Gourmet magazine may be gone, but gastronomic grande dame Ruth Reichl is still keeping her plate full. She’s a judge on “Top Chef Masters.” She’s working on a novel, a cookbook and the movie adaptation of her 2005 memoir, “Garlic and Sapphires,” which recounts her years as restaurant critic. And now she’s the editorial adviser of the newly launched Web site Gilt Taste, an online food marketplace with original recipes, essays and articles — all carefully curated by Reichl herself. Of course, when the Manhattan native isn’t sniffing out delicious discoveries, she’s combing the streets of New York looking for her next great bite. “We’re a city of walkers, where you can encounter things by accident, which is wonderful,” says Reichl. This is her foodie New York. –CARLA SPARTOS
Michael Grimm
2 of 10
Di Palo’s Fine Foods, 200 Grand St., at Mott Street
“Of all the stores in all the world, Di Palo’s is probably my favorite. I have been going here since I was a kid. They have the best Parmigiano cheese. All of the Di Palo’s — Lou, Sal, Marie — are just so incredibly knowledgeable about Italian food. The line is always forever, and it’s fine because you just stand there and learn.”
3 of 10
Soutine Bakery, 104 W. 70th St., near Columbus Avenue
“What I love about this place is that they make baked goods that taste like the things you would bake yourself. When I’m too lazy to bake, this is where I go. It’s baking done by real people. They do a white cake with bitter chocolate frosting that I just love.”
Joe Kohen for New York Post
4 of 10
Super Taste, 26 Eldridge St., near Canal Street
“[Food writer and author] Calvin Trillin is the one who turned me on to Super Taste. They were the first of the places I knew of doing hand-pulled noodles, which are great, but I really go there for these big bags of frozen dumplings. I always have some in my freezer. They’re big and juicy and delicious. They’re a classic snack in my house.”
Astrid Stawiarz
5 of 10
Congee Village, 100 Allen St., between Delancey and Broome streets
“They have these private rooms downstairs with karaoke machines, and you get a dedicated waiter, and they don’t charge you extra for the room. It’s the greatest place to have a party. I should not be telling people this! We have Gourmet reunions there a lot. You just have to agree to spend $500, which, for 12 to 20 people, is not very difficult. It’s not absolutely top-end for Chinese food, but it’s good. It’s so easy and fun and cheap. And you get to sing. [But] I do wish they’d get a better wine list.”
Astrid Stawiarz
6 of 10
El Quinto Pino, 401 W 24th St., near Ninth Avenue
“Oh my God! I’m so in love with [their sea urchin panino]. I love sea urchins. They take a ficelle, and they put sea urchin and mustard oil [on it], and so what you end up with is warm and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, and the flavors are just perfect. It’s the most seductive little bite of food!”
Zandy Mangold
7 of 10
Han Ah Reum Supermarket, 25 W. 32nd St., between Fifth Avenue and Broadway
“If you want the great Korean supermarkets, you’ve got to go out to Flushing where they’re much bigger. But there’s something so wonderful about the fact that you have this Koreatown right on 32nd street between Fifth and Broadway. It’s so convenient. When I was at the New York Times and Condé Nast, I would just walk over there and stock up. What you get in Korean supermarkets are wonderfully pre-sliced beef, short ribs the way you need them cut for Korean food, great vegetables, pre-made banchan, nice fresh fish. The women are always grumpy at the counter, [but] the prices are great.”
8 of 10
Florence Meat Market, 5 Jones St., near West Fourth Street
“You don’t get to encounter this kind of butcher very often. When you want, say, a steak, they go and get this piece of an animal, and they cut it off to your specification, but if they’re only to the T-bone that’s what you get. If you want a leg of lamb, then they’ll literally bring out half of a lamb and say, ‘Do you want the left leg or the right leg?’ and you get to watch them trim it. There’s sawdust on the floor. There’s a bench, and people are sitting around talking.”
Astrid Stawiarz
9 of 10
Patel Brothers, 3727 74th St., between 37th Avenue and 37th Road, Jackson Heights
“It’s this huge supermarket that’s all things Indian. There must be 200 or 300 kinds of spices and every Indian vegetable that you can think of, [including] weird things like snake gourd. It’s kind of a wonderland of Indian foodstuff. If you cook Indian at all, you really want to go here. [Nearby] are places that sell wonderful Indian clothes [and] various kinds of Indian chaat and sweets.”
Joe Kohen for New York Post
10 of 10
Corner 28, 4028 Main St., at 40th Road, Flushing
“I don’t understand why there aren’t duck bun stands all over New York City. It’s just this window, and a woman stands there carving Peking duck and putting it into buns with hoisin and scallion. It’s the most delicious snack in New York — and it’s a dollar! They also sell the duck carcasses if you want to make stock. I just wandered past it [one day]. I have a solid rule: If I see a line for any food place anywhere, I get in it. And so I saw this line, and I got in it.”
Joe Kohen for New York Post
