I’ve mastered the art of eating in New York.

I often tell people I go to New York City for three things: friends, food, and theater. I only spend money on these three things throughout my stays in the city, and I tend to go all out when it comes to the things I eat compared to back home. I never really eat out at home, so New York is my time to experiment with different cuisines and see what kinds of things I like at the end of the day. My friends also know some of the greatest spots in town, so I’m always getting recommendations on what to do and eat during my stays in New York.

This blog post I don’t want to ramble too much in the introduction, but I will split this into three sections by borough. I tend to stick to Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan when I stay, and spend too much time in Times Square because of my work and the fact I’m into theater. Besides that, I think we’re all set! Here are some of my favorite eats from this trip to the Big Apple.

Brooklyn

The borough I always stay in when I’m here for more than a day: Brooklyn. I know this place pretty well, especially the area surrounding Park Slope. That massive rectangle is my Brooklyn playground. Here’s what I ate around the borough this time.

Pasta Louise (Park Slope). My boss slash friend took me out to eat the first night I was in town, and we ended up landing on Pasta Louise. The last time I was at Pasta Louise I ordered the pasta with meatballs, added breadcrumbs and the ricotta, and I thought that was absolutely delicious. We started off with the summer farro salad, and it was so fresh and delicious. My boss scraped the plate clean she thought it was that good. She ordered the pasta with meatballs, and I had the cacio e pepe with prosciutto added to it. I thought it was good, but a little too salty for my liking. I ate half and took the rest home for lunch/breakfast the next day.
Pita Pan (Park Slope). I ended up coming here for the lunch special during one of my Smithsonian lunch breaks. I ended up getting the falafel and hummus platter and raved about it to my boss later. Basically they give you three falafel, two whole pita breads, an entire section of hummus on the platter, and a salad. For $10 I was very impressed by the food, and I plan on coming back here whenever I’m in the area and need a good, quick lunch.

Queens

My favorite borough for food. It’s cheaper, delicious, and you can truly eat all over the world whenever you come to Queens. It truly has captured my heart—if I ever moved back to the city, I would probably end up in Queens without thinking about it twice.

Lanzhou Hand Pulled Noodles — New World Mall Food Court (Flushing). I took my sister here because it’s famous, and Anthony Bourdain once frequented the spot. After struggling to understand the cashier, we ended up ordering a shrimp stir fried noodle and a oxtail noodle soup. Over the counter you could really see the men making the noodles from scratch, and when our food arrived, I grabbed some chili oil and took it back to our table. It was so delicious! But it was filling, so if you’re doing a food crawl, this isn’t the place to order individual platers. Ask for the eggs when you go here—they’re marinated tea eggs and they’re delicious.
Chun Yang (Flushing). We came here for boba and to cool off from the hand pulled noodles and heat. I ordered a peach slush, which was really good, and my sister got a brown sugar boba tea. She swore it was better than Tiger Sugar, and I agreed when I took a sip of her drink. Mine was refreshing as well. I’d definitely come back here when in the area.
Sami’s Kabab House (LIC). My friend wanted to come here after realizing there was an LIC location of Sami’s, and it’s been on my list forever. We ventured out to LIC; I ordered a chicken kabab and her a shrimp one. I thought the chicken kabab tasted extremely similar to the Persian version of the dish, but I enjoyed the seasoned rice and carrots. I also really liked that they served spicy sauces with the dish, as I could make it as spicy as I wanted.
Mango Mango (LIC). We came here for dessert after Sami’s. I ordered a mango sago, and my friend got a hot boba and a small dessert. We both agreed we really liked our dishes, and they weren’t too heavy after the meal at Sami’s. Highly recommend this spot, and it’s a chain.

Manhattan

I spend a ridiculous amount of time in Manhattan, which means I know all the food spots and what I like. Here are my favorites from this trip, which is a mix of old and new.

Made in New York Pizza (Upper West Side). A quick eat after I saw Flex at Lincoln Center. I was thinking about pizza the entire end of the show, and so I walked ten minutes to this place. It was a bit pricy ($7 something for two slices, which is a lot), but I thought it hit my cravings well. I scarfed that down in less than fifteen minutes before getting on the two train back to Brooklyn.
Zoob Zib Noodle Bar (Midtown). I stopped here after the bus from Maryland to New York, as it’s kind of near my work. I got a pad thai with tofu and I thought that it was one of the better pad thai dishes I’ve ever had. I think that I would come back here during workdays whenever I’m in the city for sure.
Kashmir 9 (Midtown). I go here often. There’s a card minimum of $7, but they offer cups of Kashmiri tea for only $2.50. I also needed a filling meal my last day in the city, so I bought two samosas for about $6. They were spicy potato ones, and they kept me going until the end of the day if we’re going to be honest.
Chirp (Midtown). This is my go-to Peruvian spot in Midtown, right by Penn Station. I was taking my boss there for dinner since it’s pretty casual, and I got my usual 1/4 chicken with maduros and fried yucca. And man when I say Chirp slaps every time, I mean it.
All’Antico Vinaio (Times Square). I waited in line for thirty minutes for the la summer sandwich here, and when I bit into that sandwich it was completely and utterly worth it. This was freshly baked focaccia packed with tomatoes, mozzarella, prosciutto, and basil. So simple, fresh, and delicious. The sandwich is also huge for $20, so it ended up becoming two different meals for me.
Pink Taco (Times Square). My friend and I wandered here when we saw Rocky aur Rani because it was still open at a late hour. For a Times Square restaurant, we both were impressed by what we ordered. I ended up getting the pink tacos that were vegetarian, and couldn’t finish my portion. I packed it up to take home, and I thought that I’d definitely go back there.
Angelina Bakery (Times Square). My go-to dessert stop near work. I got my friend and I dessert from here, and picked out a nutella croissant and a strawberry bombolone. Get their bombolones, seriously. I love Angelina so much. And the workers are all really nice.
Modern Tea Shop (Times Square). This is obviously an attempt at a very Chinese contemporary boba shop, as their cups are like the ones I’ve seen in the vloggers in China. I ordered a strawberry explosion drink before hiking all the way to 37th Street, and I was really impressed with the drink. I wanted to come back this trip, but decided my sugar intake was too bad to do it. Next trip!
Da Andrea (Chelsea). I took my sister here. I got the bolognese lunch pasta, and my sister a flatbread. We both enjoyed our food, and the atmosphere is cute here. It’s a little pricy though. I thought my dish was also a tad too salty for a bolognese.
Woorijip (Koreatown). A go-to spot of mine for a very long time. I’ve been going here since college, and venture all the way to Koreatown just to pick up lunch here. Two lunches for two days only costs me $19 here, and I think this is such a great deal. My usual orders are the bulgogi japchae and the vegetarian inari.
Qahwah House (West Village). I was a big fan of the Williamsburg location of Qahwah, so I was overjoyed to see the new location opening up. It was packed when I went on a Friday evening to wait for my friend, before we went to LIC, but that tea there was so worth it. I’ve been meaning to try the coffee, but that’s on the list for next time. Definitely a must-visit for me.