best NYC food

heres a post dedicated solely to food for everyone on turkey day. enjoy these reccommendations for the city, and drop me a line if theres anything you'd like me to add to the list.. (many of these recommendations are centered around food and most of the food only reccomendations (not cocktails, taverns..) are recommended for lunch. however, if you're shooting for atmosphere, check out my first food post, "best big-city eats") im headed to the lake to spend the day munching on bird and other festive delicacies.
hope you guys have an amazing and belly-aching holiday


best food at 4 am:

Piccola Cucina Focacceria
120 MacDougal Street, btw W 3rd & Bleecker; Greenwich Village; 212-228-6175


The namesake dish is Focaccia di Recco, a Ligurian pizza consisting of two super-thin focaccia crusts sandwiching a layer of crescenza cheese; the delicate base's then built up with a range toppings, including fresh pesto, tomato sauce & oregano, capers & anchovies, and imported prosciutto cotto, whose fresh-off-the-boat status explains why it doesn't get your hilarious Pacific Blue references. Other highlights include open faced, whole-loaf bruschetta (mushroom/crescenza/ bresaola/spinach, mozzarella/tomato/ parsley/tuna, and scamorza/mortadella/ truffle oil); piping hot croissants; and fist sized, Bolognese-stuffed rice balls, which you could totally see through his spandex on Dancing With The Stars.
check out the full menu here


best southern food:

Tipsy Parson
156 9th Ave, at 19th St; Chelsea; 212.620.4545

The menu includes bites of hush puppies, fried pickles, market oysters, and bone-in Benton ham; apps like eight fried veggies w/ old bay aioli, and spicy lamb ribs with buttermilk slaw; and mains from braised pork shank w/ stone ground grits & crackling, to chicken & dumplings, who Sisqo insists have thighs like cluck, cluck, cluck.
check out the full menu here

best mediterranean food & cocktail combination:

Juliet Supperclub
539 W 21st St, nr West Side Highway; Chelsea; 212.929.2400


The food kicks off mezze style with spreads of hummus (traditional, carrot, lamb), cucumber cilantro tzatziki, and yellow lentil berbere dip, scooped with breads from pita, to saj, to Za'atar; apps stay shareable with plates of fried haloumi w/ Turkish tomato sauce, crispy calamari with green harissa/cucumber yogurt, fire roasted Black Baba Eggplant, and raw tuna "tabouleh" chopped up with cracked wheat, which would stand a better chance of getting straight if it didn't live in a club. Bigger bites include lemon butter-sauced grilled scallops w/ fried leek cakes, seared duck skewers with pomegranate syrup, lamb meat served as both shawarma (w/ smoked yogurt and spicy tomato caper sauce) and dumplings (Aleppo peppers, yogurt sauce), and a tamarind-glazed skirt steak sided by feta whipped potatoes, which should really stand up to its munster of a girlfriend.Beyond the bottle, booze getting it on 'til the break of dawn includes the tequila Full Frontal (grapefruit/lime/spicy honey/Peychaud's), the Burlesque Dancer (Plymouth/strawberry/ginger/lemon), and the Belvedere/St Germain/agave Smooth Operator, though if you aren't one, remember Money Talks.
check out the full menu here


best non-sophisticated french food:

The Vanderbilt
570 Vanderbilt Ave, at Bergen; Brooklyn; 718.623.0570

The seasonal French-influenced menu starts with beer bites like homemade jerky, brussel sprouts w/ lime and fleur de sel, golden pickled eggs, and serrano ham croquettes , then gets straight real with house-made charcuterie: spicy blood sausage w/ pork rinds, slow-cooked pork belly on French lentils, crispy pig tails, and duck rillettes w/ mission fig jam (loves Phish, doesn't think we evolved from them). Fall veggies include acorn squash (a la plancha with homemade ricotta/lemon confit) and grilled corn (in chilled soup form w/ smoked tomato rice), while simply prepared ocean fare includes steamed mussels, grilled octopus, razor clams w/ garlic & parsley, and fried calamari w/ cilantro lime mayo; equally subtle meats include grilled sweetbreads, marinated skirt steak with salsa verde, and chicken wings that're smoked & fried, and will spend hours laughing at How High with you before providing the perfect snack.Old-fashioned booze includes the applejack/cider molasses/black tea Jr. Kimbrough, and the gin/sweet basil/bitter lemon Pimm's Cocktail, while the 20-plus artisanal brews include drafts of Captain Lawrence Smoked Porter and Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, plus bottles of Pyraat, Shiner Bock, and Rammstein, a band unwilling to play a town without an Olive Garden, as they'll never pay for their NEINth bowl of pasta.
check out the full menu here

best european food:

