1. DIG INTO THE BLACK LABEL BURGER AT MINETTA TAVERN
Its intensity derives from a pricey rib-eye blend (details secret) that’s dry-aged to concentrate the blood-and-mineral flavor. Liberal application of clarified butter throughout the cooking process makes it, well, buttery — in both taste and mouthfeel, the latter enhanced by crusting applied on the griddle. I’ve had hundreds of burgers hyped as the greatest. After this one, I accept no substitutes.
2. PUT AWAY “VOLCANIC” TOM YUM AT JAIYA THAI AND JAIYA NEW YORK
No Thai place I know does the classic hot lemongrass soup like Jaiya’s two locations in trend-proof Kips Bay and Yorkville. Cooked by actual Thai chefs (unlike at certain overhyped places), it’s fired up at the table in a butane-flame pot. It owes its near-scarlet color to rare chili paste flown in from Thailand — which ought to warn you. It’s rich with kaffir lime leaf and galangal — and scorching. And the shrimp! Not the industrial-grade article that clutters a million bowls around town, but plump, sweet prawns. A cup or two should clear any sinus blockage. Order it more than medium-hot at your peril.
3. POLISH OFF FUSILLI WITH OCTOPUS AND BONE MARROW AT MAREA
This short-cut, durum wheat fusili is the ideal shape to bear the sensuous near-liquefied marrow and basil-infused tomato sauce that drenches Michael White’s most famous dish.
4. CHOW ON CHILLED NOODLES WITH SPICY SESAME VINAIGRETTE AT WU LIANG YE
The item was standard in New York’s golden age of Sichuanese cuisine, which ended 30 years ago. In name, it still pops up on a million Chinese menus but few places do it right, and none better than this chandeliered, Chinatown-like refuge up a long stoop at Rockefeller Center’s doorstep. The noodles are long, thin and toothsome. The sauce is oily, not pasty like imitations. (I once stumbled on a peanut butter variation!) The vinaigrette is fiery enough to snap you out of any 4 p.m. funk. But note: there’s nothing wrong with the water or beer. The dish’s blend of chili and black wine vinegar is playing with your palate.
5. SAMPLE EVERY MACARON AT LADURÉE
Small but mighty, these double-decker treats keep customers waiting in a line that trails out of the French pastry maker’s Upper East Side store. Sample all 18 flavors — the most popular are pistachio, salted caramel and chocolate — and be sure to catch January’s flavor of the month: the Santo Domingo pure chocolate caters to the ultimate chocolate lover. — A.M.
6. FEAST UPON A WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN AT NOMAD
It’s famous. It’s expensive: $79 for two. With good reason on both counts. Black truffles and foie gras are insinuated between skin basted to a shocking golden brown and the breast below. The latter must be the deepest-flavored white meat since the age of James Beard’s “old barnyard chicken.” Dark meat served in a small cocotte is seasonally embellished.
7. TUCK INTO ROASTED BRANZINO AT TALDE
Park Slope eatery Talde’s Vietnamese-style branzino, said to be based on a “famous dish of Cha Ca La Vong” in Hanoi, makes the overworked bass variety new. It comes with the head on and is elevated to glory by a many-splendored jam incorporating tomato, turmeric, mustard seed, cardamom, coriander, ginger and garlic.
8. DINE ON CRISPY BLACK BASS AT LE BERNARDIN
Eric Ripert’s menu is in constant flux. Black bass appears frequently in the “lightly cooked” category, but in myriad guises — right now, with Peruvian chicha sauce, shishito peppers and acorn squash ceviche. But the version that floated my boat was served in deep, dark, slightly sweet-and-sour black/garlic Persian lime broth lightened with a hint of pomegranate. Each element cast every other, and the fish itself, into the boldest relief.
9. GRAB A SLICE AT DIFARA
You’ll have to trek out to Midwood, the line will be long, and you’ll pay upwards of $5 for a slice despite the ramshackle atmosphere. Still, DiFara is worth it. Seventy-six-year-old Domenico DeMarco finishes each pie with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh-cut basil as he has for 48 years. The ingredients are imported from Italy, from the three different kinds of cheese to the ultrafine 00 flour. — H.E.
10. CUT INTO TAWA MACHLI AT TAMARIND TRIBECA
This and the original Tamarind in Flatiron are the rare Indian places that don’t overcook seafood or drown them in clichés. My favorite is a generous cut of halibut filet, pan-seared and set ablaze by a rub including black pepper, red chili flakes and coarse-grain mustard.
