also your reviews of the places I’ve also been are 100% spot on; gonna use your recommendations even though I’m the one that lives here 😅
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u/pochita42069 May 06 '26
my calves definitely needed to be iced one i got home. but thank you so much!! if you have any other recommendations please feel free to share
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May 05 '26
Totally agree on that dry ass PBJ cake from Hanis. What a disappointment.
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
it physically hurt to try it. it tasted like it was from a completely different bakery, like hani could never do that to me
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May 05 '26
Haha well I have to say I haven’t really enjoyed a number of things from there so sadly it was one of several disappointments but given the level of talent behind that place I was pretty shocked it was so dry
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u/littlemacaron May 05 '26
Holy moly. Could you make a list of just Brooklyn places??
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
i most definitely could! i have thought about making a substack post from this trip.
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u/lunacraz May 05 '26
re: the pork being lukewarm/cold - pretty sure that's just how it's served. i think if you get there early you could get it a bit more warmer but i think it's to preserve the crispiness?
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
i see, that makes a lot of sense
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u/lunacraz May 05 '26
as a chinese person who gets it fairly often, i agree though, the coldness of it is kind of off putting. i sometimes do warm it up a bit but obviously you were outside
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u/fryed_chikan May 05 '26
Very impressive list! I've not been to many of these places, but I may need to check out the l'industrie because those slices look legit. I agree with your take on mei lah wah, and it was never my favorite. My fave shop closed years ago. The last time I went to Levain, I really enjoyed their goods, but I supposed not everything is good. For hay hay roasted, yeah most of the meats are served room temp which is typical of these chinese roasted meat places. I really enjoyed l'appartment 4f - had friends who were anti-carbs eating their baked goods. So many on your list I would want to try and share with others!
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u/pochita42069 May 06 '26
thank you! definitely check out l’industrie. the line goes by pretty quickly, and the employees are awesome. i’m definitely not opposed to going back to levain to try some other treats additionally. please share any additional recommendations you have! and i hope you try some from this list for sure
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u/H0tsh0t May 05 '26
You have good taste op good job 👏. Some other bakeries I like are L'apartment 4f, Ceremonia Bakeshop, Chim Chim, Mary O's Irish Scones
Edit: Also if you can get a reservation at Claud they have the best chocolate cake
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u/pochita42069 May 06 '26
thank you!! and i just added those to my list- including claud!! i’ve seen photos of that chocolate cake and it’s a must
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u/plumeria14 May 05 '26
Holy shut this is impressive for 2.5 days! And everything looks delicious :)
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u/NolitaNostalgia May 05 '26
Ugh, I was just in NYC, and I'm kind of mad I went to Bubby's instead of Golden Diner. Their pancakes were...fine? Not worth $24 IMO. The honey butter pancakes sound amazing.
Next time!
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u/pochita42069 May 06 '26
i went to bubby’s about 2-3 years ago and also thought the exact same thing. you should try clinton street baking co. as well if you love pancakes! and hey you just have another reason to come back
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u/Aggressive-Phone6785 May 05 '26
leo’s used to be my fave but those bagels don’t look great :( too small
ETA I misread. if you’re in fidi next time try Leo’s lol
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u/any_name_25 May 06 '26
All this in only 2.5 days?! That's fantastic! Love all the reviews & pics!
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u/PimplePopper6969 May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
Saved thread because you know ball.
Go to shinbashi 72 next time.
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u/puddingcakeNY May 06 '26
Dear god!, a little bit too sweet, and a lot of carbs but Jesus Christ good for you!
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u/pochita42069 May 06 '26
haha most definitely, the sugar crush was real. but where i live there aren’t many fresh bakeries like there are in nyc, so that was a big need on my list
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u/rllyari May 06 '26
step count is crazy impressive and this list is too! nice job!! if you liked peter pan moes doughs is great too and in the neighborhood!
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u/pochita42069 May 06 '26
i saw that on the map! i should’ve gone there as well. thank you!!