Le Caprice
795 Fifth Avenue, at 60th; Midtown East; 212-940-8195


including salads from endive with pear/shaved fennel to watercress'd crispy duck, plus steak tartare, wild mushroom risotto, and sauteed foie gras with caramelized apples; there are some modifications, however, with yellowtail -- in London prepared as sashimi w/ tempura squid and ponzu -- becoming a carpaccio with ginger and lime, and a staple ragu flipping from veal papardelle to rigatoni w/ wild swine (call it "pigatoni", but just don't call it boaring). Mains pay an oceany homage, with across-the-pond faves like salmon fishcakes w/ buttered spinach and sorrel sauce, grilled squid topped with pimento salsa, deep-fried haddock sauced with a minted pea puree, and Thai-baked sea bass with fragrant rice; turf-wise, they're doing up chicken alla Milanese, grilled calf's liver rocking colcannon/crispy bacon, and a ground rump steak preparation called Chopped Steak Americaine, which would be insulting if we weren't so damned delicious. Fully breaking with tradition's the addition of breakfast, including waffles with berries, corned beef hash w/ double fried egg, and soft-boiled eggs with asparagus "soldiers", which are actually food, showing us that it doesn't take Americans to screw up the English language.
check out the full menu here


best sexy latin food:

Yerba Buena Perry
1 Perry St, at Greenwich Ave; West Village; 212.620.0808


Freshly conceived comestibles start with five ceviches (flounder w/ chilis/red onion/sweet potato/popcorn; Toro "Taquitos" w/ habanero salsa & avocado; seared rib eye w/ sea urchin) and bar bites like manchego croquettes w/ pickled jalapeno & salsa verde; principales're touched up by a ropa vieja w/ tamarind-glazed duck confit & fried duck egg, six styles of "Latin Fries" (cactus, red jalapeno...watermelon?), and salsa-abetted rib eye/strip steaks -- get both on one plate and it's sided with chorizo and blood sausage, which will straight smoke you if you bust out a c-walk. The all-new, handcrafted cocktails were designed by PDT/Little Branch vet Cervantes, including a Tito's Blackberry Gimlet, the Turnpike (rye whiskey/applejack/lemon), the Rumbuck (Brugal, ginger, lime, bitters), and a Scorpion mezcal/cucumber/lime number called the Mezcal Maid, who takes out her resentment over your slobdom...by filling your apartment with scorpions!
check out the full menu here


best bar snacks & cocktails combination:

Forty Eight
1221 Avenue of the Americas, at 48th st; Midtown; 212.554.4848


Casual munching starts with snacks like olives w/ fennel & chilis, a regionally sourced cheese basket, roast shishito peppers w/ Maldon sea salt, goat cheese filled mushrooms, and egg shooters with your choice of pickled peppers/olive oil mayo or smoked trout/roe/sour cream; for meatier comestibles there's smoked yellow tail in yuzu, garlic-n-olive oil baked shrimp & chorizo, honey & pineapple glazed meatballs, and sandwiches like the Open Faced BLT and the Mini Cuban, who's driven even madder because his outrageous courtside antics go unseen. Tippling's broken down by vibe, with the "Wanderlust" category rep'd by the exotic flavors of the St. Zipang (St. Germaine/Zipang sake/yuzu juice); "Wellness" fronted by the sugarless "Steve Collins" and the "Lojito" (fresh mint/strawberry/lime/Oronoco rum/stevia); and the Mumm's Champagne abetted French Forty Eight, the sole denizen of "Elegance"...suck it, Dom!
check out the full menu here


best southwestern food:

