July 15, 2025 ⢠25 mins
New York City boasts top-quality restaurants from a variety of culinary types and countries of origin. If you're coming to NYC for the first (or fifth) time, there are five cuisines you must try as part of your explorations!
Here are the five must-have cuisines when visiting New York City:
- Pizza
- Bagels
- Sandwiches
- Italian
- Desserts
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#1- NY Pizza
See our full guide to NY pizza here.
#2- NYC Bagels, the World's Best
Listen to our full NYC bagels episode here.
#3- Sandwiches
#4- Top-Notch Italian in NYC
#5- Desserts
This Episode's You'll Have to Check It Out Segment - Cabaret
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in New York City is a lively, must-see show. The dancing, singing, and story are all phenomenal.
We recommend splurging for table seats, the experience is worth it. If you're gonna do that, the TKTS booth is your best bet.
For all other tickets, we typically recommend TodayTix or Vivid Seats. See our guide for getting cheap Broadway tickets here.
đ˝ Join the newsletter for free access to the NYC Navigation & Transportation Guide + curated Google Maps lists: â â â â â â â â â â â â â https://rebrand.ly/nyc-newsletterâ â â â
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Welcome to the Better Together Here podcast with your host,
Devin. And Ashley?
Helping you make the most of your time in New York City,
everyone. And welcome to today's episode
of the Better Together Here podcast.
My name is Devin. And my name is Ashley.
We have a packed episode for you.
We are going to be diving into 5must have cuisines.
When you visit New York City, we'll give you our three
(00:22):
favorite spots for each of thosecuisines.
We have a fantastic you'll have to check it out segment and in
New York know how that can save you from getting scammed.
So let's get right into it. The very first time that I came
to New York City and then we collectively came to New York
City together, we thinking back,almost had no plans of what we
wanted to do in regards to actual things.
We came out with Ashley's dad, Ashley's brother and his wife,
(00:46):
and a couple other family members kind of trickled in
throughout the trip and we really had nothing planned other
than eating food. And frankly, most of the times
we visited New York before we moved here, that was how we
approached it. We would maybe have a couple
activities or a museum or two that we wanted to go to, but we
have always eaten our way through the city.
And for most people, that is oneof the things that is at the top
(01:08):
of your list is just having phenomenal food.
And so we want to break down 5 cuisine types that you must try
while you're here in New York. New York seriously has some of
the best food in the world and is a great place, like Devin
said, to explore and really eat your way through the city.
(01:28):
Keep in mind as well, these are just some specific cuisine types
that we think New York is kind of famous for, known for, and
worth checking out. But there's such a wide variety
of restaurants and cuisine types, ranging from Ethiopian
food to Mongolian food to South American food and everything in
between. So we would recommend that you
explore and get off the beaten path a little bit and try to
(01:52):
find new cuisines that you've maybe never had before on top of
these ones we're going to recommend.
New York City is just a hub for the opportunity to go and try
any type of food from any place in the world, and it's going to
be great and it's going to be authentic.
And I don't think that you couldreally say that about any other
city in the world. And part of that is because New
York City has been a immigrationfriendly city for a very, very
(02:15):
long time. And there are so many advantages
to that, including when you go to a restaurant that is Turkish
cuisine. There's a high likelihood that
those people used to live in Turkey and moved to New York
City and opened a restaurant. So keep that in mind that there
are a wide variety of places to try.
All right, first on our list, it's got to be pizza, right?
New York City pizza. It's known for that million
(02:36):
arguments about whether it's better than other styles, but we
love New York style pizza. You have to get pizza when you
are in in New York City. It's pretty much against the law
to have a trip to New York and not have pizza.
They will let you back on the plane.
So these are three favorite spots.
We've done an entire episode about some great New York City
(02:56):
pizza options. We go into why it's good.
We talked about some kind of thehistory around it.
But with pizza, with bagels, a lot of the things in New York
City, the bread, it's so good because the water is so good.
That's what a lot of people say makes the difference is the
dough and the quality of the water that's being used.
So our three favorite spots, again, this is up for debate.
These things can change. Many people would say
(03:18):
differently, but number one on our list, not in a particular
order. We're not going to do these in
any order. They're just our top three
generally. Prince St.
Pizza Prince St. Pizza Phenomenal ingredients,
love the vibe when you go in andevery pizza we've had there has
been absolutely delicious. Last summer when my brother and
my sister-in-law were in town, we went out for a night and we
(03:40):
went to like a jazz club and ended up watching a random like,
street fight happen with some college kids, which was wild and
exciting. And then afterward, we went to
Prince St. to get pizza at like midnight.
And my brother turned to me and was like, this is one of the
best nights of my life. And this is some of the best
pizza I've ever had in my life. So if Matt loves it, it's got to
(04:02):
be good. And he lived in New York at one
point, too. My favorite slice of pizza at
Prince St. is the Grandma slice.Trust me, it's delicious.
Next on our list is Joe's Pizza.Joe's is a New York City staple.
It has been around for quite a long time.
There are multiple locations throughout the city.
Whatever you might read online or on Reddit, people saying like
Joe's is whatever, it's just hyped or it's touristy or
(04:24):
whatever, they're wrong. And Joe's is a damn good slice
of New York City pizza. It is like kind of the classic
New York slice, big slices, a little bit greasy, that thin
crust, and just so, so good. Joe's is like the quintessential
New York slice on which every other slice of pizza should be
compared to that as like the NewYork slice, in my opinion.
(04:47):
It's just it's solid every time.I've never once been
disappointed when I've gone to Joe's, and I've probably been
there almost like, I don't know,50 Times Now.
And never once have I had like abad slice at Joe's.
Sometimes they'll be like a little bit of a line, but it
usually goes pretty quickly. Joe's is a great option.
Next on our list is Lane Industry.
Lane Industry is a little bit newer, or at least it's kind of
(05:08):
definitely gained popularity recently.
They have two locations, one in Brooklyn and one more downtown
in Manhattan. Absolutely phenomenal pizza.
