New York or Nowhere: Favorite Places to Eat and Drink in NYC
Gosh I love New York. Always have.
Marcus and I decided to take our sweet little girly to NYC for our 1st Wedding Anniversary and Valentine’s Day. New York is always a good idea!
We have a variety of favorite spots. And of course on every trip, we discover new gems. This trip, I think we did pretty amazing job of discovering even more delicious places. I came back absolutely obsessed with one place in particular…. keep reading to find out why!
First, I’ll start out by mentioning our -
Old Favorites:
Bubby’s
Bubby’s serves the BEST. PANCAKES. EVER.
The James Beard pancake flight has been a staple for me for years. It’s usually the first meal I love to indulge in when I get off a flight. This flight in particular includes three James Beard pancakes: one with caramelized banana and toasted walnuts; another with blueberry compote; and lastly, nutella with mixed berry compote & whipped cream. DAVOON. The pancakes are SO THICK.
James Beard Pancake Flight at Bubby’s in Tribeca
The coffee they serve with the pancakes is so delicious just black. After all these years, I finally discovered what kind of coffee it was and it’s:
Variety Coffee Roasters
Bubby’s serves the Perla de Inza blend from Variety Coffee Roasters. Variety has coffeeshops in Manhattan and Brooklyn. They have a location on 7th and 25th in Chelsea, right near the area I love to stay. One morning, I walked over and ordered whatever drip coffee they had brewing, and it was delicious! Just like the blend they serve at Bubby’s. I’m definitely a new fan. I purchased the Perla de Inza beans to bring home. You can order online too!
Levain Bakery
If you’ve been to New York and haven’t been to Levain Bakery yet, that should be a sin! Levain has THE BEST cookies. They periodically release new cookie flavors and seasonal cookie flavors. Their newest cookie is Coffee Toffee. This cookie is absolutely UNREAL. Imagine dark chocolate cake infused with coffee and Almond Roca dripping throughout the cookie. Like gosh it’s so yummy. I didn’t get a better photo of the cookie because I was so focused on devouring it! And I went back to the bakery for seconds! That’s how good it is.
Coffee Toffee Levain Bakery Cookie
Other Half Brewing
With locations at Rockefeller and in Domino Park, Other Half Brewing is one of my favorite breweries of all time. They have some of the best HAZY beers! I’m always excited to get back to one of their locations and work my way through the menu. Just look at the color of this beer! Cheers.
Hazy Beer from Other Half Brewing, Domino Park
Yuca Bar
Yuca Bar is the most fun bar off Avenue A. It recently went through the cutest face lift, but this spot was the bomb before it was extra instagramable. With happy hour everyday, their mojitos are first rate. Order the classic, or try all their flavored options. And if you need a snack, their yuca fries are great - but their calamari comes in as is the best in the USA.
Yuca Bar Mojitos
L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele NYC
Fun Fact: Marcus took me to Da Michele in Los Angeles for our 3rd date. And now we found ourselves at the newly opened Da Michele in the West Village celebrating 1 year of marriage along with our sweet babygirl. This location is absolutely wonderful. We made an early Valentine’s Dinner reservation, and enjoyed the quiet ambiance during golden hour.
You can’t go wrong with any of their pizzas. Neapolitan style, light and airy. We love the Diavola.
Da Michele Diavola Pizza
You might not think to get a burger at an Italian restaurant, but the burger at Da Michele does not disappoint. One rule I have is that you can’t leave NY without having a NY Burger. Burgers in NY hit like none other. They’re huge, and juicy, and flavorful, and make just the right amount of mess. Da Michele’s burger is all of these things. Ask for it medium-rare, as they do not skimp on the patty. The aioli, tomato, and prosciutto di parma really set it off.
Da Michele West Village Burger
Dante West Village
Dante is one of the best cocktail bars in the world. It’s a place I suggest to everyone. The original Dante opened it’s doors in 1915, so this should give you an idea that they certainly know what they’re doing.
This visit, I tried one of their staples: The Garibaldi. It’s essentially Campari and fluffy orange juice and exactly as described. Delish.
The Garibaldi at Dante West Village
I would really love to make my way through the entire menu and try everything. But I think in all these years of going to Dante, the best drink I ever had was a Melon cocktail in the summertime.
Dante has two locations. The West Village location has a Martini Hour from 3-5pm and martinis are just $10! The Dante NYC MacDougal location has a $15 Negroni Hour from 3-5pm. What a great way to experience the bars without paying New York prices for a cocktail.
New Discoveries:
Here are a few spots we uncovered this trip.
