Over the past 18 months, my roommate and I have set out to try 30 different cuisines from around the world in the city. We did the best we could to find authentic spots whenever possible and spent many Saturday or Sunday afternoons making trips across the city.
We put together rankings for fun. Obviously these are very subjective and heavily influenced by the experience we had there. We’re keeping it going, so if there are any unique cuisines we haven’t had yet, we’d love any and all recs of other spots in the city.
We added some commentary on standout or notable meals/experiences.
Sri Lanka: New Asha (Staten Island) – Chicken Curry, Crab Curry, Kotthu Roti. We walked in here and sat down and immediately felt like we had just walked into someone’s home. Viji was so kind and let us sample all sorts of different things. The crab curry was absolutely spectacular. Egypt: Kabab Cafe (Astoria) Babaganoush hummus falafel Swiss chard(Picture 2), turmeric cauliflower salad, beef and lamb kafta with roasted vegetables: Block off a few hours and head there for lunch on a weekend. The owner makes you feel like you’re in his living room eating a homemade meal. Colombia: Arepa Lady (Jackson Heights) – street corn, empanadas, arepa de choclo chicharron, arepa de queso pollo desmachado. (Picture 3) Philippines: Phil Am Kusina – (Staten Island) – pork lumpia, sisig tacos, sisig baboy, ginataang tilapia: owner is amazing, everything was fantastic. The Sisig baboy especially was incredible. Suggest capping the meal off with some Ube ice cream. (Picture 4) Indonesia: Sumatera (Elmhurst) – Sate ayam, mie ayam chicken noodles, nasi goreng crab fried rice, nasi ega bakar ribs, nasi padang combo: ordered a FEAST and one thing after another was absolutely fantastic Eritrea/Ethiopia: Cafe Massawa (Morningside Heights) Sambusas (chicken), Tibs (beef), and tsebhi derho (chicken): amazing service, and a warm environment. The injera bread soaking up everything is a very unique way to eat. Highly recommend the stop if you find yourself in the area. (Picture 1) India: Angel (Jackson Heights) – paneer pakoda, lassuni gobi, chicken pb35, vegetable biryani, chicken tikka masala, lamb Rogan josh: I think I’m still full from all this food and I wouldn’t change a thing. Nepal: Cafe Himalaya (East Village) Gyathuk tapta, chasha shamdey, pan fried Himalayan dumplings (Picture 5) Greece: Souvlaki Lady (Astoria) – chicken souvlaki gyros, halloumi stick, Greek empanada: Can’t really go wrong with your order. Bonus: there’s a great local coffee shop called the OK cafe on the same block. Malaysia: West New Malaysia (Chinatown) – roti canai, chicken satay, chow kueh teow roti: canai was amazing Poland: Little Poland (East Village) – borscht (kielbasa, egg, challah bread, Bigos (sauerkraut, matzo, mushroom sauce), house special pierogis, blueberry blintz: I can not recommend the blintz more. Capped off what was a really good meal with a delicious sweet treat. Myanmar: Little Myanmar (East Village) Chicken paratha, Burmese pancakes, duck egg curry, thin beef noodles: the Burmese pancakes were fantastic. (Picture 6) Austria: Cafe Katja (Lower East Side) – Wiener schnitzel, beef gulasch with spatzle, white asparagus: white asparagus is worth trying if you’re there the right time of year. Afghanistan: Afghan Kebab House (Upper East Side) Boulanee kadu, aushak ghousti, naringe palua, combo kebab Iran: Ravagh (Midtown) – sambuseh, kotlet, barg kebob, lamb kebob Turkey: Taci’s Beyti (Midwood) – Iskender Kabab, doner kebab with yogurt, lahmucan Dominican Republic: El Sazon (Chinatown) – Dominican smashburger, el sazon sandwich (fried salami, sweet plantain, chimi sauce), chicharones de pollo with tostones: El Sazon sandwich was fire, had never had something like that. Worth going to the full shop rather than the stand in Tribeca. Uzbekistan: Salute (Forest Hills) – uzbek mantu, lagman, meat samsa, lamb and lamb rib kebab, plov Ukraine: Veselka (East Village) – Varenyky, chicken paprikash, latke, holubtsi Georgia: Cheeseboat (Hell’s Kitchen) – meat crepes, soup dumplings, steak and mushroom cheeseboat, honeycomb cheeseboat, shkmeruli chicken Jamaica: Big Tings (Chelsea) – jerk chicken and goat curry bowl, beef patties: maybe could have looked for a more authentic or true neighborhood spot, but still very solid jerk chicken. Goat curry wasn’t great South Korea: Tong Sam Gyup Goo Yo (Flushing) – Pork Belly and short rib bbq, cold noodles, kimchi pancakes: the cold noodles were interesting, served in an ice bowl. The food was generally solid if unremarkable. (Picture 7) El Salvador: Bahia (Williamsburg) – pupusas, el campesino, el guanaco, platano maduro Peru: Flor De Mayo (Upper West Side) – mofongo bowl, ceviche, lomo saltado, pollo a la brasa: Vietnam: Pho Bang (Chinatown) – pho, curry chicken, spring rolls: pho BANG Cuba: Sophie’s Cuban (Tribeca) – pork platter, plantains, yuca: a little less “hole in the wall” vibe than we were generally looking for but honestly very solid Cuban food Côte d’Ivoire: La Savane (Harlem) – dibi mouton, pintade grill, aloco, couscous: the guinea chicken is certainly unique…. Trinidad: Ali Roti Shop (Crown Heights) – aloo pie, beef roti, curry chicken roti Israel: Falafel Tanami (Midwood)- falafel on pita and falafel salad Bosnia: Cevabdzinica Sarajevo (Long Island City) – cevapi, burek: the cevapi might just not be for us
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