11. TUCK INTO HARIRA SOUP AT BOULUD SUD
The classic North African lentil-and tomato brew is as refined as it is persuasively Moroccan at Daniel Boulud’s Mediterranean-inspired companion piece to Bar Boulud around the corner near Lincoln Center. The bowl arrives brimming with spices, herbs and vermicelli chickpeas. Anchored by luscious lamb meatballs, it’s preposterously satisfying for a $15 appetizer. Boulud Sud’s menu is always evolving, which makes me nervous. Please, leave the harira soup right where it is — and just as it is.
12. NOSH ON UOVA STRAPAZZATE AT A VOCE COLUMBUS
Meet the city’s cheapest luxury dish: scrambled eggs whipped to a supernatural softness with mascarpone cheese and crowned with fresh black truffles. ($18, now available only at brunch). It’s the sleeper on Missy Robbins’ Italian menu; few customers seem to order it. They don’t know what they’re missing. Almost unbearably sensuous, these are the eggs I expect in heaven.
13. SCARF A SECRET MEAL AT BURGER JOINT
Le Parker Meridien is as classy as a hotel gets, but behind a velvet curtain lies a low-rent surprise: a burger joint (actually called Burger Joint) that grills up some of the best patties in town. Add a shake, fries and pickles, and you’ll never eat anywhere else on 57th Street. — I.G.
14. EAT A STEAK AT PETER LUGER
Head for the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge, take a seat at a worn wooden table and order a porterhouse, rare to medium rare, with hashbrowns and creamed spinach that could inspire poetry, and probably has. There’s no better beef on the planet, and no better place to eat steak than the wood-paneled dining room that has lured carnivores since 1887. — C.E.
15. HAVE A FOUR-STAR MEAL FOR LUNCH
Two reasons to cut out of work and treat yourself to a luxe lunch: It’s cheaper. Bouley, for example, offers five dazzling courses for just $50. At night, that jumps to $175 for six courses. Eat the way only CEOs usually do with delicate dishes such as porcini flan and Kobe beef cheeks with blue-kale gnocchi. Nothing feels more decadent. — R.T.
16. DEVOUR A FRRROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE AT SERENDIPITY 3
This mind-bogglingly rich, cool treat has been often imitated but never improved upon, and it tastes even better when preceded by a footlong dog. The Tiffany lamps and kitsch-filled atmosphere of the East 60th Street dessert palace add to the fun, as do the novelty gifts you can buy on the way out. — F.S.
17. HAVE BROOKLYN’S BEST LOBSTER ROLLAND KEY LIME PIE
The Red Hook Lobster Pound is so un-fancy you’ll swear you’re in Maine territory as you chow down on your buttery lobster roll. They’re shut post-Sandy but are working to get up and running again soon. For dessert, take a stroll down the pretty cobblestone streets to Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies. — S.S.
18. HAVE CLAMS AT THE REEF
Mayor Michael Bloomberg says:
“[City Island] is even better than a New England fishing village. I used to drive my kids to Johnny’s Reef Restaurant, which is all the way out on the point. We would order baskets of fried clams and eat them outside on the picnic tables overlooking the water. I still go when I can. It’s a great escape without leaving the city.”
19. SLUM IT AT RUDY’S
Eat a free hot dog and live to tell about it at one of the last remaining Hell’s Kitchen dive bars, Rudy’s, where regulars still get their social security checks delivered. Look for the big pink pig outside. — C.S.
TO-DIE-FOR DRINKS
20. SWIG A RED SNAPPER AT THE ST. REGIS
The world’s best Bloody Mary — a k a the Red Snapper — is served here at the Old King Cole bar. The famed cocktail was invented here by barman Fernand Petiot in 1934. Ultra-smooth.
21. OPEN THE ANONYMOUS OAK DOORS AT BAR CENTRALE
It doesn’t look like more than a brownstone stoop on Theater Row, but Bar Centrale is where Broadway movers and shakers cut deals and talk shop. Plus, its Sidecar is considered the best in town. Book ahead or it won’t matter whether you can find the doors.
22. ASK FOR A BARTENDER’S CHOICE AT LITTLE BRANCH
So fancy cocktail speakeasies might not be anything new, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t surprises to be had. The West Village’s Little Branch still keeps some of its mystery, especially when you stick to ordering the “bartender’s choice.” Name your preference (sweet, spicy, flavored liquor, etc.) and prepare to have your palate wowed.
23. SNEAK INTO ANGEL’S SHARE
The city’s original hidden cocktail mecca is tucked away on the second floor of an East Village Japanese restaurant. The murals, low lights and perfectly mixed drinks make it perfect for a tryst with a twist.
— Additional reporting by Chris Erikson, Isaac Guzman, Sara Stewart, Hailey Eber, Frank Scheck, Reed Tucker and Anahita Moussavian