Hey, can anyone tell me whether the brownies at FWB are made with free range eggs? I want to purchase some for a friend but she is vegetarian, and will only eat eggs if they’re free range. Have sent a message to the bakery but haven’t heard back yet.

These past six months I've been on a personal mission to try at least one new food spot each day - with a focus on small divey, mom and pop type spots. The grittier the restaurant, the better the food usually is. Since then I've made it to 234 restaurants (mostly takeout) in the East Village (my home) and Chinatown (my favorite).

There's a ton left to explore and I've barely scraped the surface, but I wanted to compile a list of spots I've found to be exceptional and deserve a little recognition! Please comment on this thread if you've got anywhere I should check out. I can guarantee I'll give it a try.

• Map of my hidden gems: Here
• Map of all restaurants I've been to: Here

Chinatown

• Cheung Fun Cart - Undoubtedly my favorite spot in the city and one of the best dishes I've ever had. Two grandmothers peddling roll noodles out of their cart for $3. They're there most mornings until they sell out in the afternoon. They don't have a menu so just ask for a 'medium pork' and prepare for a fantastic meal.
• Carol's Bun - Divey little spot with the owner always working behind the counter. She's got hot bar of her home cooking. Would recommend going for 11am when it's fresh and picking out a couple things you've never tried before - it's all fantastic.
• West New Malaysia - I think they've already gotten some recognition from Michelin and I'm surprised they're not more well known. A nice vibe to sit down at in a bustling part of Chinatown. Would recommend the Nasi Lemak - Malaysia's national dish. They do it right.
• Fu Zhou Wei Zhong Wei Jia Xiang Feng Wei - Dumplings. Prepare to get lost trying to find it. Walk into the somewhat derelict east broadway mall, head to the basement level, then hunt around until you see it. Great dumplings, dirt cheap.
• Bánh Mì Saigon - For as great of a food city this is, it's been surprisingly tough finding good banh mi in manhattan. I think here is as best as I'm gonna be able to find. Heavy sandwiches, good bang for your buck.
• Yue Wong 裕旺大饭店 - Best roast meats I've found so far. I've got a love affair with roast duck and have checked out around ten in Chinatown. Whatever Yue Wong's doing to their meats, they're doing it right. The butchers usually don't speak much english - would recommend getting a 'rice plate with roast duck, roast pork, and crispy pork.' Ginger scallion oil too.
• Honorable mentions: Nha Trang One, Grand Master 95, 218, Young Xinjiang bbq Cart

East Village

• Terra Thai - One of the best Thai spots I've tried in America (yes, bold statement) - authentic street food flavors that are hard to come by outside of Thailand. Takeout only. The owner Aong is the sweetest person alive. She knows I like basil so she had me come for lunch one day and personally cooked me pad krapow with a special basil she grew at home. And she always sneaks me a dessert she made that day.
• Punjabi Deli - Not exactly a hidden gem but well worth a visit. Indian hot bar, cash only.
• Streecha - Also not a hidden gem. Fantastic Ukranian home cooking in a basement. Well worth the hype.
• Kenka - Still not a hidden gem, but a Japanese restaurant that everyone needs to experience at least once. Food is slightly above average but massive menu with each dish only a couple dollars. Go with friends and try fifteen or so different dishes while in an atmosphere that's hard to describe.
• Tacos Cholula - Food cart on 2nd & A. Hands down best tacos and quesadillas in the EV. The guys are also great people, they feed any homeless person that comes to them hungry.
• Nón Lá - A little pricey - but it's tough to find bun bo hue and they do it right.
• Halal in East Village - Food truck on 11th & 1st. Best halal plate I've found so far and a good hangover cure.
• Don Ceviche - I had low expectations since they're in a higher end food court, but they've got the best lomo saltado I've had outside of Peru.
• Honorable Mentions: Casa Adela, Big Arc Chicken, Desi Stop & Deli

Let me know if you've got any recommendations!

