New York Restaurants

Bunker is/was great. Used to go all the time when it was on Metropolitan because we have a CAR! But they moved over to a more hospitable area of Bushwick near "jefftown" or whatever. We went once to that location, it was packed and not quite as good.

So yeah, they're good, there's a few places like that, also Falansai in bushwick if that's still open, but the classic vietnamese places, there's a few in the various chinatowns but none are as good as what you find from Cherry Hill/Philly down to DC or apparently New Orleans...or what I had that one time in Seattle.

RE: Woodside, Woodside Cafe on the corner of Broadway and 65th, I really like, they have these things called Chatamari which are awesome pancake meals. Khao Kang is my favorite restaurant, maybe in the world, but it's not a nice sit-down place. It's a block up from Ayada. There's an indonesian place called Awang that's interesting. We've only ordered once and it was good.

My favorite tibeten in JH was Phayul and they've been working on opening a larger location across the street from their orginal upstairs (and totally charming) location. Not sure if it's open yet, but Phayul is great. That and Mustang were our go-to nepali places.

Have you been to Dawas in Sunnyside? That's FANTASTIC and usually pretty chill at night. The owner does a new american hipster chef kind of thing and her father does a nepali thing and they don't do fusion and both sides of the menu are great. I've had friends take issue with the nepali because it's sorta "elevated" but it's still totally authentic and in some cases, like the shabeley meat patty things, their version is better than anything I've had elsewhere.

cld you elaborate? avos, cilantro, beans, green or red sauce, what are these mystery ingredients?

it is a bit of a mystery but all of the above? I think the issue is the mission burrito joints in NY all suck. When I go to my local taco cart, their salsas are fresh and handmade and taste good. But if you got "California Burrito" or whatever, it's not so good.

I think there are good burritos. My local De Mole, which isn't as good as it used to be, but I'd get their Chicken Mole burrito and swear by it.

vietnamese food is bad here. there's a good banh mi place in sunset park and another in elmhurst. not even remotely close to new orleans or houston in quality.

bunker was good in its former digs on metropolitan ave but new big bunker is trying to be too many different things and it's kind of a bummer. they are incredibly nice and baby friendly which is all i care about at this point tbh.

burrito-eatin' chump here

Bonita used to have an amazing spicy pork burrito that was better than anything I have had in san francisco.

Yeah I don't feel like I've ever had really good vietnamese in NYC.

I still need to try Casa Enrique.

ft Greene used to have a fantastic Cambodian place.

Casa Enrique is very good...but I totally don't get like, michelin star good?

my favorite mexican place though is in the bronx, and it's name shall not be revealed.

Cosme and Oxomoco both worth the high-end mexican hype.

there is a decent pho spot in the east village, the name escapes me though.

ramen is a much better bet, in general.

http://estrellitapoblana.nyc/

Michelin Stars seem weirdly conservative to me. I've been to Enrique several times and I like it a lot but basically agree with that take, and now that it's actually been long waits/hard to get reservations we don't really bother with it.

I've had similar experiences with other michelin star restaurants. The now closed Danny Brown in Forest Hills was def the best "fine" restaurant in the area but seemed similar to a lot of manhattan fare. It seems like they award it based on a sort of total package perfectionism rather than absolutely phenomenal food.

I think Casa Enrique is excellent. The cooking is very elegant for what is often thought of as rustic food. Also, Michelin tends to ignore stars for non-Italian/French/Japanese ethnic food, so I am cool with it.

OTOH I love M. Wells Steakhouse and that's michelin starred

Japanese and Korean are generally very good quality in NYC, even at reasonable price points. I agree go for ramen, udon or kimchi jigae.

the michelin stars also take service and consistency into account.

I'm borderline anti-service

oh maybe they don't look at service, disregard.

"quality of the ingredients used, mastery of flavour and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef in his cuisine, value for money and consistency between visits."

Didn't know Estrellita Poblana, will check it out. My fave is a different bronx mexican place. i guess that says something about mexican in the Bronx.

Tortilleria Nixtamil was pretty great but it suddenly closed recently.

yeah we were p sad about Nixtamal closing. Is there anything else good in Corona? We're in that area a lot (zoo/hall of science/queens museum)

this place:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/cienega-las-tlayudas-de-oaxaca-mexican-cuisine-corona?osq=mexican

was really cute. They specialize in these Oaxacan "pizzas". Wife got it veggie and it was kinda boring, imagine it's better with meat. I got some tacos that were really good. I'd go back.

people love park side but i've never been. lemon ice king isn't a restaurant really but it is consistently great and a beautiful shining institution.

but look at the tomatos in the picture for that place and you'll see what I mean about produce in NYC.

I've never been here:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-y-quesadillas-mexico-restaurant-queens?osq=mexican

but they run the cart at 61st and roosevelt that's my regular.

whatever I got from lemon ice king was garbage, IDK if I just ordered the wrong thing or something

aw drag. give it another shot. i like the peanut butter ice but i understand that it is maybe not to everyone's taste

also not much of a sit-down, but La Esquina del Camaron in Jackson Heights is AWESOME. It's the back of a bodega and outside when weather permits. He makes shrimp or shrimp and octopus cocktails that are fucking amazing. Also ceviche and fish tacos.

side note but I feel like a queens FAP is due. Maybe we can go to Nowadays when it's warmer -- could even do daytime and bring the kids.

the only thing worth getting at the lemon ice king is lemon ice, ime

Octopus cocktails!

i am down for a kid friendly nowadays hang

Nixtamal is closing? i drive out there for fresh masa to make tamales for christmas

Nixtamal is closing? i drive out there for fresh masa to make tamales for christmas

oh sorry for double post

oh wait, not an octopus alcoholic drink.

i had some really good tacos in the back of a grocery store by my nephews place in bushwick

the best taco i've had in ny was suadero from izucar in bushwick

nixtamal is closed.

focussing on wholesale distribution

if you ever checked out the paper list of clients taped up next to the tortilla machine, it was bonkers.

Idk if Estrellita is on the same level as other places mentioned here, but it's on Arthur Ave, and for my money I'd rather have posole and jamaica than any kind of fake Italian for $30 a plate available on that street.

I loved Nixtamal but it was kind of a weird uncomfortable space and very small. Tables were always a pain with kids. Also there was a time when they would always have really fantastic and interesting specials but then they stopped doing that and just stuck to their bog standard (but excellent) taqueria menu. I wish they would open a slightly larger and more comfortable place with an expanded menu.

carne, Nixtamal still has a production facility a couple of blocks away where you can purchase the tortillas. You may be able to buy the masa there as well.

people love park side but i've never been.

I went five years ago for work with a guy who had part of a table in the main room. (Some of the tables are “owned” by patrons so they have access to them and have little plaques with their names on them. One of the other names on the table we were at was Alphonse D’Amato, lol).

I got there early and got a drink at the bar. While I waited, regulars arrived in a steady stream. It was like the scene in Goodfellas after the Lufthansa heist when Carbone walked in with his wife and her new fur coat. Everyone was dressed 20 years out of date and the women wore tons of makeup. It was hilarious.

I was pleasantly surprised by the food, though. It is definitely Italian-American, but executed very well.

got to love a place owned by a guy named Tough Tony https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Federici

any recommendations for a good not super expensive French Bistro/Brasserie ? no specific area

never been there, but this is the same people as Casa Enrique and I hear it's good:
https://henrinyc.com/cafe-henri/

oh I also like le barricou in williamsburg