New York City is one of my favorite places to visit for many reasons, but the number one reason is the food. Both New York and Chicago have their fair share of aesthetic restaurants with good food to match, but what I personally love most about these cities is the other side: the gritty, unassuming spots that quietly serve some of the best food you'll ever try. The dining scene is incredibly diverse with cuisines spanning every part of the globe to historic restaurant spots. It's the kind of city where you can walk out your front door and try just about anything, and it's good.
The negative temperatures in New York this past weekend didn't stop us from walking around and trying a variety of spots. Here is everywhere we went, what we ordered, and where I'd go back:
Maman - Flatiron: We were walking around looking for a spot to grab a quick coffee and pastry before doing some shopping, and we stumbled upon Maman. I had tried Maman in Miami and it candidly wasn't a place I was rushing to go back to. However, we decided to stop in and give this location a try and I'm glad I did. Not only was the interior so beautiful and girly (perfect way to kick off girls trip), the coffee and croissants were really good. There was a ton of seating in this location, so it was very easy to grab a table. I'm glad I gave this location a try. One random but nice aspect about this coffee shop that I like is that they don't allow laptops so it encourages people to sit and chat.
Hillstone - Flatiron/Gramercy: Hillstone is another restaurant I had been to in Miami years ago where I remember it being good, but nothing super memorable. However, I am still thinking about this meal. We sat there for probably 2.5-3 hours and practically had to be dragged out of there. The restaurant is cozy, dimly lit and has a great ambiance. The food was great, but the dirty martinis were a highlight for me. I didn’t realize this before, but Hillstone’s signature touch is always bringing you a fresh, ice-cold glass for your martini when it starts to warm up. This is such a small detail, but it makes the meal feel so elevated. Also...goat cheese stuffed olives with a dirty martini. Definitely game changer for me that I will be pairing with my dirty martinis moving forward. We ordered a few different dishes and split them all and I really liked everything we ordered. The Osaka Style Pressed Sushi was not like normal maki but still refreshing and good. The Kale and Chicken Salad was a great portion to split and good, too. My favorite two things we ordered were the French Dip and the Ding's Crispy Chicken Sandwich.
https://hillstonerestaurant.com/
Pastis - Meatpacking District: Pastis is a super cozy French restaurant located in the Meatpacking district of the city. The menu has a range of classic french dishes with a little variety, too. To start, we split oysters which were great. We ordered the Ricotta Ravioli and the Crispy Artichokes next. Both were delicious, but the Crispy Artichokes were a favorite for me. I loved this dish and the sauce they came with. We split the Entrecôte steak with a side of their Pommes Purée. The steak with the mashed potatoes combination was good and the steak was cooked well. An honest highlight from the whole dinner was the service. Our waiter was so friendly and we laughed a lot with him, and I always appreciate that.
Cafe Maud - East Village: Cafe Maud in East Village is an adorable, small cafe. I really enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant, the food, and the Maple latte I ordered. I ordered the Breakfast Burrito with chicken sausage which I loved. The burrito comes with a side salad and potatoes which is a huge portion and definitely too much food for me, but if you're looking for a filling breakfast I'd recommend getting that. Overall a great breakfast spot. Like many places in New York it gets very busy in there, so a reservation was definitely much needed.
S&P - Flatiron: It was -16°F on Saturday, nearly impossible to walk around and for some reason I was very randomly craving matzo ball soup. I also was really hoping it would be from a place with an old-school diner vibe. I was on the hunt for this and miraculously found a spot a short walk from where we were, S&P. S&P seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. It's Jewish deli and diner that has been open for 100+ years. We walked there and while there was a bit of a line, it moved quickly. We were sat in a booth in the back, and it was exactly what I was hoping for. The matzo ball soup craving was satisfied. We ordered the grilled cheese and for being one of the easiest things to make, they did such a good job. The tuna melt was good, too, but the matzo ball soup was the winner. I loved how that diner was stuck in time and the service was great.
Da Andrea - Chelsea: New York is damn near impossible to get good reservations. It's like a full time job trying to book something even when it's far out in advance, so when the reservation I was hoping to get fell through, we found Da Andrea in Chelsea that had good reviews and a pretty standard Italian menu. While the ambiance of the restaurant was great and the drinks were good, this was unfortunately my least favorite meal of our trip. We ordered a variety of plates and shared everything, and I honestly didn't really love anything we ordered. The Tuna and the Burrata were ok. The service was a little chaotic too, and we felt pretty rushed. This restaurant sadly wasn't for me, and I probably wouldn't go back.
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