It’s hard to wrap my head around, but I’ve had the privilege of traveling to New York City four times in the past year. Between my sister’s bachelorette party, the Redbook photoshoot, the BHG Stylemaker Event, and our Valentine weekend, some of my favorite memories are rooted in New York. I’m certainly no expert, nor have I even scratched the surface of that great city, but we’ve certainly had our fair share of amazing food!
Food is a huge part of travel for us, so we get just as excited about each meal as we do exploring the sights and landscape. Many places we stumble on ourselves, but when we travel to a new city, I like to have a few recommended restaurant spots in mind (usually discovered on other blogs!), so we don’t spend too much time wandering the streets starving, while we find our footing.
I’ve posted our tips for budget-friendly travel, and we certainly keep those in mind when it comes to food…so none of the spots I recommend are overly-fancy or pricey…but are all completely delicious! And I couldn’t help but pepper in some of my fave NYC snaps from our past trips.
Tartinery // Cool and casual, below street level, with the best chicken salad on toast of your life!
Oficina Latina // Funky joint with inventive Mexican-themed cocktails, and legit spicy tacos.
Don’t overlook the food carts on the street for fast, cheap, delicious food…just make sure you only visit the really busy ones! Did you know the carts in front of the MOMA pay $100k for their annual permit?? That’s a lot of chicken over rice they’re selling!
Emporio Ristorante // The front room is a cozy bar, but the back is bright and airy…to match their hand-tossed, oven fire pizza, piled with the freshest, most amazing toppings.
Tacombi // Unless we’re traveling to Mexico or other Latin countries, we rarely eat the local Mexican food. After all, it’s pretty hard to beat the Mexican food at home in Texas! But this darling spot has perfect guacamole, street corn…and well, everything! And it doesn’t hurt that every nook and cranny is begging to be Instagrammed.
Joe’s Shanghai // This spot was a bit outside my comfort zone, as I’m not big on family-style dining with people I don’t know. But it turned out to be one of our absolute favorites! It’s always bustling with a line out the door, but once you’re seated, the dumplings and soup start coming and don’t stop until you do. It’s warm, delicious, and perfect for cold days.
Wayfarer // To stay on budget, we often make lunch the biggest meal of the day…and since lunch menus are typically more reasonably priced than dinner…we use that as a chance to try some of the nicer places with well-known chefs. This place felt very ‘NYC power lunch’, but great ambiance and service.
10Below Ice Cream // A little tricky to find in Chinatown, with a line out the door (even in snowy, 10-degree weather!), but a must-try ice cream! You choose your flavors and toppings, and they hand roll your customized serving. As much a show, as a yummy treat.
Some of my other favorite spots include Otto, The Polo Bar, Pagani, and Sarabeths. Did I list some of your favorites, too? What places should I add to our list for our next trip to New York? Do you like to research restaurants before traveling somewhere new, or just discover as you go?
What a fun post!!!!! And you of course look darling in every pic.
Shopsin's in the Essex Market. The most unique food and pairings. Mind your manners in there though. We've seen many get the boot. It's our favorite restaurant in NYC. Levain cookies, Dougnut Plant, Totto Ramen, DiFara Pizza in Brooklyn is holy grail, Artichoke Basilles in the city, so so many. NYC is our food Mecca. Yelp is our bff!
Do you have any recommendations where to eat in Austin? We are from Alabama and headed there next week.
Ok. Can I go to NYC now? Yum!
Gah!! This is post comes at the perfect time! We're going to NY for my first time next month and I am SO excited! It's a super short trip so I want to make sure to get as much in as possible. Let me know if you have any other tips…did you guys stay at any cool hotels?! xx
So jealous! I did not marry a foodie. In fact, on our trip to NYC on New Year's Eve one year to watch the ball drop, we ate at…McDonald's. Split a flipping hamburger so they would let him use the toilet. No way I was going in there though. Yep. We're "pack a lunch and eat while you walk" people.
Carmine's, Joe Allan's, Grimaldi's under the Brooklyn Bridge, Momofuko Milk bar, Shake Shack, Waffles and Dingies (food truck), Tao for the best seabass in life, Halal guys (street cart – best shawarma plate ever)
Milk Bar <3
LOVE this post! I do research like you do before a trip so we don't waste time trying to decide on a place. My favorite thing is to get dressed up and go to get pre-dinner cocktails (because cocktails > food) at one of NYC's classic hotels- the Elephant Bar at the Nomad Hotel is my favorite. So many hotels have an old-world New York feel, and I love the ones where you don't know what year it is until you step outside to hail a cab to dinner. I'm definitely bookmarking this for my next trip!
Thanks for sharing, I'll have to save for our next trip to NYC. So many yummy places to try!
Justin's at grand central station has the best cheesecake
Great post! Thank you! I tend to eat at all my favorite places when I'm in NYC. I need to branch out and try people's favorites.
Hi Cassie! You are in my neighborhood…super places to try–local yummy favorites:
Gemma, Dimes, The Fat Radish, Lil Frankies, The Wren and my fave Prune…if you plan another trip, read Bread, Bones Butter by Gaby Hamilton (the chef/owner of Prune) on the plane and then go to the restaurant. It is her memoir and how she came into the food life, really good! Enjoy! Tara ([email protected])
Loved the globe-trotting culinary tour! Even though we live in NYC, there's always some place new to discover!
x
Eddie
We are planning a getaway to NY in June and I would love to know if you have a recommendation for a hotel located near Times Square. Thank you!
Hi Jill! Check out my Guide and Winter in NYC posts (linked at the bottom of this post)…it links and reviews the different hotels we've stayed in NYC!! Have fun!
Thanks, Cassie! I appreciate it!