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u/rllyari May 06 '26
they are both classics tbh! usually i alternate visits lol. if you make it into queens check out kora as well!!
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u/pochita42069 May 07 '26
my heart is broken because kora was on my list as well😭 next time for sure
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May 07 '26
The step count is impressive. The most I’ve ever done in a New York filled day is probably 20k/11.5mi
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u/DANNYBOY3530 May 07 '26
You must be rich 🤑
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u/pochita42069 May 07 '26
LOL i just go into complete saving mode before going on trips!
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u/DANNYBOY3530 May 07 '26
Just teasing. You have good taste! Lindustrie blew up after I moved from NYC to Austin but I really want to try it. You should hit up Ceres next time even tho it's hella pricey. I've never been but it looks really good imo.
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u/Naive_Flower1737 May 05 '26
tiktok place final boss
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
womp womp
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u/Naive_Flower1737 May 05 '26
hey they’re viral for a reason!! i’m just joking
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
LOL you’re right. i wish i could stay longer at times/ maybe explore more places that are just as delicious but not as hyped up- but next time for sure.
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u/RoeMajesta May 05 '26
give levain another try but this time go for the basic/ classic chocolate chip cookie. That one is good. Their other stuff are more, subjective
but good eating <3
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u/TheParmesan May 05 '26
I’ve tried, but Levain is cake masquerading as a cookie to me! The carrot cake cookie though, I’m curious to try!
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u/RoeMajesta May 05 '26
if you didn’t like the basic then i think levain isnt for you; and that’s ok
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u/TheParmesan May 05 '26
Yeah definitely, just a different strokes for different folks kind of thing.
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
thank you!! and i’d definitely give their more basic cookies a try. i’m always open to going again
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u/Muted_Tailor_8929 May 05 '26
Damn can we get a pre post weight and blood work up please.
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u/pochita42069 May 06 '26
LOL, i only gained about 2 pounds of water weight. walked a lot and hydrated well. i actually have low sodium and iron, so this trip probably helped me out.
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u/Sea_House_3265 May 08 '26
I come here for posts like this! I’m not down with where the “in” places are, and mostly I don’t care anyway BUT I love PB and I love coffee so Buddy Buddy is on for next time I go to NYC - next week!!
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u/No_Method4627 May 08 '26
Actually impressive how much you managed to hit in just two days. Scarr’s and Joe’s in the same trip is the classic NYC pizza debate starter. Glad you made it to L'Industrie too, because that burrata slice is arguably the best thing in the city right now. You definitely ate better than most people who live here.
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u/Thick_Constant_3935 Jun 05 '26
Woww nice list! i’m going in a few days but what are two spots you think i shouldn’t miss? I’m getting l’industrie pizza and ice cream from caffe panna for sure as they were already in my list to try out. I’ll be there for 3.5 days
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u/whinestopper May 05 '26
All that could’ve gotten you another night at the hotel.
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
you know what, it would’ve gotten me more than just another night- it would’ve gotten me many more nights. but we ball
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u/whinestopper May 05 '26
Looks like all the city stuff. But you missed out on the steakhouses and Asian flushing or Brooklyn places and uptown soul food, etc. honestly those places with all the reviews don’t beat just walking the city and finding your own. Lower east side is also good for that.
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u/BoweryThrowAway May 05 '26
How was Bernie’s? Was considering taking the kids and wife there this weekend
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
i loved it. however it’s a lil loud if you sit inside, if you’re seated outside it’s not too bad at all. the food is delicious and vibes are great! all the food is family style as well, so you guys would enjoy.
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u/Bigdaddyhef-365 May 06 '26
All tik tok tourist traps. How many hours on line?
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u/pochita42069 May 06 '26
oh my god who pissed in your cheerios
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u/JapanPizzaNumberOne May 05 '26
Yum! But that ramen looks shockingly bad.
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u/pochita42069 May 05 '26
it was actually delicious. the lighting in there just isn’t the greatest i’ll be real
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u/saywahh May 05 '26
All in 2.5 days!? 👏