Like there's an argument to be made that it is some of the best
pizza I've ever had in my life. It's hard for me to say the
best, but it's up there. Their thing is using like the
best ingredients possible to make pizza and because of that
(05:29):
the price point is a little bit more expensive than what you
typically find in a pizza shop. However, it is truly worth it in
my opinion. Recently when I went I went and
got a whole pie to bring home and there was a pretty huge line
out the door and I was like oh shoot this might take forever
but don't be dissuaded by the long line.
(05:51):
I waited in line and got my pizza in 22 minutes total, which
based on how the line looked truly was not that bad and the
pizza was worth it. Yes, definitely check out lay
industry. All right, next category, next
cuisine is bagels. We recently did an entire
episode about New York City Citybagels.
Go ahead and listen to that. We will link it in the show
notes. New York City's bagels are the
(06:13):
best in the world. I don't care what anyone says.
I've tried other popular spots. New York's the best.
So again, the water makes a huge, huge difference on that.
And on that note, with New York City having the best bagels,
don't have a bad bagel in New York City.
That was advice from one of my brothers before we came here.
New York City has amazing, amazing bagel spots.
So even if you don't go to one of these top three that we like,
(06:35):
look at the reviews. Don't have a bad bagel in New
York City. First on our list, Liberty
Bagel. This is our go to.
We go here quite frequently, probably once a week.
We end up at Liberty Bagel. They have a what they call the
works. It is a bacon, egg and cheese
plus a sausage Patty plus a hashbrown.
It's a big bagel sandwich. You could definitely just split
(06:56):
it with one other person, but absolutely amazing.
Liberty Bagel also has really fun, like rainbow bagels and
like seasonal colors. So for Saint Patrick's Day,
they'll have like a white and a green bagel.
For Halloween they'll have like a one with orange and like some
black streaks. So really fun if you're coming
like with kids and want like a interesting looking bagel.
(07:16):
Another option is pick a bagel. There are many pick a bagels
around the city. Pick a bagel is just consistent.
They always have good options. I wouldn't say it's like the
best bagel I've ever had in my life, but it is consistent.
They have a wide variety of options and there's a lot around
the city, so good spot to check out. 3rd on our list is Pop Up
Bagel. This is probably my favorite
bagel in New York City. Just for the actual like bagel
(07:39):
part. Their bagels are made fresh like
around the clock and they come out warm and they are so fresh
and so soft that they're made tobe pulled apart with your hands
and dipped into cream cheese rather than the typical smear of
cream cheese. Highly recommend Pop up bagel.
Very simple menu, simple layout.Great, great bagels.
(07:59):
Agreed. Absolutely phenomenal.
Love pop up bagel, definitely worth any line that you have to
stand in for it. Which leads us to this episode.
You'll have to check it out segment.
The next stop is Cabaret. OK, we've not done a Broadway
show as you'll have to check it out ever before this.
We made an exception for for a couple of reasons #1 because
it's just quite a different experience.
(08:21):
Like the way that the theater isset up, the way that they kind
of bring you in and you're supposed to come early and it's
kind of got more of like a nightclub feel.
It's just different. Walking into Cabaret, I felt
like, yes, we're going to a Broadway show, but it felt more
like fun, more like a party. I don't know.
If it's like truly an immersive experience, you walk in, they
(08:41):
tell you to come early. Definitely go early if you're
going to go. And there's like, burlesque
dancers around and they're playing music and there's like,
crystal chandeliers everywhere and like, red velvet curtains.
And they like really do a good job of setting the vibe for the
show that you're about to see. The other reason we're including
it is the show itself is amazing.
(09:02):
The music, the dancing, the plot, the story, the
conversation, like every piece of the show is amazing.
And all of it done in a very simple stage.
It's a round stage. There's not very much as it
comes to like props or there's no set changes or anything like
that, right? Like it's all just.
I had some props but like small pieces of.
Furniture. They weren't like huge like
(09:24):
stage changes. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
And you might be familiar with Cabaret, like it's gone through
MIDI iterations. It's been, it's been an old
historic Broadway show. It's been a movie with Liza
Minnelli. I mean, it is.
It's a story that many people know.
If you don't know it or even if you do, you will have an amazing
time at Cabaret. One last note on Cabaret, most
(09:44):
Broadway shows that we go to, our recommendation is just get
in to the theater like any seatsgoing to be fine.
And that's still true of cabaret.
But if you want to splurge a little bit more, if you want to
be up close to the action, the way that the theater is laid out
is that on kind of the ground level, since it is a round
stage, there are table seating around the kind of closer to the
(10:07):
stage area. And then there's also like your
standard like kind of balcony theater style seating up above.
If you can sit down in the tableseating, this is a show that
it's worth like paying more to get closer for.
For these tickets, we went to the tickets booth, the TKTS
booth, there's one in Times Square, there's one in Lincoln
Center. We have a Broadway tips episode
(10:29):
that you could check out if you are interested in going to
Cabaret or any other Broadway show.
But the TKTS booth is really great for getting tickets if you
want to get day of tickets and you want to sit up close.
So I ended up going to the tickets booth to get tickets for
cabaret and we were, I kid you not, 5 feet away from the stage
(10:49):
and it was absolutely incredibleseats.
And we will mention too, part ofthe reason we loved cabaret is
the lead for MC was Orville Peck, who is one of my favorite
artists, actually likes Orville Peck as well.
I don't think he's on it for very much longer.
I actually think it's only a couple more weeks.
By the time this gets published,he may not even be on it, but
(11:10):
they always have great talent there.
So that's this episode. You'll have to check it out.
Segment Cabaret. And now back to must try
cuisines. Stand clear of the closing
doors, please. All right.
Our third category is sandwiches, often called heroes,
hoagies, Subs, whatever it is inNew York you often called see it
(11:33):
called a hero. Here's the question, is a hot
dog a sandwich? Another day, a conversation for
another. Day should we be listing a hot
dog place on this sandwiches? List if we wanted to incite
violence, yes. OK, top of our list here.
