This was my fifth trip to NYC and my goal for this one was to only go to more under-the-radar food spots and avoid the hyped/touristy destinations so you won’t be seeing any L’Industrie, Joe’s, Katz, or Russ & Daughters in this post! With that said, since Reddit only allows for 20 pictures, this will include my 20 favorite places:
Playground (Jackson Heights, Queens): one of my goals for this trip was to try out Thai food in Queens and my god, was this place good. This place does NOT skimp on spiciness which is often an issue I have with a lot of Thai restaurants but this place delivers the heat if you request it. I got the pad kra pao at a max spiciness level twice and it was awesome, to say the least. Also, the lemon Thai tea is one of the best beverages I’ve ever had and they also make a mean Thai tea, I made sure to get at least one of either beverage every time I visited (I went here 5 times!). Best Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to and my favorite spot of the trip. 9.7/10 Xi’an Cuisines (Stall 28 in the New World Mall in Flushing, Queens): this was the first stop I made after landing and these are definitely some of my favorite hand-pulled noodles – they had the perfect chew, the lamb was really tender, and the spices they used added a great complexity to the dish. I went here twice during my visit and the second time, the lamb was a little dry but since the first time was outrageously good, I’d go with a 9.4/10 Gino’s Pastry Shop & Cafe (Arthur Avenue, Bronx): I don’t eat a lot of cannolis, but their chocolate-dipped one was incredibly good and I made sure to stop by here twice during my visit. The filling was a perfect sweetness level and the chocolate used for them had a great flavor. The wafers also had a perfect crunch and weren’t stale at all. Best dessert spot of my trip. 9.3/10 Gia’s Pizza (Astoria, Queens): this place seemed to be a sleeper hit and I made sure to stop by here when I did a Queens pizza crawl. Their sauce was very savory and had the perfect amount of tanginess and honestly might be one of the best sauces I’ve ever had on any pizza. Their plain slice was definitely my favorite, but their tomato grandma slice was no slouch either! 9.2/10 Momo Crave (Jackson Heights, Queens): I did a momo crawl in Queens and I was definitely the most impressed with this spot compared to the other ones I tried (Nepali Bancha Ghar and Lhasa Fast Food). I got their chili momos three times during my visit and I was really impressed with all of the flavors going on here, with the spiciness, cilantro, and fresh vegetables all culminating in a complex dish. The chicken filling was fresh and flavorful too and I liked the slight crunch on the outside of the fried momos. Oddly enough, these really satisfied my craving for General Tso’s much more than a spot I tried for that in Chinatown. 9.2/10 Tino’s Delicatessen (Arthur Avenue, Bronx): this deli is a bit more under-the-radar than nearby Casa Della Mozzarella and I thought they made a better sandwich, primarily because I wasn’t the biggest fan of Casa’s bread. Besides the bread, all of the other ingredients were top-notch and this is definitely one of the best Italian sandwiches I’ve had outside of Italy. Also, their bocconcinis were perfect to snack on too. 9.2/10 Andrea’s Pizza (East Village, Manhattan): I found out about this place through Reddit and wanted to try them out and they did not disappoint! I loved their plain and margherita slices, their ingredients were extremely fresh and high quality. Apparently Andrea used to work at Scarr’s and L’Industrie, but I thought this was way better than those spots. 9/10 Wegmans (Astor Place, Manhattan): I heard good things about their chocolate chip cookies and needed to try them out for myself and yeah, these cookies are amazing. I got an ultimate chocolate chip and double chocolate chip cookie to sample after buying them and immediately went back to buy boxes of both flavors to eat throughout the week. I love the chocolate they used for these and the ultimate chocolate chip cookies had a great chew. Best chocolate chip cookies of my trip. 9/10 YongChuan (SoHo, Manhattan): I found out about this place through a Reddit post as well and was enamored at how tender and crispy the peking duck looked so I had to try this. The duck was indeed very tender and crispy and I loved the hoisin sauce, veggies and wraps they provided to make your own peking duck wraps. I went here twice during my visit. 9/10 Bagel Shop (UES, Manhattan): I tried a few bagel spots during my trip and this one was definitely the best, they have amazing cream cheeses and fresh bagels. The first time I went here, I got a bagel fresh out of the oven and it was pretty much perfection with a soft interior and crispy exterior. The other times (went here three times) I needed to get them toasted, one time not toasted quite enough but the other times were done really well. 9/10 Lanzhou Handmade Noodle (Stall 14 in the New World Mall in Flushing, Queens): I loved the lamb noodle dish I got from here and felt this was like a high quality lo mein with excellent noodles, fresh vegetables, and a lot of spices. I absolutely loved their chili oil too and made sure to add plenty of it to the noodles. 9/10 Macao Trading Company (SoHo, Manhattan): I heard about this place through a friend and I really enjoyed their drunken dragon’s milk cocktail which has pandan, Thai basil, and green tea vodka in it. I tried all of their mocktails as well which I really enjoyed. As I went here multiple times, they were a little inconsistent with their drinks but overall, this place was fantastic. 9/10 Zuma (Midtown, Manhattan): even though they’re not exclusive to NYC and I probably wouldn’t order any food here, I really loved their cocktails and stopped by here twice during my trip. Their drinks were a great sweetness level and didn’t taste too strong at all. 9/10 The Pastry Box (East Village, Manhattan): I heard good things about these cookies and really enjoyed them – even if they’re a bit too thin and crunchy on the outside for me, I loved the chewiness in the middle, the chocolate chips, and the sea salt they used. I ended up getting two cookies from here. 8.9/10 Nan Bei Ho (Bayside, Queens): I’m a big fan of Taiwanese breakfast and wanted to check out an authentic spot in NYC during my visit. The sweet soy milk and egg pancakes were extremely good and go toe-to-toe with my favorite breakfast places I tried in Taiwan. The pancake and and the eggs inside it were extremely fresh. I did like the salty rice roll as well, but felt it went a bit too heavy with the salt as I normally like to dip them in soy sauce but adding the soy sauce was a bit much. The sweet rice roll similarly had a bit too much sugar too. Being in Bayside, getting to this place was a trek, but totally worth the visit! 8.9/10 Tai Pan Bakery (Manhattan Chinatown & Flushing, Queens): I tried egg tarts from several Chinatown bakeries and these were my favorite – I do wish the crust was a bit crunchier, but I loved the sweet custard filling and the caramelized bits on the Portuguese ones. 8.8/10 Pizza Loves Sauce (SoHo, Manhattan): I went here on a previous trip so I knew it was going to be good and yes, it indeed was good again during this visit lol. I loved the crispy crust and salty cheese, even if I think they could have added more sauce to their pizza (a little ironic considering their name). 8.7/10 Casa Della Mozzarella (Arthur Avenue, Bronx): as I mentioned with Tino’s, I don’t think Casa’s sandwich (the Casa) was as good because of the bread (it was a bit stale), but the rest of the ingredients were extremely flavorful with some of the best prosciutto and mozzarella I’ve had outside of Italy. I also loved the balsamic glaze they added to it. 8.7/10 Pan Bao 66 (Stall 29 in the New World Mall in Flushing, Queens): I went here on a previous trip as well and knew it was going to be good and yeah, it was still really good lol. I love the crisp on the bottom of the pork baos and the soup inside them. They were a bit too sweet for my liking, but still great regardless. 8.7/10 New Cameron Bakery (Chinatown, Manhattan): a Chinese bakery I randomly stumbled upon, I think this place had the best egg tart crust out of the ones I tried which was really crispy. I did enjoy the egg tart custard too, but wish it was a bit more sweet. 8.6/10
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