Piquant
259 Flatbush Avenue, at 6th Ave; Brooklyn; 718.484.4114


Kicking things off're apps like lump crab quesadillas w/ sherried black bean sauce, flautas stuffed with slow-roasted brisket, corn tamales w/ duck confit and mole poblano, plus four soups (e.g., corn chowder w/ cotija baked tortilla strips) and ceviches (tequila-cured salmon...); if forced to share, trays of soft tacos can be stuffed with grilled mahi, tri-tip steak, etc., while sliders range from ancho molasses bbq sauced pulled pork, to crab cake with jalapeno tartar, to brisket with salsa Coloradito, a perennial all-star in the Brazilian condiment soccer league. Upping the ambition, mains include red snapper Bolero w/ white wine cream sauce and haricot vert, grilled lamb chops sided with chipotle polenta and mint garlic guajillo sauce, beef short ribs plated w/ a cabernet/cascabel chili reduction, and a 22oz "cowboy steak" sided with paddle cactus "nopal" -- maybe it'd have some friends if it stopped being such a prickly pear. Yeah... To wash it all down they're pouring four margarita styles, specialty 'tails like the Bombay/cucumber/lemon/mint simple syrup Glorietta and the head-kicking vodka/gin/151/triple sec/sour mix/cactus pear puree New Mexico Red Eye, and tasting flights from an expansive menu of tequilas, the very spirit that has so often left you sidelined, unable even to stuff yourself with novelty egg rolls.
check out the full menu here


cutest place to get meaty food:

Bia Garden
154 Orchard St, between Stanton and Rivington; LES; 212.780.0010


Meanwhile, suds-friendly grub starts with a roving cart proffering rotating $5 bites, then moves to small dishes like Dum Nem Sausage (duck liver, pine nut, anchovy sauce), BBQ pork hand rolls, and lemongrass/glangal/chili "Shark On Fire"; hungrier hippos can go for Spicy Curry Wild Boar, BBQ Rib on Lamb Belly w/ jalapeno cucumber relish, whole dungeness crab, baked fish, and a spicy cress/red onion/Dijon number called "Shaking Beef" (you'd shake too if everyone were crowding around you with knives).
check out the full menu here

best cuban-european infused food:

Crudo
235 W 35th St, between 7th and 8th; Midtown; 212.695.9001


Raw offerings range from tuna tartare, to Chilean sea bass ceviche, to Salmon tiraditos (Peruvian ceviche sans onions), complemented by kitchen apps like chicken/beef/cheese empanadas, piquillo peppers stuffed w/ braised oxtail, and Mediterranean dates strewn with duck pancetta and cabrales (mushroom lovers beware: these dates have no morels). Meaty mains include Capellos de Pechuga (chicken breast medallions w/ mofongo timbalitos, garlic confit & saffron blend) and Churrasco a la Parilla (grilled skirt steak & yuca fries w/ chimichurri), while oceanic action runs from the lobster sauce-based seafood stew "Codicias del Mar" to a cod filet with roasted tomatoes and Nora peppers called the Abadejo Vizcaino, too delicious to spend its career as a backup.
check out the full menu here


best asian food:

OBAO
222 E 53rd St, btw 2nd and 3rd Ave; Midtown East

OBAO pulls from myriad regions to inform a menu specializing in starches like pho w/ trotter/beef shin; Thai flat rice wok noodles with short rib & farm egg; shrimp-and-oyster Malaysian rice noodles; and crispy egg noodles from Manila w/ pork, chicken, shrimp, and snow peas, which enjoy nothing more than writing their own name.
check out the full menu here


best greek food

prespa
184 Lexington Ave, between 31st and 32nd; 212.810.4335

this date-friendly Greek bistro's dishing tapas & entrees (Moroccan-spiced lamb chop, double milk-braised pork belly) in a two-floor, white-walled space rocking a glowing, double-height chandelier and nooks surrounded by Matrix-like gun racks of vino, for when you need wine. Lots of wine.

(always)alanna