Again, it's not in a particular order, but Al Antico Vinau, I'm
probably saying that wrong. It is.
(11:54):
And it was that close. Do you remember?
I think you were close. Al Antico, Venal venal ven.
It's Italian. I think you were right.
It's Italian. We're not Italian.
We actually went here for the first time in Florence.
We were lucky enough to go to Florence recently and we tried
out the original location and we're just absolutely blown away
by the sandwiches there. Fast forward to right now, we
(12:16):
just stayed a sandwich for lunchjust before recording this and
my word was it delicious. They are large sandwiches, any
like ingredient or filling or spread that's on there like they
don't skimp on it. And so it's like a very hearty,
full sandwich. And the sandwich itself is a
huge square of fresh, homemade focaccia bread.
(12:37):
And they're making the bread daily, like they're bringing it
out all, all day long. And it's so fresh and so
delicious. They're very large sandwiches.
I would plan on spending like $20.00 for a sandwich.
But it is big enough that you could share it between two
people. And frankly, that's what I would
recommend unless you were like absolutely starving.
If you got 2 between two people,I think you would have leftovers
(12:58):
and then you would have extra and you're carrying it around.
I'd probably just pick one and share if I were you.
Agreed. We've never had a bad sandwich
here. We've had a few of them.
The one we just had, I didn't realize that it didn't have
meat, which is fine, but I was like.
He was originally so sad. That was so sad.
But then, so good. OK, it was the LA Broadway,
which was pistachio cream, stracciatella, sun dried tomato,
(13:22):
spicy zucchini and arugula. It is as delicious as it sounds.
What was the one that we had in Florence?
Is it the Forna or something? Yeah, I think it was the first
one. I think the one we had was or
the Favolosa. Yeah, I think that's what
they're known for, which is salami, Toscana, pecorino cream,
artichoke cream and spicy eggplant.
That one's SO. Good so good like you cannot go
(13:44):
wrong with this sandwich spot and there's a few throughout the
city so make sure you check it out.
Next on our list is Cat's Deli. Cat's Deli is the definition of
a New York institution. It has been around for quite a
long time, I think over 100 years if I remember correctly.
Massive sandwich. They are known most for their
pastrami sandwiches, which it's probably the best pastrami I've
(14:08):
ever had in my life. It is absolutely delicious.
Cats also has amazing homemade Pickles.
I personally really like their half sour Pickles, a little more
crunchy like a cucumber but still has that extra like tart
bite with the vinegar but just not soaked for as long as a
typical pickle is. And similarly really big
sandwiches, so you can probably share.
(14:30):
Cats has been around since 1917.That's over 100 years.
Yeah, you're right. It's a very long time.
Cat's Deli. Check that out.
OK, last in our grouping of sandwiches is Pasillo's.
Pasillo's is probably my favorite sandwich spot in the
city. They have big huge Italian
sandwiches. Definitely share one sandwich
(14:53):
between two people. Honestly, you could share one
sandwich between three people. They are absolutely massive.
I personally like to splurge theextra dollar or two and get my
sandwiches on the ciabatta bread'cause it's fresh made every
day. But really, really great Italian
sandwiches. Fresh meat imported from Italy,
great ingredients, fast service.Everything you want in a great
(15:16):
New York sandwich. Definitely get a sandwich from
one of these three places while you're here in New York.
One other note on sandwiches, I did just realize that there is a
Subway around Times Square that's open 24 hours.
I'm not necessarily recommendingthat you should go to Subway
while you're here, but I just love that New York has a 24 hour
Subway. I'm reckon you recommending you
(15:36):
don't go to subway while you're here, but it's 4:00 in the
morning and you need a. Sandwich.
And you want a Subway sandwich, You can have it in New York
City. It's a city of dreams.
I I. Mean if your dreams are a Subway
sandwich at 4:00 in the morning,there's not much we can do to
help you at that point. I'm mostly joking, but really I.
(15:57):
Mean don't eat at Subway will you don't eat?
At Subway while you're in new. York But if you wanted to, you
could have it 24/7, which is pretty cool.
Next category that we're going to talk about is Italian food.
OK, again, we could have chosen so many different types of
cuisines, but we landed on Italian because number one,
there is a deep, long history ofItalian culture in New York City
(16:17):
#2 there's just seems to be a maybe it's part of that, but
there's just so, so many good Italian restaurants in New York.
We have talked about some of these before, but first one
we're going to talk about is Picula Cocina.
This the one that we go to is just near Central Park.
It's on like 60th St. 60th and Park Ave. 60th and Park Ave.
this place the vibes are Immaculate.
(16:39):
Like you go in and it just it, it kind of feels like you're in
Italy a bit again. We went to Italy recently and so
I feel like we can speak to thata little bit, but like it's just
a very home feeling like warm, friendly environment every time
we've gone there. Every time we've gone, there's
also the Hostess has a very thick Italian accent, which just
(16:59):
really makes it feel authentic for me.
Some of the like highlights of Piccolo Cocina is their Cacho
Pepe. They bring it out in this big
giant, like in the cheese wheel and that it's been warmed in and
they scoop it in front of you. Amazing.
But beyond that, they have a homemade tiramisu, right?
This is the one where they make it, right?
They bring out this big old cartand they make it in front of you
(17:20):
and it's mind blowingly good. It's the best tiramisu I've ever
had in my whole life, and it's fun that they just put it
together in front of you. They like wheel it over on this
little cart and show you how it's made.
And Ashley loves tiramisu. She orders it everywhere we go.
So that's all that means a lot to say.
It's her favorite. All right, next is Don Angie.
Don Angie is a fantastic Italianspot.
(17:43):
It's kind of gotten like Instagram famous too recently
and it believe it did or does have a Michelin star.
It has a Michelin star. Has a Michelin star, so this
place. Is pretty fancy, yeah.
Like when you get up and go to the bathroom, like someone comes
and like fixes your napkin and like folds it and puts it back
on your I. Forgot about that, yeah.
