Souk El Shater is one of my favorite Lebanese restaurants ever. In addition to that, it’s only a short walk from my apartment and extremely affordable. But more importantly, they make the best shawarma I’ve ever had. The first good sign about the shawarma here is that the spits are always running. The meat that’s […]
Momos are practically a way of life in Jackson Heights. There is a huge Himalayan community there—Tibetans, Nepalis, and Bhutanese—and, naturally, a similarly huge number of restaurants and food trucks selling momos, the ubiquitous Himalayan dumpling. Nepali Bhanchha Ghar, naturally, makes momos in the Nepali style, which for me usually means jhol, the yellow curry […]
I love pasteis de nata, Portuguese egg custard tarts, and Joey Bats has the best ones I’ve had this side of the Atlantic. What makes them the best? Well, they’ve got a super creamy and flavorful custard filling; a flaky, laminated crust; a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar on top; and, best of all, […]
Urban Hawker is a brand-new food Singaporean food hall in Midtown Manhattan. I’ve been a few times and, while the prices are certainly at Midtown level, the food is nonetheless great, and includes some options that have been missing from New York’s Singaporean and Malaysian offerings. Urban Hawker can get quite crowded at peak times, […]
Yunnan is a fascinating culinary place. It’s a province in southwest China that borders the provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan, known for their spicy food, Tibet, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. There are 25 different officially recognized ethnic groups and numerous languages spoken there. The cuisine of Yunnan, known as Dian cuisine is a fascinating fusion […]
There seems to be no shortage of excellent Georgian food in New York City. This is, perhaps, unsurprising, given both that the NYC Metro Area is the center of the Georgian-American population and that Georgian food is extremely easy to love. The “Chama” in Chama Mama evidently means to eat, which we did. We started […]
I’m constantly looking out for good South Indian food. Now, most people know South Indian food as dosa, utthapam, vada, and idli. Don’t get me wrong, these are great and authentic South Indian foods! But the cuisines of South India are much broader than just these. Because dosa, utthapam, vada, idli—these are breakfast foods. Reducing […]
As part of the annual New York City Open House last year, we got a tour of the Hindu Temple Society of North America, which is a very impressive building and the oldest Hindu temple in the US. But perhaps the most exciting part of the building is the Temple Canteen, which serves excellent (and […]
Brooklyn is home to many distinct Jewish communities. One of these is the Syrian Jewish community in Gravesend. We visited just prior to Sukkot, so there were many stands selling citrons (etrogim) and the bakeries were having trouble keeping up with demand. Luckily, though, Mansoura Bakery still had plenty of desserts for us to sample. […]
Leli’s Bakery and Pastry Shop is the only Maltese restaurant in New York City. Appropriately, they serve what might be the most popular Maltese dish: pastizzi. Pastizzi are savory pastries made with a variant of filo dough, laminated into many layers and stuffed (at least at Leli’s) with either ricotta, spinach, or curried peas. All […]
