Grabbed a fresh juice before getting on the train towards Williamsburg. Amazing how Sunset Park goes from very Chinese to very Mexican.
Bonnie’s, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC
I know this place has gotten a lot of coverage. I am always down to support new school Canto. We need more restaurants like this than corporate Sichuan chains from the mainland. This was average for me as far as food. Service was great.
I was really hyping up that McRib in my head. Sergio was not in the house.
Needle FTW for new school Canto.
Then it is a good match for its namesake! The real McRib was one of the most foul pieces of food I’ve eaten in the last 2.5 yrs…
Utopia Bagels, Whitestone, Queens, NYC
Bagel heaven, anything and everything you can imagine. Bagels, cream cheeses,and bagel sandwiches. May not be worth it coming out of your way from Manhattan. If around Central Park/museums just go to Absolute Bagels. Hop on the 1 Train from Columbus Circle or Natural History stations.
Shanghai Eats, Flushing Chinatown, NYC
I know you are going to ask how does it compare to Kang Kang in SGV. Kang Kang is a lot more meatier and thicker. Maybe a little more fatty taste.
It’s nice to hear the Shanghainese dialect in this restaurant. My family has Shanghainese, Cantonese, and Northern roots via Taiwan. That’s a lot of different dialects I am just trying to get fluent in Mandarin with Taiwanese accent.
Any momo recs in the Jackson Heights area?
Mama’s Too, Upper West Side.
Kinda Seinfeld Soup Nazish in a way. If you see no slices don’t come in. You can only order if you see slices. If ordering whole then that’s fine. After ordering you still gotta wait. They don’t just hand you the slices after you pay.
My favorite was both the Upside Down and Spicy. With the Upside Down you really taste the sweetness from the plum tomatoes. I like hot honey on pizza lol. The crust is great. They have round pies but are known for their squares. Some of the best squares I’ve had!
Try Upside and Scarr’s if you haven’t already.
I’ve had Scarrs. I thought it was okay. I’ll have to revisit. The squares was much better than the round.
I saw Upside on Mulberry. It looked pretty good from what I saw.
Upside has a branch near Port Authority, also, if you’re over there for some reason. I like Scarr’s a lot, but I haven’t been for a few months.
And I like Mama’s Too, but it was such a cluster fuck the one and only time I was there (I’m not in that neighborhood very often) that I was never inspired to go back. Sounds like it hasn’t changed.
What boro/neighborhoods are in? I would love your recommendations!
I’m on the LES. I know this area pretty well, at least for the stuff I eat (fish, no meat). What are you interested in?
Have you been to Bagel Hole in Park Slope? Best bagels I’ve had. Maybe 30 years ago there were a still.couple of old-school places in Brooklyn that were just as good but both closed.
I’m coming from California so I naturally love Mexican and Asian.
South of 14th Street is way more interesting to me. While I love Mexican and Asian food I am interested in food that is not done well or have very little representation in California. Also interested in coffee, the new Vietnamese coffeeshop Le Phin caught my eye.
Fish? The steamed fish I had with lime/garlic/herbs at Fish Cheeks was spectacular! Highly recommend if you haven’t been to Fish Cheeks.
I am game for any seafood recs you have south of 14th.
Bagel Hole is definitely on my to do list for bagels!
Some ideas off the top of my head:
Three places in Essex Market you may want to check out: Gouie, a low key yet high quality sushi place with a strong sake program; Essex Pearl for Southeast Asian (mostly) seafood and non-traditional - and excellent! - lobster rolls, and Slice Joint (three guesses what they serve).
I don’t have a Vietnamese coffee shop to recommend, but I do have a Malaysian coffee & breakfast place, Kopitiam. The oyster omelet is my favorite. For just plain ol’ (roasted and ground on site) coffee, Roasting Plant.
Another strong contender for seafood is Cervos. And two of my favorites in the neighborhood are Ernesto’s and Dhamaka, although there are some clunkers on the menu at the latter.
Fish Cheeks is probably your best bet for Thai, but if you want to throw in a very low-key wild card, check out Little Myanmar, which is Burmese, possibly something you don’t have much of out west. I cannot stop thinking about the tea leaf salad I had there a few months ago.
So that’s a start!
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