On your setting which threw me off at first but I was like
(18:05):
luxury. Yeah, it's pretty luxurious.
So you're gonna pay for that luxury, of course, but it's a
good meal and they have some very unique.
Is this the one? They have the chrysanthemum
salad, right? Chrysanthemum salad, definitely
a highlight, has just an ungodlyamount of like super fluffy
light parmesan cheese on top. They also have the rolled
lasagna, right? It's a big portion for two
(18:28):
people, but highly recommend adding that to your order when
you go there. They also have great cocktails,
so recommend those along with your delicious meal at Don
Angie. Last in our list of Italian
spots, we've done an entire episode about this Giano.
Giano is probably my favorite Italian restaurant in the city.
We have been here at least a dozen times.
(18:50):
Everyone who comes and visits us, we take them to Giano.
It's a smaller restaurant. Generally it is the same staff
almost every time you go. All the pasta is homemade.
Their menu is simple. It's not overly, there's not,
you know, too many options. It's really easy to kind of find
what you want. They have different specials
most nights and it's just, it's phenomenal.
(19:11):
And it's fairly priced. Like as far as Italian food goes
for like good authentic, homemade like freshly made
Italian food in New York City. It's some of the best prices you
can get too. Another thing I like about Giano
is that it's just very casual and laid back.
Like you could get dressed up and go out to eat like this,
delicious, what could be like very fancy expensive food, but
(19:33):
you also could like show up in AT shirt and jeans and no one
would bat an eye. The waiters are usually wearing
T-shirt and jeans. Shout out to Paulo, he always
wears AT shirt, jeans and his little man bun.
Highly recommend Giano, super great spot, delicious food,
great wine list, great desserts.Can't say enough good things
about this place. All right, that's Italian food.
(19:53):
We have one more category, but before that we're going to give
you this episode's New York knowhow.
Don't accept things people hand to you on the street.
This often happens in the more touristy areas, like especially
in Times Square, you will see the people trying to give you
(20:14):
ACD like a mixtape CD. There will be sometimes like
monks walking around trying to give you beaded jewelry.
There will be sometimes people trying to hand you flowers like
roses, especially if you're sometimes even when you're
sitting out eating at a restaurant.
And just know that like anytime someone is offering to hand you
something in New York City, yourdefault should be not to engage
(20:37):
with them, number one, but definitely not to grab whatever
they're handing you. Because whatever they're handing
you, they're going to say, oh, it's free or like, no worries.
But then as soon as you grab it,they're going to be like, oh,
it's $20.00 for that CD or oh, it's, you know, $20.00 for this
little jewelry. And it's, it's just a scam.
That's all it is. Just in general, if someone
tries to hand me anything on thestreet, like even like a piece
of paper or like a pamphlet, I don't even take those.
(20:59):
I hate it when people hand me things, especially if they're
purposely trying to scam me. So be aware of that.
That's this episode's New York know how don't accept things
people try to hand you on the street.
OK, our last category is desserts.
Yes, we're going to have desserts in here as a must try
cuisine because there are so many great dessert spots in New
(21:20):
York. We've mentioned this in other
episodes, but I am convinced that the majority of times that
you go to a restaurant, I would opt for not getting the dessert
at the restaurant and I would instead go to a specific dessert
spot that is probably within walking distance of wherever
you're eating at. Of course, there are some
exceptions to that, like PiccolaCocina with their tiramisu, but
(21:42):
I always opt for going to dessert spots.
So first on our list, Dominique Ansel's Dominique Ansel is a
world renowned pastry chef. What I love about Dominique and
Cells, I'm not like a big pastryperson.
I don't like go crazy for cupcakes or scones or like
pastry type of things. But what I like about Dominique
and Cells is they're such a widevariety of options.
(22:03):
They have like dozens not just of different flavors of specific
things, but dozens of just different types of desserts
available. One of the most popular items to
get at Dominican sells, and theyfrequently sell out of these on
a daily basis, are their cronuts.
It's a croissant doughnut, usually has like some type of
(22:23):
fresh fruit cream in the middle of it and it's so delicious.
And I understand why they sell out daily.
I feel like half the time we go there for dessert, they don't
have the cronuts because they'realready sold out of them.
Yeah. So if you want those for sure,
you got to get there a little bit earlier.
OK, next on our list, we have talked about this, I believe as
a New York know how, but we're mentioning it again Gray St.
(22:43):
Gray St. is a spot on Korea St. which is in midtown kind of near
Herald Square. And they have a wide variety of
dessert options like matcha beignets and different like
coffee themed desserts. But what we love most from there
is like their mango shaved ice, mango snow.
(23:03):
What do they call it? They call it mango madness.
But. I think it's like a mango shaved
ice. So it's like a think of like a
snow cone, but instead of it being ice that they're shaving,
it's like a milk ice with like sweet milk in it.
So it kind of has like a similarflavor profile to like vanilla
ice cream, but a texture unlike anything else I've ever had.
(23:24):
And they have fresh mango on topand mango syrup and bananas and
sweet condensed milk. It's probably my favorite
dessert in the whole city. Definitely can be split between
2:00 if not even three people, but check out Gray St.
Know that sometimes the lines are quite long so be prepared
for that or go at like more thanoff time.
OK? Last on our list for dessert
(23:45):
spots and last on the list overall is Cafe Pana.
Cafe Pana is a phenomenal dessert spot.
They are most known for their afogado, which is ice cream with
warm espresso poured on top. If you've never had afogado, you
certainly should try that, but they also have a rotating
variety of different flavors. They change almost on a daily
(24:06):
basis. Often times they sell out, so if
you're getting there late, you might not have some of the
flavors that were available thatday.
But their afogado is absolutely phenomenal.
Their ice cream in general is delicious and you'll often find
a really fun, unique flavors. I watched a video the other day
of the owner of Cafe Pana who said that a lot of times she
(24:26):
gets her ice cream ideas from different requests from patrons
that come in so very unique ice cream flavors that you won't get
anywhere else. So that rounds out the desserts
that we love in New York City and those are the five types of
cuisines that you must try when you come to New York City.