Looking for a place from 50-120$ to eat with my girl for our anniversary any recommendations appreciated. Romantic or lively I don’t mind, but prefer a lively young crowd. Any cuisine.

Gonna be in the city for an anniversary would like a reasonable priced restaurant to go to for it. Open to all food I like a lively atmosphere but the cuisine can be anything. Budget wise coming from Paris I get NY is much more expensive but like around 70-120$ on two people (if it’s achievable if not just drop a rec). Thanks.

Hi all!

Planning a trip to NYC and would love to try some places in Chinatown Manhattan, but myself and my travel buddy have nut allergies (peanut/cashew) and I have a shellfish allergy. I know both of those can be tricky to avoid with asian food. Any recs for safe spots?

Is this legit or a joke? https://iwaspoisoned.com/location/united-states/new-york#scroll

Preferably Brooklyn, but I’ll travel for it.

Hello! Tomorrow is my last day in NYC, and it’s fucking cold. I want nothing more than a perfect bowl of wonton soup. Where should I go: Wu’s Wonton King or Great NY Noodletown?

And if I were to get one other dish at said place to accompany the soup, what should it be? I’m just one (small) human, but I like to try different things.

Thanks in advance!

Might be moving from Williamsburg to the UES next month. Excited for the change, but have definitely felt spoiled in terms of food here… I need everyone’s recs for any food that isn’t fine dining! Bonus points for cocktail bars / exceptional Guinness.

Specifically interested in pizza, Mexican, and sichuan food (if there is any).

What's a girl gotta do to find swedish pancakes here?! In my 5 years here I have not been able to find any restaurant that makes actual swedish pancakes.

My closest leads are Smør, a Swedish restaurant making Danish pancakes, and Aquavit, a 2 Michelin star restaurant that's out of my price range and only has them seasonally. I also hear rumblings that the café in the Swedish church in midtown might have them sometimes, but I haven't seen them.

These are so comforting in the winter, I won't even be mad if they don't have lingonberry jam. Just please tell me where I can find these! I will go anywhere I could make a reasonable day trip out of.

(I know the Danish pancakes are extremely similar, and at a Swedish restaurant they are probably even more so. I'm just really surprised there aren't multiple options!)

EDIT: of course I find an answer after I post! Has anyone been to RH Guesthouse? Looking forward to other recs too!

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, but have always been bad at planning group outings and don’t go out much. I’m turning 30 in January, and my plan is to go to the holiday rain show at the NYBG in mid January, then dinner with my group of 12, and some drinks somewhere. This will be the first birthday I’ve celebrated out since my depression got really bad 7 years ago. I don’t want to go to carmines even though I know their whole thing is big portions for groups and family style. It would have to be for a 10pm reservation, and not something super touristy which is what I was finding when looking for family style restaurants In manhattan. I don’t really care about neighborhood. Thank you!!

When I visit the West Coast I seem to be able to find Thai pumpkin curry quite readily, but I haven’t not been able to find it here. When googling I find old reviews that mention it, but they don’t seem to be on the menu anymore. Does anyone know a spot that has pumpkin curry on their menu?

It’s a bit of a jaunt from our hotel and it’s chilly out. I don’t expect there to be seating available inside. Is there a bar near by where we would be allowed to enjoy the pizza along with a cocktail? Advice appreciated 🙏

We heading up mid December for our 6th year anniversary (mid/late 50’s), don’t let that low # fool ya. We come up once twice a year from a small town just to get some city vibes. We’re staying in the LES this time (Orchard St, near the Tenement Museum). We’re looking for good neighborhood bars, bonus points for live music. We have very limited ramen/ noodles in our town. I know we are right near China Town, which is kind of overwhelming. Any recommendations?

Hi! Is there anywhere in NYC that does a North Shore, MA-style roast beef sandwich? Think Kelly’s Roast Beef, for those that may know the area.

Essentially hot, thinly sliced roast beef with James River BBQ sauce on a sesame hamburger bun. The specific BBQ sauce is key.

