Epicurean Encounters: Taste of New York City

Having hit a bit of a slump, a trip to the original foodie metropolis, Manhattan, proved to be just the ticket for a much needed dose of inspiration. New York City has been on my foodie bucket list since finishing culinary school. Reading Ruth Riechl's book chronicling her capers as New York Time's food critic fueled my desire to seek out as many eateries as possible. I was on a mission.
Staying in SoHo is an ideal launch pad for a culinary vacation in New York. We were within walking distance of two restaurants we had reservations for as well as the Chelsea Market, an all encompassing purveyor of fine foods. We could also easily walk to Chinatown for superb Shanghai soup dumplings. Our daily average number of steps was over 30 thousand, three times the daily recommendation. Happily exhausted by our food quests, we would strategically nap between lunch and dinner.
Our first dinner surprised me on many different levels. After watching Netflix's Chef's Table featuring chef Dan Barber, I scratched plans to Le Bernardin and booked dinner at Blue Hill instead. This is a farm to table restaurant with produce gathered from Blue Hill farm in Massachusettes as well as local purveyors. Every scrap of food is used here. I know because we were served a twig of turnip stem and told to dip the leaves into turnip oil. What surprised me here wasn't the food. Oh it was wonderful, all four amuse bouches, and six courses. What blew me away was the humble service from the stately maitre d to the bread bearer. Where is the infamous big city snootiness? Patrons were also comfortably diverse from starched white shirted businessmen to young couples wearing jeans to a single lady. At one point, rubbing my arms in anticipation of our next course, the handsome host asked me if I was cold so he could turn down the air conditioning! To which I gleefully replied, "I'm not cold, just happy". I have had many great meals but the service here was as exemplary.
Did we set ourselves up for disappointment after this first impression? Fear not, my friends. This is New York City. Everything we ate after that first memorable feast was just as wonderful in different ways. Each memorable bite made us want to extend our stay another day.
We ate a gorgeous $5 cronut from James Beard winner, Dominique Ansel. Anyone who has tried to make laminated dough would be impressed with the masterful craftsmanship of the evenly spaced cronut layers. It was somehow miraculously infused with a light custard. The adornment of icing on top with a kiss of lime sugar was love at first bite.
Equally delightful were the steamy soup dumplings at Joe's Shanghai. It is worth the trek to Chinatown to locate this highly touted dim sum shack off the beaten path. You will gladly share a table with fellow strangers and lovers of authentic Shanghainese food. Bring cash because they do not accept credit cards, although you can leave spending less than $20.
We journeyed over to East Village to Katz' Delicatessan, the iconic site of the infamous "When Harry Met Sally" orgasm scene. She might as well have been reacting to the stacked pastrami on rye. It is a gargantuan pile of savory, slow cooked beef extravaganza. One sandwich is plenty to share, along with some simple crunchy pickles.
At Bobby Flay's newish restaurant, Gato, I had the best paella since Barcelona. It seemed each grain of rice had that all important but difficult to achieve caramelization known as socarrat. The kale and wild mushrooms were lovely, but the rice is and should be the star in paella. It was toasty, golden, and delicious. Truly addictive.
One cannot venture to NYC without a real slice of that most beloved Napolitano import. Joe's Pizza on Carmine's in Greenwhich Village was established in 1975 and is the go to place for New York pizza. I believe the dough is the secret to the best pizza. Here at Joe's, the pie is thin crust and cooked through from the puffed crust to the center. No soggy dough here. Each slice is delivered hot with just the right amount of tomato sauce and gooey cheese. And for $2.75 a slice, it may well be the best thing I ever ate.