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information to help you have thebest time in New York City.
So sign up for that at bettertogetherhere.com back
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slash newsletter and other than that, we'll catch you on the
next episode. This is the last song on this
spring. Everyone, please leave the
spring. Thank you for watching.
Welcome to the Better Together Here podcast with your host,
Devin. And Ashley?
Helping you make the most of your time in New York City,
everyone. And welcome to today's episode
of the Better Together Here podcast.
My name is Devin. And my name is Ashley.
We have a packed episode for you.
We are going to be diving into 5must have cuisines.
When you visit New York City, we'll give you our three
(00:22):
favorite spots for each of thosecuisines.
We have a fantastic you'll have to check it out segment and in
New York know how that can save you from getting scammed.
So let's get right into it. The very first time that I came
to New York City and then we collectively came to New York
City together, we thinking back,almost had no plans of what we
wanted to do in regards to actual things.
We came out with Ashley's dad, Ashley's brother and his wife,
(00:46):
and a couple other family members kind of trickled in
throughout the trip and we really had nothing planned other
than eating food. And frankly, most of the times
we visited New York before we moved here, that was how we
approached it. We would maybe have a couple
activities or a museum or two that we wanted to go to, but we
have always eaten our way through the city.
And for most people, that is oneof the things that is at the top
(01:08):
of your list is just having phenomenal food.
And so we want to break down 5 cuisine types that you must try
while you're here in New York. New York seriously has some of
the best food in the world and is a great place, like Devin
said, to explore and really eat your way through the city.
(01:28):
Keep in mind as well, these are just some specific cuisine types
that we think New York is kind of famous for, known for, and
worth checking out. But there's such a wide variety
of restaurants and cuisine types, ranging from Ethiopian
food to Mongolian food to South American food and everything in
between. So we would recommend that you
explore and get off the beaten path a little bit and try to
(01:52):
find new cuisines that you've maybe never had before on top of
these ones we're going to recommend.
New York City is just a hub for the opportunity to go and try
any type of food from any place in the world, and it's going to
be great and it's going to be authentic.
And I don't think that you couldreally say that about any other
city in the world. And part of that is because New
York City has been a immigrationfriendly city for a very, very
(02:15):
long time. And there are so many advantages
to that, including when you go to a restaurant that is Turkish
cuisine. There's a high likelihood that
those people used to live in Turkey and moved to New York
City and opened a restaurant. So keep that in mind that there
are a wide variety of places to try.
All right, first on our list, it's got to be pizza, right?
New York City pizza. It's known for that million
(02:36):
arguments about whether it's better than other styles, but we
love New York style pizza. You have to get pizza when you
are in in New York City. It's pretty much against the law
to have a trip to New York and not have pizza.
They will let you back on the plane.
So these are three favorite spots.
We've done an entire episode about some great New York City
(02:56):
pizza options. We go into why it's good.
We talked about some kind of thehistory around it.
But with pizza, with bagels, a lot of the things in New York
City, the bread, it's so good because the water is so good.
That's what a lot of people say makes the difference is the
dough and the quality of the water that's being used.
So our three favorite spots, again, this is up for debate.
These things can change. Many people would say
(03:18):
differently, but number one on our list, not in a particular
order. We're not going to do these in
any order. They're just our top three
generally. Prince St.
Pizza Prince St. Pizza Phenomenal ingredients,
love the vibe when you go in andevery pizza we've had there has
been absolutely delicious. Last summer when my brother and
my sister-in-law were in town, we went out for a night and we
(03:40):
went to like a jazz club and ended up watching a random like,
street fight happen with some college kids, which was wild and
exciting. And then afterward, we went to
Prince St. to get pizza at like midnight.
And my brother turned to me and was like, this is one of the
best nights of my life. And this is some of the best
pizza I've ever had in my life. So if Matt loves it, it's got to
(04:02):
be good. And he lived in New York at one
point, too. My favorite slice of pizza at
Prince St. is the Grandma slice.Trust me, it's delicious.
Next on our list is Joe's Pizza.Joe's is a New York City staple.
It has been around for quite a long time.
There are multiple locations throughout the city.
Whatever you might read online or on Reddit, people saying like
Joe's is whatever, it's just hyped or it's touristy or
(04:24):
whatever, they're wrong. And Joe's is a damn good slice
of New York City pizza. It is like kind of the classic
New York slice, big slices, a little bit greasy, that thin
crust, and just so, so good. Joe's is like the quintessential
New York slice on which every other slice of pizza should be
compared to that as like the NewYork slice, in my opinion.
(04:47):
It's just it's solid every time.I've never once been
disappointed when I've gone to Joe's, and I've probably been
there almost like, I don't know,50 Times Now.
And never once have I had like abad slice at Joe's.
Sometimes they'll be like a little bit of a line, but it
usually goes pretty quickly. Joe's is a great option.
Next on our list is Lane Industry.
Lane Industry is a little bit newer, or at least it's kind of
(05:08):
definitely gained popularity recently.
They have two locations, one in Brooklyn and one more downtown
in Manhattan. Absolutely phenomenal pizza.
Like there's an argument to be made that it is some of the best
pizza I've ever had in my life. It's hard for me to say the
best, but it's up there. Their thing is using like the
best ingredients possible to make pizza and because of that
(05:29):
the price point is a little bit more expensive than what you
typically find in a pizza shop. However, it is truly worth it in
my opinion. Recently when I went I went and
got a whole pie to bring home and there was a pretty huge line
out the door and I was like oh shoot this might take forever
but don't be dissuaded by the long line.
(05:51):
I waited in line and got my pizza in 22 minutes total, which
based on how the line looked truly was not that bad and the
pizza was worth it. Yes, definitely check out lay
industry. All right, next category, next
cuisine is bagels. We recently did an entire
episode about New York City Citybagels.