Didn’t realize how localized this type of sandwich was until recently. They are staples all over MA and NH, usually paired with a seafood menu.

We dine out a lot. I will review if I happen to get the email reminder somewhere where I've got time to kill. Or, if things are great. Thankfully, I haven't had too many real duds in terms of dining experiences. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago we went to dinner and spent about $400 for the two of us, including probably $120 or so on wine, and the tip. I reviewed the restaurant (stars only as far as I can remember). Ended up at about 4/5 stars. Anyway, today I get an email from the restaurant group offering a $300 gift card if I change my review to 5 stars. That seems shady. But it's $300 and they make great cocktails. What do we think? And is this more normal than I think?

I went to canada a few months ago and got to try poutine. It tasted really good and now I want to try it again. I have no idea what good spots are in Brooklyn can someone help?

What’s the best chicken soup on the UWS? I don’t like buttery or creamy broths. Delivery is a plus but open to all.

Planning a winter NYC date night. Want to do something with a cozy winter vibe, and great food.

Thinking something like a bistro, tavern, or old school NYC spot. Candles, dimly lit, some charm. Tasty food being the most important part. More modern takes on the tavern work too (like Lord’s).

Maybe even something with a holiday touch could be cool too if somewhere is doing special (not to the extent of Jingle Jangle or Rolf’s).

Ideally Manhattan, but Brooklyn works too. Expect around $100/person, but flex. We are planning to start at Bemelmens Bar and head back downtown for dinner.

Would love to get recommendations for restaurants for New Year’s Eve.

Ideally the place would have both great food and good vibe/ people watching.

We are still unsure if we want to do the early seating and be done by 9ish PM or the late seating and ring in 2025.

So far I am leaning towards Manhatta. Their early seating is $275 and the late seating is $595.

Would love to get other recommendations.

I know this might sound weird but for Christmas I want to take my girl to a Pakistani restaurant. She is from there and has not had any since she moved to NYC. Any recommendations for the best places. Price and neighborhood are no barriers. Anything from fancy to divey. Food truck to restaurant.

Hi all, I would like to purchase Hallaca which is a Venezuelan food. Where can I find it in NYC?

Looking for something special as it’s also my sister in laws bday. Trying to keep to $100 - $200 pp including drinks.

~10 people, no budget constraints, open to all kinds of food. Thanks in advance for the recs!

Looking for a cozy sports bar to watch football today that is decorated for christmas - any suggestions?

I'll be visiting NYC during Christmas and have a severe anaphylactic reaction to dairy. I am also Muslim so I can only eat halal. Would love some recommendations on Halal restaurants that you all think would be good at accommodating my dairy allergy and have a close to 0 risk of cross contamination. Thanks in advance!

Looking for a fun vibey restaurant (kind of like a catch vibe) with good food for a group of 6?

Are the Christmas themed bars not offering reservations for Saturday December 14? My SIL will be visiting and really wants to go to a festive pop-up, but the date is blocked out from online reservations at all the typical places (Lillies, Miracle on Ninth, Pier 17, etc.) I just tried Dead Rabbit/Jingle Jangle at 12:00 am tonight (as reservations typically open 2 weeks out) and there was already zero availability any time that day, which makes me think the date was blacked out. Any suggestions for a replacement res?

From the Thanksgiving menu, served au jus with celeriac purée, just a bit of truffle, and, not pictured: furu brussels sprouts, berry compote, and bao. Might’ve made a duck-gobbler right there at the table, if it weren’t such a classy joint!

So I’m not sure where to post a question or comment about the hot dog stands near the theaters - we just had a bad experience and feel like I should warn others?. Overcharged (even for the area) for hotdogs and pretzels (which were inedible) and the guy kept laughing and going on in a different language? And was a little inappropriate. Maybe this belongs in “Am I Over reacting” :) (Corner of 44th and 6th) How do you even know which stand to pick???