Who’s hungry?
You probably know this already, but just in case… New York has a TON of great restaurants! In fact, incredible food is probably one of the main reasons we love New York! Whether you’re sneaking out for early morning bagels or looking for the best dumplings in China Town, this place has it all!
There’s so much diversity in NY that there’s literally something new to try on every corner!
Below are the restaurants we enjoyed throughout our NYC – 4 Day Itinerary. Keep reading to the end of this post. We’ve provided an easy-to-use map that highlights over 50 food options throughout the city!
Begin with Bagels!
By-far, the best way to start your day in NY is with a true New York style bagel. Enter, Ess-A-Bagel. This was our go-to breakfast spot most days as it was close to our hotel, open early, and provided a variety of options to start the day.
Ess-A-Bagel has been around since 1976 and within two years of opening it was voted #1 in the Tri-State area. It’s a family-run business (like most successful restaurants in NY) and provides traditional NYC-style bagels with just the right amount of crunch, chewiness and a generous amount of toppings.
You can choose from sliced, unsliced, sandwiches, with eggs, cream cheese, you name it! We had their Signature Favorite (Slices of nova on a bagel w/ scallion cream cheese, freshly-sliced tomato, lettuce, onions + capers) and it was to-die-for! We also tried the The Ess-a-BLTA and The Pepe, both were fantastic.
Fair warning, go early if you can, because the word is out and there can often be a line (sometimes out the door). Enjoy!
Cuban Food!
Whenever we travel, we always try to seek out the local-favorites when it comes to food (or anything else for that matter). Margon is just that, a small, local-run, no-frills shop specializing in Cuban Food!
Open for breakfast, you can get your traditional American Breakfast platter or a variety of omelets. Their claim-to-fame however is their pressed Cubano Sandwich with rice and beans (or soup) for just $10. It’s as traditional as they come and it literally melts in your mouth. Once you try it, we guarantee you’ll want to go back again and again for more!
Dumplings & Steamed Buns!
Okay, so we know these are not the same, and probably should be put into two separate categories. But for the sake of time (and your wallet) we recommend visiting one place, Vanessa’s Dumpling House!
If we’re honest, we searched and searched for a good place to enjoy dumplings, Ramen or dim sum. If you’ve read our bio you know that we love Asian culture. It’s not uncommon for us to have Korean, Chinese, Japanese or Vietnamese food once, twice or even three times in a normal week. We LOVE it!
So, when we walked up to Vanessa’s we had our doubts. It’s small, cramped, and filled with people. In fact most of the tables are set-up so that you share spaces with other customers. But, we had read the reviews and thought… “Okay, let’s give this small unassuming restaurant in the middle of China Town a try.”
We were SO GLAD we did!
I honestly can’t remember everything we ordered, but I do remember going to the counter multiple times for seconds, thirds, and, well… you get the idea. The Pork Buns were delightful (and cheap 3 for $2) and the steamed dumplings were incredible.
We each had a different flavor of bubble tea (all were exceptional) and we left stuffed, regretting the fact that we didn’t get additional food to go! – Check Vanessa’s out if you’re in the area, you can’t go wrong with anything on their menu.
Cream Puffs!
So, there’s this place off West 51st street that you have to visit! It’s called Bibble & Sip. We actually saw them on the way to watch Wicked on Broadway. We thought, that’s a odd name, so after the show we looked them up and fell in love!
They specialize in cream puffs and have a variety to choose from, including Matcha, Earl Gray and Vanilla Bean to name a few. We tried them all and literally couldn’t choose a favorite.
But, cream puffs are only one of the delights they provide. They also have a ton of other pastries and savory options such as quiche and English Muffin Florentine cookies and cakes.
In addition to the cream puffs I grabbed a coffee for the walk back to the hotel (oat milk latte I think) and it was one of the best coffee’s I’ve had to-date!
Pizza!
We couldn’t end this post without a call-out to NYC pizza. If you’re in NY and you haven’t had pizza yet, you’ve got to try it. There are tons of options throughout the city and depending on who you are and what you like, there may be some that you like more than others.
Our favorite is Joe’s Pizza. They have several locations throughout the city to chose from and you can’t go wrong with any of them. What we love about Joe’s is their pizza is as traditional to NY as it comes. They’ve been making it for years and the recipe hasn’t changed a bit. You’ll love it!
Share your favorite NYC Pizza Place in the comments below! Drop us your Instagram or Facebook account and we’ll give you a shout-out and a thank you on our page!
Well, you’ve made it to the end! Now for your reward. 😁
Just for you, our readers, we’ve put together this YELP list that highlights some of our favorite (and some of the highest rated) restaurants in NYC. It’s a collection of 50+ places we like to call home (for food anyway) when we’re in NY.
So, check it out now, and let us know what restaurants you’ve enjoyed and what you think needs to be added to the list!
Cheers for now!
Casey & Michaele
