I can't get enough of New York. I have been there twice already in less than a year; and each 10-day trip was a full food experience one…I have tried enough pastrami sandwiches, cookies, burgers and desserts to feel the nostalgia of this city that moves so fast. Surely there’s more to discover and more to enjoy, but for the meantime, I think I've discovered enough places to give you my Top10 list of places to satisfy your taste buds in the Big Apple.
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory: One of New York's Favorites
I'm a big fan of ice cream visiting as many shops as I could find and Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is indeed one of my favorites to date. They make art by merging American’s most popular dessert with an exotic Chinese twist. I tried many flavors like the Black Sesame with black sesame seeds, the Durian Asian fruit known for its pungent yet delicious flavor and strong aroma… I have been to the famous ice cream parlors in Paris but wasn't amazed as this small hole in the wall called the Ice factory one must try.
The Doughnut Plant: My Favorite Doughnut
Walk in and try their Triple Chocolate … I'd say triple orgasm! Here’s a large doughnut that’s tender like pillow, airy like magic, lightly chewy like a Gummy Bear candies, embraced in three layers of melted chocolate that tastes even better than Nutella or any other spread I've had to date. A layer of firm chocolate with another of flowing wonder around a pure white tender doughnut fried to perfection.
Shake Shack: Where the Burger Myth Started
They say you can't come to New York and not stand in line at Shake Shack Madison Square Park, where this worldwide craze started. Shake Shack is now found in dozens of countries around the world serving their famous good looking burgers, hotdogs and their signature dense frozen custard ice cream blended at high speed with mix-in - known as concretes.
Hillstone: The Best Pork Ribs I've Ever Had
if you’re a fan of pork ribs then don’t miss the Hillstone. Order the Campfire Pork Ribs: Fall-off-the-bone tender with French fries and ding's coleslaw. Outstanding is the least that can be said. It is an exceptionally great plate of ribs that melt under your teeth with no effort. The flavors, the moist and tender pork meat marinated to perfection enjoyable to the last bit with your hands. Love is an understatement!
Eileen's Delectable Cheesecakes: Mini Cakes Individually Served on Carton Plates
The Caramel cheesecake comes with a light layer of dough, no crunch and no biscuit but a full-bodied cream that not too cheesy. The caramel adds a light sweetness to each bite. The salted caramel cheesecake leaves sparkles of saltiness on your lips. Pure pleasure. The Cherry cheesecake is as good if not better as the cheese has more taste while the Banana cheesecake is my favorite Chocolate dough that's so thin and light and a heart of cheese flavored and decorated with bananas. It is so neat and clear. Lovely! The Cannoli is amazing but heavy!
Five Guys: A Burger Place on the Rise; My Favorite Fast Food Burger
Just imagine this burger: Tender bun, two thick juicy patties, melted cheese and the crunchy veggies, pickles, cold thinly sliced tomatoes, extremely crispy bacon and moist grilled mushrooms on the bottom... With that we asked for ketchup and mustard. Real street food full fledged calorific burger but it's worth it. I love Five Guys Burgers!
Max Brenner's Chocolate Heaven: The Banana Hazelnut Crepe
Chocolate hazelnut spread, sliced bananas, chocolate chunks and chopped hazelnuts. How on earth do we have a crepe so tasty? A hardened crepe soaked in sugar is filled with thinly sliced bananas - three of them- in several layers and sprinkled with crunchy hazelnuts with a smooth chocolate cream and topped with powder sugar. On the side is a portion of chocolate syrup, crunchy Malteseres-like chocolate balls and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Man that's good! It’s generous, tasty and balanced in flavors. The texture of the crepe is so good and the molten heart of wonders combined all at once into something wonderful... A recipe to happiness!
Katz: The Life Changing Pastrami Sandwich
The experience is a must. It’s life changing indeed: A huge, extravagant, extraordinary sandwich of more than ten centimeters in height filled with at least a dozen layers of pastrami meat carefully crafted, juicy to heart with their black pepper envelope left to be devoured. Two slices of bread and the famous mustard spread for life and enjoyment. What a sandwich indeed! The meat, the smoky aromatic meat, just melts as you bite into it, the meat's intense taste and sour after note, the fat adding a real richness to every bite, that's a dream come true. They come in pairs, the pickle plate and pastrami sandwich.
Dominique Ansel: The World’s Famous Cronut
A jewelry box opens up with a heavy thing inside. A round shaped creation that looks like a doughnut and feels like a croissant, dozens of pastry layers one on top of the other, carefully crafted into a round shape, topped with lemon frosting and stuffed with pastry cream. Sugar on the outside for the crunch, texture and flavor. Oh boy! Lightly chewy, this croissant is simply amazing... Tear apart those layers while the sugar tickles your lips and the pastry cream starts flowing in style back to the bottom of your tongue. An explosion of juiciness and finesse while the lemon explodes into a magical taste...
Levain's Bakery: The World's Most Delicious Cookies
The double chocolate cookie: I surely wasn't expecting to eat something that good. The world's famous orgasmic cookie can make you scream indistinctly to the extent of losing your mind. A dark chocolate cookie with molten dough and a heart of flowing chocolate sparkling independently in this ball of madness. Cut in the middle to see this amazing masterpiece before devouring it.
Serendipity: Dream Desserts in Alice's Wonderland
A place famous from the movies, famous for the decor, famous for the desserts and for the time you wait before getting a seat. Serendipity is indeed a breathtaking place taking you into the world of Alice in Wonderland. Serendipity is a door down a sidewalk, the black door of a shop, a normal place you don't feel like entering but wait until the door opens... Wonderland! Serendipity is a small shop, a corridor with a dozen tables, a low ceiling and wait until you've walked till the end of the place. A room of wonders of glitter, mirrors and fun, colors and shine, globes of magic and lights. My heart was beating quicker... The menu is huge, the biggest I've seen so far, four pages of tight black letters describing some real American dishes, the ones made famous by The Cheese Cake Factory. Back to the place, I couldn't stop. The big clocks ticking, the half rounded mirrors, the Tiffany lanterns, the thousand colors, the white wooden sculptures and large mirrors. We were seated on a round marble table.
I think I have a new favorite city: New York. I'm surely visiting again next year.
