Things to do / Travel Guide
With its constant flow of incoming immigrants, New York City (NYC) can offer tourists food types from just about every corner of the world. Chinese food, unlimited meat in an Argentinean steak house, pasta in an Italian restaurant, pizza baked in coal ovens, sushi in a Japanese restaurant, traditional Jewish foods, Mexican cuisine, BBQ, Cajun, Vietnamese, or even plain old American-style hamburgers can be found in restaurants all over the city.
If you visit a neighborhood that is home to one ethnicity in particular, and go to the commercial district, the soup of smells when it reaches your nose will transport you to the distant land from which the people of the neighborhood originated. And the spice and smell of the neighborhood will stay with you long after you've returned to your place of residence.
Restaurants can be decorated or themed in every style under the sun, from wheeled carts where you eat standing up, to some of the most famous, luxurious, and gourmet restaurants where you need to book literally months in advance to get a table; and just about everything in between. Meals on wheels aren't just limited to hot dogs and hamburgers. Tacos, Italian sausages, goat stew, crepes, rice, dal shells with heavenly spiced greens, and ice cream are all available on most curbsides around Manhattan. There are also lots of places specializing in breakfast and brunch, many of which are crowded on the weekends, so try to go on a weekday.
NYC has an astronomic amount of ethnic and specialty grocery stores and markets as well, where you can buy yourself a weird little snack, choose strange new cooking ingredients if you're really daring, or just peruse the aisles looking for the most interesting-looking language on the labels.
New York City is a gastronomic Eden with many gourmet eateries of international repute. Reservations at these places are a necessity if your party is more than two. Most of the top restaurants start taking reservations 30 days in advance, which, due to their popularity and exclusivity, is quite understandable. On the other hand, many of the more affordable restaurants don't take reservations at all, so either eat there at an off hour or be prepared to wait.
While eating out in New York City can be expensive, there are plenty good values to be had, especially if you are willing to travel a bit further to some of the ethnic neighborhoods and to eat where the locals eat.
|
|
|