Go ahead and listen to that. We will link it in the show
notes. New York City's bagels are the
(06:13):
best in the world. I don't care what anyone says.
I've tried other popular spots. New York's the best.
So again, the water makes a huge, huge difference on that.
And on that note, with New York City having the best bagels,
don't have a bad bagel in New York City.
That was advice from one of my brothers before we came here.
New York City has amazing, amazing bagel spots.
So even if you don't go to one of these top three that we like,
(06:35):
look at the reviews. Don't have a bad bagel in New
York City. First on our list, Liberty
Bagel. This is our go to.
We go here quite frequently, probably once a week.
We end up at Liberty Bagel. They have a what they call the
works. It is a bacon, egg and cheese
plus a sausage Patty plus a hashbrown.
It's a big bagel sandwich. You could definitely just split
(06:56):
it with one other person, but absolutely amazing.
Liberty Bagel also has really fun, like rainbow bagels and
like seasonal colors. So for Saint Patrick's Day,
they'll have like a white and a green bagel.
For Halloween they'll have like a one with orange and like some
black streaks. So really fun if you're coming
like with kids and want like a interesting looking bagel.
(07:16):
Another option is pick a bagel. There are many pick a bagels
around the city. Pick a bagel is just consistent.
They always have good options. I wouldn't say it's like the
best bagel I've ever had in my life, but it is consistent.
They have a wide variety of options and there's a lot around
the city, so good spot to check out. 3rd on our list is Pop Up
Bagel. This is probably my favorite
bagel in New York City. Just for the actual like bagel
(07:39):
part. Their bagels are made fresh like
around the clock and they come out warm and they are so fresh
and so soft that they're made tobe pulled apart with your hands
and dipped into cream cheese rather than the typical smear of
cream cheese. Highly recommend Pop up bagel.
Very simple menu, simple layout.Great, great bagels.
(07:59):
Agreed. Absolutely phenomenal.
Love pop up bagel, definitely worth any line that you have to
stand in for it. Which leads us to this episode.
You'll have to check it out segment.
The next stop is Cabaret. OK, we've not done a Broadway
show as you'll have to check it out ever before this.
We made an exception for for a couple of reasons #1 because
it's just quite a different experience.
(08:21):
Like the way that the theater isset up, the way that they kind
of bring you in and you're supposed to come early and it's
kind of got more of like a nightclub feel.
It's just different. Walking into Cabaret, I felt
like, yes, we're going to a Broadway show, but it felt more
like fun, more like a party. I don't know.
If it's like truly an immersive experience, you walk in, they
(08:41):
tell you to come early. Definitely go early if you're
going to go. And there's like, burlesque
dancers around and they're playing music and there's like,
crystal chandeliers everywhere and like, red velvet curtains.
And they like really do a good job of setting the vibe for the
show that you're about to see. The other reason we're including
it is the show itself is amazing.
(09:02):
The music, the dancing, the plot, the story, the
conversation, like every piece of the show is amazing.
And all of it done in a very simple stage.
It's a round stage. There's not very much as it
comes to like props or there's no set changes or anything like
that, right? Like it's all just.
I had some props but like small pieces of.
Furniture. They weren't like huge like
(09:24):
stage changes. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
And you might be familiar with Cabaret, like it's gone through
MIDI iterations. It's been, it's been an old
historic Broadway show. It's been a movie with Liza
Minnelli. I mean, it is.
It's a story that many people know.
If you don't know it or even if you do, you will have an amazing
time at Cabaret. One last note on Cabaret, most
(09:44):
Broadway shows that we go to, our recommendation is just get
in to the theater like any seatsgoing to be fine.
And that's still true of cabaret.
But if you want to splurge a little bit more, if you want to
be up close to the action, the way that the theater is laid out
is that on kind of the ground level, since it is a round
stage, there are table seating around the kind of closer to the
(10:07):
stage area. And then there's also like your
standard like kind of balcony theater style seating up above.
If you can sit down in the tableseating, this is a show that
it's worth like paying more to get closer for.
For these tickets, we went to the tickets booth, the TKTS
booth, there's one in Times Square, there's one in Lincoln
Center. We have a Broadway tips episode
(10:29):
that you could check out if you are interested in going to
Cabaret or any other Broadway show.
But the TKTS booth is really great for getting tickets if you
want to get day of tickets and you want to sit up close.
So I ended up going to the tickets booth to get tickets for
cabaret and we were, I kid you not, 5 feet away from the stage
(10:49):
and it was absolutely incredibleseats.
And we will mention too, part ofthe reason we loved cabaret is
the lead for MC was Orville Peck, who is one of my favorite
artists, actually likes Orville Peck as well.
I don't think he's on it for very much longer.
I actually think it's only a couple more weeks.
By the time this gets published,he may not even be on it, but
(11:10):
they always have great talent there.
So that's this episode. You'll have to check it out.
Segment Cabaret. And now back to must try
cuisines. Stand clear of the closing
doors, please. All right.
Our third category is sandwiches, often called heroes,
hoagies, Subs, whatever it is inNew York you often called see it
(11:33):
called a hero. Here's the question, is a hot
dog a sandwich? Another day, a conversation for
another. Day should we be listing a hot
dog place on this sandwiches? List if we wanted to incite
violence, yes. OK, top of our list here.
Again, it's not in a particular order, but Al Antico Vinau, I'm
probably saying that wrong. It is.
(11:54):
And it was that close. Do you remember?
I think you were close. Al Antico, Venal venal ven.
It's Italian. I think you were right.
It's Italian. We're not Italian.
We actually went here for the first time in Florence.
We were lucky enough to go to Florence recently and we tried
out the original location and we're just absolutely blown away
by the sandwiches there. Fast forward to right now, we
(12:16):
just stayed a sandwich for lunchjust before recording this and
my word was it delicious. They are large sandwiches, any
like ingredient or filling or spread that's on there like they
don't skimp on it. And so it's like a very hearty,
full sandwich. And the sandwich itself is a
huge square of fresh, homemade focaccia bread.
