While other cities may have great restaurants, what distinguishes NYC as the make-or-break food capital of America is the scene—no other city presents a fully revolving culinary universe quite like our town. With that in mind, we present our list of the top 25 places to dine and imbibe this summer.
FOOD COURT FRENZY
These culinary commissaries are for more than just Sbarro and Cinnabon. Here, a few highlights from the city’s best courts.
At one-and-a-half inches in diameter, a Cacaoboy mini doughnut from Doughnuttery is small enough to pop in your mouth while strolling through Chelsea Market (425 W. 15th St.). The deep-fried cake-ball is dusted with a dark mix of cocoa, cocoa nibs, chocolate cookie crumbs and mesquite. It may be diminutive, but it satisfies a powerful craving for chocolate.
Transforming whey, milk and rennet into perfectly creamy, chewy cow’s milk fior di latte mozzarella is an art form at Eataly NYC (200 Fifth Ave.). Expert mozzarella makers, trained in Puglia by a famiglia that’s been producing the best for more than a century, use fresh local whole milk to make the curd. Solids are painstakingly separated, hot salted water is added, and the daily dance of stirring, punching and stretching begins.
From Tokyo with love comes Ivan Orkin’s craveable bowls of ramen, served in the first U.S. outpost of Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop at Gotham West Market (600 Eleventh Ave.). Beautiful tangles of handmade rye noodles with pork, chicken or vegetables in an intense chicken broth are slurped with gusto by even the most well-mannered diners.
A high point at Hudson Eats (225 Liberty St.), the foodie fantasyland inside Brookfield Place (formerly the World Financial Center), is the moist, salt-and-pepper-rubbed, slow-smoked-over-hardwood-until-tender-as-pudding barbecued brisket, prepared to meet the soaring standards of pitmaster Hugh Mangumat the newest outpost of Mighty Quinn’s.
As Geoffrey Zakarian takes over as the culinary director of The Plaza hotel upstairs, down on the concourse level, Daniel Boulud is planning to open an outpost of his hit bakery/cafe Epicerie Boulud. But don’t miss the already established Pasta Bar at The Todd English Food Hall (768 Fifth Ave., Concourse Level, ) where a colorful array of handmade pastas hangs behind master pasta-makers.