Caffè Panna
This spot is my new OBSESSION. Caffe Panna serves the best ice cream I think I’ve ever had in my life!! It really makes you contemplate life and figure out what the heck you’re really doing with your own. Haha. This is how dramatic I am about ice cream. This ice cream is life absolutely changing. The collaborations they constantly come up with are crazy. Who thinks of these options?! She must have a “flavor captain” role or something! I want that role! I want to sit down and think of different foods that exist in New York City and decide that they might be delicious in an ice cream flavor.
If you go for a scoop, or two, or three, you can choose between topping the flavors with drizzles, a crunch, and panna. They import their “panna”, whipped cream straight from Italy in Piemonte. No wonder it’s so delicious!
An article in New York magazine reflected Caffe Panama’s philosophy of: “Extra. Extra sweet, extra salty, extra rich, extra fresh, extra crunchy, but somehow just a millimeter shy of too much.” This is literally my philosophy when it comes to ice cream. I’m the type of person who wants 17 things happening in my ice cream. Give me chocolate, fudge, caramel, a crunch, whipped cream and anything else all in one and I am absolutely thrilled!
Thoroughly enjoying my Caffe Panna in Brooklyn
When we visited the Brooklyn location, a nice woman opened the door for us with our stroller and said, “welcome guys!”. Later I realized it was Hallie Meyer, the owner of Caffè Panna! I should’ve grabbed her shoulders and been like, “You are a genius!!!!!!”. I would’ve liked to hear her life story right then and there and asked if she had a job for me. Ha!
Each day @caffepanna is open, their instagram story shows what scoops and pint flavors they’re offering. Depending on what you’re looking for, head over to the Manhattan location or the Brooklyn location. They open at 1:30pm, so i would advise if you’re on vacation - just get there right after lunch and you’ll surely be able to get the flavor you want.
If I lived in NYC, my bank account and waistline would certainly suffer knowing this spot existed. Have I convinced you enough that it’s well worth it?!
The ultimate two scoops at Caffe Panna in Brooklyn
One Scoop and Two Scoop at Caffe Panna in Brooklyn
Hey Yuet
As someone who just recently started enjoying dumplings, Hey Yuet has some of the most delicious soup dumplings! This sentiment backed up from my husband who grew up in a predominately Asian area of LA. Located in Chelsea, it’s a nice intiment spot to share a meal.
Hey Yuet Dumplings in Chelsea
Talea Beer
Founders Tara and LeAnn built this brewery together. They describe: “TALEA's beers are at the intersection of high quality and low-bitterness with fruit-forward flavors; beers that you can comfortably share with your hard-seltzer and wine-drinking friends, or open with the most discerning beer connoisseur.”
I found their hazy’s to be delicious. I also tried one of their sours that was quite good.
With locations all over the city, we enjoyed the Bryant Park location on a snowy night, and the West Village location during the day.
Talea Beer Bryant Park
Sunken Harbor Club
Ummmm wow. Sunken Harbor Club has to be the most amazing Tiki Bar in existence. We arrived right when they opened at 5pm. We felt like we were really in another island world with the sounds of waves crashing in the background, and our babygirl slept through the entire experience! Yes - you can bring your infant, but it’s best to leave before 7pm. If you love a spicy rum cocktail, order the “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner”. I loved it.
“Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” Drink at Sunken Harbor Club
Sunken Harbor Tiki Bar in Brooklyn, New York
Fornino
Fornino has locations in Greenpoint, DUMBO, and Pier 6. We went to the Greenpoint location for their $16 lunch specials (M-F 12-4pm). The kale salad is just way too good: beets, apple, pistachio with pecorino dressing. I topped it with their delightfully seasoned chicken.
Kale Salad at Fornino Greenpoint, Brooklyn
They’ve won awards for their pizza, including Best Pizza in NY. We just went with a marinara, and it was certainly a delicious wood-fired pizza.
Marinara Pizza at Fornino Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Carnitas Ramirez
You would not believe this place! Especially being from Southern California. Carnitas Ramirez cooks up every single cut of the pig, from nose to tail! I knew I wanted piece of the pig that was juicy, yet crispy - so I ordered the carnudo (pork belly). It was exactly that - tender and crispyyyyy and simply mouth watering!
Cuts of the Pig available at Carnitas Ramirez the day we went
A rule of thumb is that if a place has consommé, get the consommé!!! If you don’t know what consommé is, it’s a type of soup made from richly flavored stock that has been clarified - a process that uses egg whites to remove fat and sediment. A beautiful process that produces a beautiful product. Dipping the taco in the consommé just made it that much more rich.
Carnitas Tacos and Consommé at Carnitas Ramirez NYC
Eating next to us was a guy who I believe really ordered every single cut of the pig! I was cracking up. That’s certainly one way to experience this place. And that’s a lot of pig!
