Ten NYC Foods To Try

Greg Morabito of NYeater.com posted his list of 12 epic New York meals to try before you die today. The list includes a 12-course $275 Chef’s Tasting from Per Se, the 11-course $175 Gourmand Tasting at Eleven Madison Park and the $240 20-course tasting at WD~50.

I have no doubt that each meal would be divine, and I’ve already added the restaurants to my new bucket list. But considering that they each cost an arm and a leg (some of them a kidney too), who knows if I’ll ever make it there. So I made my own list:

Top 10 NYC foods everyone should try, regardless of when they’re going to die (in order of when they came into my head).

1. Goat cheese cheescake with berries from DessertTruck Works: Sometimes I dream about this. ‘Nuff said.

2. Crème fraîche gelato from Otto: Not too sweet, not too tart, just perfect. The olive oil gelato is a very close second.

3. Potato waffles Benedict from The Smith: With a side of candied bacon and a complimentary mimosa (only on Sundays), this is my favorite brunch in New York. The spinach and caramelized onion sauce is divine.

4. Great Hills Blue burger from BLT Burger: Blue cheese, mushrooms and caramelized onions on a perfectly juicy burger.

5. Espresso frosting / vanilla cupcake combo at Butter Lane: Coffee and cupcake – what could go wrong?

6. Chickpea sandwich from ‘wichcraft: The perfect summer sandwich, with chopped chickpeas, black olives, lemon, roasted red peppers and parsley. I’ve been eating it at least once a week since I discovered the underground Rockefeller Center location.

7. B.E.L.T. from Community Food & Juice: Granted, mine is a B.E.L. since I don’t like tomatoes, but the combination of bacon, a fried egg and lettuce is so delicious that I don’t even mind the mayo.

8. Chili cheese waffle fries from Crif Dogs: Though I come for the hotdogs, which are pretty good in their own right, the waffle fries are always the best part of my meal.

9. Spring rolls from Cafetasia: Part of the rolls’ charm is that they come free as a part of Cafetasia’s prix-fixe lunch (or early bird dinner special) for less than $10. But a friend once astutely described the pineapple dipping sauce that accompanies these rolls as “the sauce of the gods.”

10. Bacon buttercrunch from Roni-Sue’s Chocolates: Okay, this might be on the list solely because I’m craving it right now. But bacon, spicy peanuts, chocolate and buttercrunch toffee are a pretty amazing combination regardless.

It’s an incomplete list for sure, but I can’t wait to add to it!