(12:37):
And they're making the bread daily, like they're bringing it
out all, all day long. And it's so fresh and so
delicious. They're very large sandwiches.
I would plan on spending like $20.00 for a sandwich.
But it is big enough that you could share it between two
people. And frankly, that's what I would
recommend unless you were like absolutely starving.
If you got 2 between two people,I think you would have leftovers
(12:58):
and then you would have extra and you're carrying it around.
I'd probably just pick one and share if I were you.
Agreed. We've never had a bad sandwich
here. We've had a few of them.
The one we just had, I didn't realize that it didn't have
meat, which is fine, but I was like.
He was originally so sad. That was so sad.
But then, so good. OK, it was the LA Broadway,
which was pistachio cream, stracciatella, sun dried tomato,
(13:22):
spicy zucchini and arugula. It is as delicious as it sounds.
What was the one that we had in Florence?
Is it the Forna or something? Yeah, I think it was the first
one. I think the one we had was or
the Favolosa. Yeah, I think that's what
they're known for, which is salami, Toscana, pecorino cream,
artichoke cream and spicy eggplant.
That one's SO. Good so good like you cannot go
(13:44):
wrong with this sandwich spot and there's a few throughout the
city so make sure you check it out.
Next on our list is Cat's Deli. Cat's Deli is the definition of
a New York institution. It has been around for quite a
long time, I think over 100 years if I remember correctly.
Massive sandwich. They are known most for their
pastrami sandwiches, which it's probably the best pastrami I've
(14:08):
ever had in my life. It is absolutely delicious.
Cats also has amazing homemade Pickles.
I personally really like their half sour Pickles, a little more
crunchy like a cucumber but still has that extra like tart
bite with the vinegar but just not soaked for as long as a
typical pickle is. And similarly really big
sandwiches, so you can probably share.
(14:30):
Cats has been around since 1917.That's over 100 years.
Yeah, you're right. It's a very long time.
Cat's Deli. Check that out.
OK, last in our grouping of sandwiches is Pasillo's.
Pasillo's is probably my favorite sandwich spot in the
city. They have big huge Italian
sandwiches. Definitely share one sandwich
(14:53):
between two people. Honestly, you could share one
sandwich between three people. They are absolutely massive.
I personally like to splurge theextra dollar or two and get my
sandwiches on the ciabatta bread'cause it's fresh made every
day. But really, really great Italian
sandwiches. Fresh meat imported from Italy,
great ingredients, fast service.Everything you want in a great
(15:16):
New York sandwich. Definitely get a sandwich from
one of these three places while you're here in New York.
One other note on sandwiches, I did just realize that there is a
Subway around Times Square that's open 24 hours.
I'm not necessarily recommendingthat you should go to Subway
while you're here, but I just love that New York has a 24 hour
Subway. I'm reckon you recommending you
(15:36):
don't go to subway while you're here, but it's 4:00 in the
morning and you need a. Sandwich.
And you want a Subway sandwich, You can have it in New York
City. It's a city of dreams.
I I. Mean if your dreams are a Subway
sandwich at 4:00 in the morning,there's not much we can do to
help you at that point. I'm mostly joking, but really I.
(15:57):
Mean don't eat at Subway will you don't eat?
At Subway while you're in new. York But if you wanted to, you
could have it 24/7, which is pretty cool.
Next category that we're going to talk about is Italian food.
OK, again, we could have chosen so many different types of
cuisines, but we landed on Italian because number one,
there is a deep, long history ofItalian culture in New York City
(16:17):
#2 there's just seems to be a maybe it's part of that, but
there's just so, so many good Italian restaurants in New York.
We have talked about some of these before, but first one
we're going to talk about is Picula Cocina.
This the one that we go to is just near Central Park.
It's on like 60th St. 60th and Park Ave. 60th and Park Ave.
this place the vibes are Immaculate.
(16:39):
Like you go in and it just it, it kind of feels like you're in
Italy a bit again. We went to Italy recently and so
I feel like we can speak to thata little bit, but like it's just
a very home feeling like warm, friendly environment every time
we've gone there. Every time we've gone, there's
also the Hostess has a very thick Italian accent, which just
(16:59):
really makes it feel authentic for me.
Some of the like highlights of Piccolo Cocina is their Cacho
Pepe. They bring it out in this big
giant, like in the cheese wheel and that it's been warmed in and
they scoop it in front of you. Amazing.
But beyond that, they have a homemade tiramisu, right?
This is the one where they make it, right?
They bring out this big old cartand they make it in front of you
(17:20):
and it's mind blowingly good. It's the best tiramisu I've ever
had in my whole life, and it's fun that they just put it
together in front of you. They like wheel it over on this
little cart and show you how it's made.
And Ashley loves tiramisu. She orders it everywhere we go.
So that's all that means a lot to say.
It's her favorite. All right, next is Don Angie.
Don Angie is a fantastic Italianspot.
(17:43):
It's kind of gotten like Instagram famous too recently
and it believe it did or does have a Michelin star.
It has a Michelin star. Has a Michelin star, so this
place. Is pretty fancy, yeah.
Like when you get up and go to the bathroom, like someone comes
and like fixes your napkin and like folds it and puts it back
on your I. Forgot about that, yeah.
On your setting which threw me off at first but I was like
(18:05):
luxury. Yeah, it's pretty luxurious.
So you're gonna pay for that luxury, of course, but it's a
good meal and they have some very unique.
Is this the one? They have the chrysanthemum
salad, right? Chrysanthemum salad, definitely
a highlight, has just an ungodlyamount of like super fluffy
light parmesan cheese on top. They also have the rolled
lasagna, right? It's a big portion for two
(18:28):
people, but highly recommend adding that to your order when
you go there. They also have great cocktails,
so recommend those along with your delicious meal at Don
Angie. Last in our list of Italian
spots, we've done an entire episode about this Giano.
Giano is probably my favorite Italian restaurant in the city.
We have been here at least a dozen times.
(18:50):
Everyone who comes and visits us, we take them to Giano.
