8 Dishes That Define My New York City
Fresh bagels, fiery noodles, faultless panisse
Hello and happy Sunday!
While I don’t intend on making The Dish a restaurant Substack, I have eaten out in New York City my fair share over the past almost-eight years and developed loyalties to certain businesses — and foods. So today I thought it’d be fun to write about eight dishes that define my New York City and why. New York dwellers: I’d love to know what would earn a spot on your list.
8 Dishes That Define My New York City
1. Masala Dosa, Saravanaa Bhavan
There was a period in my New York tenure when I spent a lot of time alone, and Saravanaa Bhavan was (and is) one of my favorite places to dine solo. First recommended to me by my friend and fellow food writer Devra, Saravanaa Bhavan is a casual South Indian restaurant with two locations in New York City, both of which were conveniently located for my college self.
Nobody cares if you’re dining alone there, the service is straightforward and quick, and the food is excellent. I usually get the masala dosa, a large, crispy crêpe made from fermented-lentil-and-rice batter, filled with spiced potato and onion, and served with a variety of chutneys and sambar. With the different accoutrements, you get to taste so many different flavors while only ordering one dish, making it a perfect solo meal.
2. Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles, Xi’an Famous Foods
Another favorite spot for a solo meal: Xi’an Famous Foods, a fast-casual New York chain serving Xi’an-style Chinese food. My forever-favorite order there is Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles, and I love that there are enough locations peppered around the city that I can always satisfy my craving when it strikes. The hand-pulled noodles are thick and chewy, and the spicy, aromatic lamb sauce gets stir-fried with onions, peppers, cumin, and chili oil, resulting in the most inviting, fiery bowl.
3. Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese, Bagel Bob’s
My boyfriend Teo grew up in Manhattan, and waxes poetic about his childhood bagel shop, Bagel Bob’s in Greenwich Village, insisting that they make the best bagels in all of New York. I’d heard this story before — a born-and-raised New Yorker insists that their local bagel shop is superior to all others — so for a long time I rolled my eyes at this assertion.
Several years later, I’ve been converted, and now agree that Bagel Bob’s on University Place really is the best bagel shop in New York. Is this because it’s the one I’ve visited more than any other? Or because Teo brainwashed me with his certainty and his enthusiasm? I don’t know, but I do know that it’s a common occurrence to show up to a batch of fresh bagels, golden, puffy, burnished, and steaming hot. And when I eat a fresh everything bagel spread thickly with cream cheese, life feels very, very good.
4. Panisse, King
Before I moved to New York, I didn’t know how transcendent a restaurant meal could be. It was here that I realized that when everything aligns — lighting, hospitality, food, drink — dining out can feel like stepping outside of yourself. King, a quiet, elegant SoHo restaurant that opened the year before I moved here, became an infatuation of mine — and an embodiment of what a restaurant can do.
The menu at King changes daily, but a few things remain consistent, including panisse, a fried chickpea flour snack from southern France. At King, the panisse is shaped in long panels and fried with sage leaves, then sprinkled with salt and plated in a gorgeous mess, almost tumbling off the plate. It’s an eternal craving for me, and it’s restaurant magic, transforming a chickpea flour street snack into an experience.
5. Insalata Verde, Via Carota
The insalata verde at Via Carota in the West Village comes next, as it’s very much an extension of my thoughts on King/panisse. Another restaurant I romanticized to no end in my early New York years, Via Carota is an Italian eatery that has become so famous and celebrity-dappled that it’s now near-impossible to get a table. When I first fell in love with it, however, it was beloved but not overblown, and I couldn’t resist their silky pastas and mountainous, gravity-defying green salad. With a variety of lovely leaves and a zippy mustard-shallot vinaigrette, the salad is the simplest thing, but thoughtfully arranged and dramatically presented — a scene-stealer. Again: restaurant magic.
6. Clam Toast, Hart’s
I’ve mentioned the clam toast at Hart’s many times in The Dish, and for good reason; as a line cook at Hart’s, preparing clam toast after clam toast was a masterclass in efficiency and in developing my palate. I went through multiple tasting spoons every time I made an order, diligently sipping the briny mixture and paying attention as the alcohol cooked off and the clam flavor intensified, adding a pinch of salt and a drop of lemon to wake everything up. I loved to cook it, and I still love to eat it. The olive-oil-fried sourdough soaks up the clam broth, and it’s just one of the best things.
7. Pineapple Linzer & Iced Hibiscus Tea, Té Company
My friend Eliza and I feel spiritual about Té Company, a Taiwanese tea shop on West 10th tucked into the base of a residential building. One of my happiest warm weather rituals is going there with Eliza, buying pineapple linzers and iced hibiscus teas, and enjoying them on a sunny bench in Jefferson Market Garden (we always demolish the linzers on our walk over). The linzers are unmissable — delicate and balanced, with lime zest and just the right amount of salt — and the iced hibiscus teas are gingery, refreshing, and the most gorgeous magenta shade.
8. The L.I. Burger, The Long Island Bar
Finally, when nothing but a burger and a beer (or cocktail) will suffice, Long Island Bar is the answer. When Teo and I go for an impromptu date night, we always order the same thing: burgers, drinks, and maybe fried cheese curds if we’re really going for it. This is not a place for balance and making sure there’s something green on the table. This is a place for eating salty, fatty, delicious food, drinking a perfect, ice-cold gimlet, and cozying up to people you love in a booth or at the bar.
Thank you for reading! More soon.
x Phoebe
As your mama, I feel lucky that I have done 4 of 8 of these with you…and am excited to put the other 50% on my “next time in The City” list! (Wait. I’m not big on tea. But I’ll try!)
Also eager to revisit the ones I have already eaten!
Adding to my NYC list; thanks Phoebe! I also love King and need to make my way back there. That's the "problem" with New York. There are always too many new places to go and I don't get back to my faves often enough.