what I ate in NYC and how I'll recreate it at home
seaweed on everything, leeks vinaigrette, duck noodles, and shave ice
Tiptoeing back onto my newsletter after a 3 year hiatus to share some delicious things I ate in New York this past week. I was in the city for work, and then cat-sitting for friends, both of which were activities that simply bookended each meal.
Here were some particularly magical things I ate:
I went to Smithereens in the East Village with some of my coworkers, which means we got to ball out on the company’s dime. We ordered a ton, but these three stood out to me. My takeaways are: why am I not making more crepes? Especially savory crepes served with fish salad? Also, I need to make a seaweed ice cream flavor. And all the best cocktails have tea in them. You can read my coworker’s review of Smithereens here for a much more well-written snapshot of the restaurant.
Brief interlude for Elbow Bakery, where I got a chocolate chip cookie topped with strips of nori. Seaweed everything everywhere all at once forever 2025!
I found myself at the bookstore right underneath Kopitiam and really needed a 4pm snack since my dinner reservation that night wouldn’t be until 8:15. I particularly loved the lobak - they reminded me how much I like the flavor of five-spice. I’m noodling on an ice cream flavor I could make that has five-spice caramel ribboned through a toasted rice ice cream base.
Bar Bete is a favorite of mine. It’s a loud, buzzy French spot with food that is way too salty and incredibly indulgent. The leeks vinaigrette is my favorite thing on the menu here, and I’m determined to make it at home. I also got leeks vinaigrette at Smithereens which came with hazelnuts and aged cheddar chunks. HUGE week for leeks.
I was really craving dim sum, which is hard when you’re traveling alone. I headed to Chinatown anyway, committed to reading the menus outside each restaurant to decide where I wanted to eat. When I got there, the Lunar New Year parade was happening. All the streets were blocked off, and it should have annoyed me, but I actually got choked up hearing the loud Chinese music and watching the elderly ladies waving and smiling from the floats. A server from Maxi’s Noodle confused me with someone else on the waitlist, but I rolled with it and ended up eating there. I got this phenomenal duck noodle soup with shrimp wontons and stewed beef. I took a cup of milk tea to-go and wandered up Mott St., stopping in a perfume shop and a few bookstores. I was having such a lovely day that I ended up walking all the way from Chinatown to Penn Station.
Emily and I chanced a walk-in at Tonchin, where neither of us had eaten before, and ended up having some of the best ramen. I’m admittedly not a ramen gal (I just love other noodle soups more!), but I was blown away by the rich, flavorful broth and thinly sliced, smoked pork (as opposed to bigger, fattier pork belly pieces). Ever since I had kakigori in Miami last year, I’ve had my eyes peeled for spots that also serve it. This strawberry version from Tonchin was MASSIVE and something I will try to recreate with our friend’s shave ice machine.
Radio Bakery, I love you so much. This was perhaps the longest line I’ve ever had to wait in for this place, and we were only able to snag sandwiches (all the pastries were sold out). I’ve had these two before, and they freaking rock. Emily and I have been on a chopped sweet pickles in tuna salad phase, so the little pepperoncinis were fun.
Inga’s may have just cracked my top 5 favorite restaurants in NYC. It’s so cozy, and on a particularly picturesque street corner in Brooklyn Heights. Emily and I celebrated one year of being engaged here with an absolute feast. The cheeseburger is always a must-order, but what we loved the most was the ricotta/focaccia plate. It came with sliced up radishes and mint leaves, and had us very inspired to start making big focaccia snack plates at home.
Leave me a comment and let me know a restaurant dish that you’ve started making at home, will ya?