Airy, egg-glazed buns filled with tiny chunks of sweet roast pork for just 80 cents 90 cents each? In Midtown?? How can you go wrong? Well, Ying Du’s cleanliness isn’t exactly confidence-instilling (it’s been DOH’d several times), but what can you expect from a place pulled right out of Chinatown and placed mere blocks from […]

Posted in MANHATTAN, MIDTOWN WEST, Ying Du Bakery 2 Comments »

Photo courtesy of Harlem + Bespoke In a phone conversation Thursday, Nick Tsoulos, owner of Patsy’s Pizza, NYC Food Guy-favorite Angelo’s Pizza and Goodburger, revealed that he will be opening Mel’s Burger Bar at 2850 Broadway b/t 110-111 Street in mid-June or early July.  The menu will feature four to five burgers made of LaFrieda […]

Posted in MANHATTAN, Mel's Burger Bar, MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS 6 Comments »

Brian De Palma has Scarface.  Jimi Hendrix had “All Along the Watchtower.”  And Daniel Holzman has his meatballs.    Remaking a classic is never easy, but when it’s done right, it’s so sweet you forget there was ever an original version.  This is the case with Holzman’s spicy pork meatballs (4 for $7) at his […]

Posted in LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN, The Meatball Shop 8 Comments »

The Artichoke boys have done it again, this time in the form of dessert.  But it’s not the fried balls of dough they’re pushing at the namesake Led Zeppole, it’s the Cookies and Cream Italian Ices which are now NYC Food Guy’s favorite late night dessert. Led Zeppole’s house made “cream ice” ($2.50 small/$3.50 large) […]

Posted in EAST VILLAGE, Led Zeppole, MANHATTAN 4 Comments »

Puebla Mexican Food & Coffee Shop specializes in cheap, authentic Puebla Mexican food.  Appropriately, the best dish may be the $8.50 chicken mole poblano platter, which is big enough to provide dinner for two days.  But if you’re willing to sacrifice atmosphere and an overt sense of cleanliness for breakfast as well as dinner, Puebla […]

Posted in EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN, Puebla Mexican Food No Comments »

If there’s one thing in the food world that I feel secure assessing, it’s burgers.  And when a James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year Award winner begins offering just 30 burgers per night, starting at midnight, I can’t help but get a little excited.  Well the bigger they are, the harder they fall […]

Posted in EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN, Pulino's 5 Comments »

This new weekly feature will focus on NYC Food Guy’s single best bite of the week. Tell everyone what your best bite of the week was in the comments section. Thank you Pichet Ong.  Thank you for being willing to take risks when it comes to dessert.  And thank you for constantly reinventing sweet tooth […]

Posted in MANHATTAN, SOHO, Village Tart 2 Comments »

While it’s too soon to give Keith McNally and Nate Appleman’s Pulino’s a full review, it’s not too soon to tell you that the Salsiccia ($9/$17) breakfast pizza will have me coming back for more.  A runny egg unites smokey bacon, still bubbling in its own fat, with sweet, spicy house-made sausage and slightly sharp […]

Posted in EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN, Pulino's 7 Comments »

This new weekly feature will focus on NYC Food Guy’s single best bite of the week. Tell everyone what your best bite of the week was in the comments section. I’m a tingling taste bud.  Different directions of delicious flavor and texture are sending me into a frenzy.  Crispy-edge house made bow tie noodles fold […]

Posted in ABC Kitchen, FLATIRON/UNION SQUARE, MANHATTAN 6 Comments »

Other than Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop and Rainbow Falafel, there isn’t much worth snacking on between Madison Square Park and Union Square.  City Bakery fills that void nicely.  But it’s not their famously rich hot chocolate, their buttery chocolate chunk cookies or their over hyped, cafeteria style macaroni and cheese that inevitably leads me to their […]

Posted in City Bakery, FLATIRON/UNION SQUARE, MANHATTAN 9 Comments »

Shake Shack really is that good.  There, I said it.  I’ve been reluctant to admit that for a long time because NYC Food Guy is not someone to buy into hype, especially when it involves a 30-minute wait.  But it’s not hype that surrounds Danny Meyer’s burger joint, just pure success.  And rightly so for […]

Posted in MANHATTAN, MURRAY HILL/GRAMERCY, Shake Shack, Shake Shack, UPPER WEST SIDE 16 Comments »

Hecho en Dumbo is a two-week old Mexican restaurant nestled on Bowery between Great Jones Street & 4th Street. Their specialty is “antojitos” which loosely translate to “little cravings.” And despite the entree-sized house specials, everything else is little and shareable.  While it’s too soon to pass official judgment on Hecho en Dumbo, it’s the […]

Posted in EAST VILLAGE, Hecho en Dumbo, MANHATTAN 4 Comments »

One of the best barometer’s of a restaurant’s success is whether or not you want to return after your first meal.  KyoChon, one day away from its grand opening, did not pass this test.  The Korean fried chicken chain, which opened its first Manhattan location Tuesday, is still in soft opening, but after waiting an […]

Posted in KyoChon, MANHATTAN, MIDTOWN WEST 8 Comments »

Unlike many Midtown desk jockeys, I do everything in my power to avoid eating at the “we have it all” deli.  The Café Dukes of the city are the enemy of little specialty shops everywhere, making up for mainly mediocre, high-priced food by offering more options than your mind can handle, all under one roof. […]

Posted in Cafe Duke, MANHATTAN, MIDTOWN WEST 6 Comments »

NYC Food Guy always welcomes guest bloggers.  Today we turn the spotlight on a first-time blogger.  He’s my favorite person to eat a burger with, my brother Craig, a.k.a Lil NYC Food Guy.  E-mail [email protected] if you’d like to contribute! It’s been a long time coming, but after a summer spent living in the city, […]

Posted in FLATIRON/UNION SQUARE, MANHATTAN, Mesa Grill 20 Comments »