It's a smaller restaurant. Generally it is the same staff
almost every time you go. All the pasta is homemade.
Their menu is simple. It's not overly, there's not,
you know, too many options. It's really easy to kind of find
what you want. They have different specials
most nights and it's just, it's phenomenal.
(19:11):
And it's fairly priced. Like as far as Italian food goes
for like good authentic, homemade like freshly made
Italian food in New York City. It's some of the best prices you
can get too. Another thing I like about Giano
is that it's just very casual and laid back.
Like you could get dressed up and go out to eat like this,
delicious, what could be like very fancy expensive food, but
(19:33):
you also could like show up in AT shirt and jeans and no one
would bat an eye. The waiters are usually wearing
T-shirt and jeans. Shout out to Paulo, he always
wears AT shirt, jeans and his little man bun.
Highly recommend Giano, super great spot, delicious food,
great wine list, great desserts.Can't say enough good things
about this place. All right, that's Italian food.
(19:53):
We have one more category, but before that we're going to give
you this episode's New York knowhow.
Don't accept things people hand to you on the street.
This often happens in the more touristy areas, like especially
in Times Square, you will see the people trying to give you
(20:14):
ACD like a mixtape CD. There will be sometimes like
monks walking around trying to give you beaded jewelry.
There will be sometimes people trying to hand you flowers like
roses, especially if you're sometimes even when you're
sitting out eating at a restaurant.
And just know that like anytime someone is offering to hand you
something in New York City, yourdefault should be not to engage
(20:37):
with them, number one, but definitely not to grab whatever
they're handing you. Because whatever they're handing
you, they're going to say, oh, it's free or like, no worries.
But then as soon as you grab it,they're going to be like, oh,
it's $20.00 for that CD or oh, it's, you know, $20.00 for this
little jewelry. And it's, it's just a scam.
That's all it is. Just in general, if someone
tries to hand me anything on thestreet, like even like a piece
of paper or like a pamphlet, I don't even take those.
(20:59):
I hate it when people hand me things, especially if they're
purposely trying to scam me. So be aware of that.
That's this episode's New York know how don't accept things
people try to hand you on the street.
OK, our last category is desserts.
Yes, we're going to have desserts in here as a must try
cuisine because there are so many great dessert spots in New
(21:20):
York. We've mentioned this in other
episodes, but I am convinced that the majority of times that
you go to a restaurant, I would opt for not getting the dessert
at the restaurant and I would instead go to a specific dessert
spot that is probably within walking distance of wherever
you're eating at. Of course, there are some
exceptions to that, like PiccolaCocina with their tiramisu, but
(21:42):
I always opt for going to dessert spots.
So first on our list, Dominique Ansel's Dominique Ansel is a
world renowned pastry chef. What I love about Dominique and
Cells, I'm not like a big pastryperson.
I don't like go crazy for cupcakes or scones or like
pastry type of things. But what I like about Dominique
and Cells is they're such a widevariety of options.
(22:03):
They have like dozens not just of different flavors of specific
things, but dozens of just different types of desserts
available. One of the most popular items to
get at Dominican sells, and theyfrequently sell out of these on
a daily basis, are their cronuts.
It's a croissant doughnut, usually has like some type of
(22:23):
fresh fruit cream in the middle of it and it's so delicious.
And I understand why they sell out daily.
I feel like half the time we go there for dessert, they don't
have the cronuts because they'realready sold out of them.
Yeah. So if you want those for sure,
you got to get there a little bit earlier.
OK, next on our list, we have talked about this, I believe as
a New York know how, but we're mentioning it again Gray St.
(22:43):
Gray St. is a spot on Korea St. which is in midtown kind of near
Herald Square. And they have a wide variety of
dessert options like matcha beignets and different like
coffee themed desserts. But what we love most from there
is like their mango shaved ice, mango snow.
(23:03):
What do they call it? They call it mango madness.
But. I think it's like a mango shaved
ice. So it's like a think of like a
snow cone, but instead of it being ice that they're shaving,
it's like a milk ice with like sweet milk in it.
So it kind of has like a similarflavor profile to like vanilla
ice cream, but a texture unlike anything else I've ever had.
(23:24):
And they have fresh mango on topand mango syrup and bananas and
sweet condensed milk. It's probably my favorite
dessert in the whole city. Definitely can be split between
2:00 if not even three people, but check out Gray St.
Know that sometimes the lines are quite long so be prepared
for that or go at like more thanoff time.
OK? Last on our list for dessert
(23:45):
spots and last on the list overall is Cafe Pana.
Cafe Pana is a phenomenal dessert spot.
They are most known for their afogado, which is ice cream with
warm espresso poured on top. If you've never had afogado, you
certainly should try that, but they also have a rotating
variety of different flavors. They change almost on a daily
(24:06):
basis. Often times they sell out, so if
you're getting there late, you might not have some of the
flavors that were available thatday.
But their afogado is absolutely phenomenal.
Their ice cream in general is delicious and you'll often find
a really fun, unique flavors. I watched a video the other day
of the owner of Cafe Pana who said that a lot of times she
(24:26):
gets her ice cream ideas from different requests from patrons
that come in so very unique ice cream flavors that you won't get
anywhere else. So that rounds out the desserts
that we love in New York City and those are the five types of
cuisines that you must try when you come to New York City.
If you have found our podcast newsletter website helpful, one
(24:47):
thing you can do to help us out is to leave us a review on Apple
Podcast. By doing that, it helps this
podcast get more exposure to other people who are trying to
figure out what to do in New York.
As I mentioned, we do have a newsletter we e-mail once a
week. No AI spam or BS, just helpful
information to help you have thebest time in New York City.
So sign up for that at bettertogetherhere.com back
(25:08):
slash newsletter and other than that, we'll catch you on the
next episode. This is the last song on this
spring. Everyone, please leave the
spring. Thank you for watching.
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Iâm Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and Iâm so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood youâre able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and lifeâs ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them weâve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I donât take it for granted â click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I canât wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
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