Best New York Restaurant Dishes

So I know that I’ve been AWOL for the past little while, as I’ve been traveling around a lot (through Thailand, Myanmar, Australia, and the Philippines this winter, to be exact). Shortly after coming home to Vancouver in mid-June, I went on a  week-long trip to New York City – my first trip to this amazing metropolis!

While there, I had the chance to check out quite a few great restaurants, and wanted to provide a run-down of some of my favourite dishes from those restaurants (there were definitely more, but I was only using my iPhone for pics)!

Cafe Mogador

Cafe Mogador is a bustling Mediterranean restaurant on St. Mark’s Place in the East Village, which has a great brunch and patio. I also managed to get there for a lamb tagine for dinner another night, but the morning meal was definitely my preferred dining experience! My favourite dish was the Halumi Eggs, which I ate with a pot of Moroccan mint tea that can be sweetened to your liking.

Momofuku Noodle

Another restaurant located in the recently gentrified East Village neighbourhood, Momofuku Noodle is another busy place where you’ll have to expect to wait in line to get a seat. Since I was dining on my own that evening, I easily snuck onto a barstool and managed to get my order in quite quickly! Although I found the duck ramen special that I ordered to be pretty bland and something I wouldn’t order again, I did really enjoy their infamous Pork Buns. If you order them, be prepared for the pork belly fat to drip down the side of your hands, though!

Katz’s Deli

The setting for a famous scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally, and frequented my many stars, locals, and tourists alike, this landmark deli was a great stop for one of my lunches. Everything from the cash-only policy, to the blue ticket used to track your bill, to the option of lining up to order or sitting against one wall for waiter service made me fall in love with this place. I had a delicious matzah ball soup, and the famous Hot Pastrami sandwich. Luckily I only ordered the half-size, as I have a feeling the full order may give even the healthiest person a slight coronary. And with the side of pickles and pickled tomato provided at each table? Fantastic!

Balthazar

In the fantastic neighbourhood of Soho (shopping galore!), I wandered into Balthazar one evening to have a long, drawn out dinner. A large and very busy restaurant (recommendations recommended), reminiscent of Paris (or so I’ve been told), it turned out to be a great spot to dine solo and people watch. I managed to spend a full two hours enjoying my meal! While I loved each individual dish in its own right, I really enjoyed the Grilled Octopus, with pink grapefruit, shaved fennel, green olive tapenade, and pickled cherry peppers. If I had a decent picture of my divine Lemon Mille-Feuille dessert, you can bet I’d be posting that one as well! A perfect way to end the meal, with a lovely glass of champagne.

The Palm

I was lucky enough to be able to catch “The Book of Mormo”n on Broadway with some girlfriends while in the city, and prior to hitting our matinee, we headed to The Palm for lunch. It was conveniently located within a block from the Eugene O’Neill theatre, where the play was showing that afternoon. I’m not much of a salad person at all, but I really did enjoy my Lobster Salad, and so did pretty much everyone else at the table (only one person didn’t order it)!

Kittichai

Located in Soho, Kittichai is a modern Thai restaurant with a sexy ambiance, including a pool in the centre of the dining room, complete with floating orchids. Chef Angus An, from Maenam in Vancouver, has recently started consulting at this restaurant, and he happened to be in NYC on the same evening as our group. While I found the other seafood dishes of the night to be quite salty, the group unanimously approved this amazing Spicy Snapper Sashimi dish, with cilantro-tamarind vinaigrette, candied cashews and trout roe - one of the new items on the menu.

I also enjoyed several other meals while in New York City, including the fantastic DB Burger from DB Bistro, great appetizer samplings from Tao, and Pork Belly from Spotted Pig.

All I know is, I’ll definitely be heading back soon to try out another round of delicious restaurants!

What are your favourite restaurants and dishes in New York City? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll try to check them out on my next visit!