is New York City dead?

the one that used to be on 12th street

(maybe 13th? in that area. it might still be there, I haven't been in years)

I think first num pang is the one on broadway around 19th. I used to like it. Would get pork and noodles but they don’t do that any more.

The Num Pang near University Pl is still there

agree that num pang quality has declined over the years. there was one day where the tofu salad container switched from ~8x8" square to a ~8x5" rectangle with no corresponding price decrease = do you take me for a fool num pang

i have many thoughts on the horrible lunch options around union square. long ago i worked way downtown and the breadth and quality of falafel carts and sandwich shops etc was strikingly better.

The best food in union square and flatiron was Taste of Persia which closes end of this month. So if you haven’t gone, go.

What’s good there?

another vote for DIGG/Digg in here

taste of persia is great, i hope that dude finds another spot quickly. the eater thing i read said that the new owners of that nondescript pizza place are kicking him out! why would you get rid of the only interesting thing about your anonymous pizzeria half a block off the avenue!?

calstars he has a couple different things every day but dude will be happy to describe each thing in effusive detail. never had anything less than good.

The chicken thighs are good at Digg but the sides tend to be a bit oily. I kind of like the grilled salmon at Little Beet, but it’s a bit pricey.

I was happy to stumble into Xi'an Famous Foods on my last trip after having heard about it and it hit the spot

they are pretty good for a chain

Xian is another one where it seems portions have shrunk while prices have risen. Its still good but seems pricey for essentially a snack. Other decent chains include Kati Roll, Dos Toros, and Toasties.

generally if i'm eating for under $10 in midtown it's a deal. i had some $9 noodles at xi'an last week and they were delicious and filling

Hey I ate at X'ian recently too! I think general standards of US Chinese food have risen enough that it didn't stand out for me, but it was good and a plate of those noodles is definitely a full meal for me

I think the competitiveness of NYC food raises the bar to the extent where a local NYC chain is probably tastier than a lot of single establishment restaurants in smaller cities :(

I hate Dos Torros. Would rather stick with Chipotle.

For taste of Persia I always get the kebab and one is the other dishes. Greens or lentils with beef usually. Persian meatballs etc. it’s all good and he’ll give samples time permitting.

Other things I eat a lot of? The spam onigiri or roll at Enju.

xp I feel just the opposite, I have always experienced NYC as a place where the propensity of people to eat every meal out means just-OK restaurants have a better chance of survival than they do in smaller places where people won't pay unless the food's good.

also a fair take

xi'an's an exception imo

agreed that dos toros sucks but in a fight with chipotle no one wins

ennju donburi are another go-to for sure.

dan do you fuck with rainbow falafel? that's my first choice if i have cash in my pocket and i am down for some heartburn

Oh X'ian is definitely well above the standards of chain restaurants, what I'm saying is "even in my small city there are now hand-pulled noodle places that are really good, which wasn't true 10 years ago," so I'm saying X'ian is now merely "as good as the best Chinese places in small cities w/o large Asian populations," not "much better than the best Chinese places in those cities" as it would have been formerly

National chain restaurants in NYC always seem to be full of people (whether you're in a tourist area or not)

Never done rainbow because I don’t eat pita or tahini so options limited. What I do do is bistec encobollado w avocado and jalapeños from great burrito on 23rd. I love when you find real Mexican home in the walls surviving in Manhattan. There’s another on 6th ave below 14th.

I like x'ian but for office lunch it's definitely a mandatory teeth brushing x's 2 after and it doesn't travel the greatest.

ohhh, I love spam musubi and spam ramen. I hadn't seen it used much in ny.

it doesn't travel the greatest.

Yeah I really like that they have a sign up in the restaurant that basically says "our food is not gonna taste very good if you eat it after it's been cooling in a plastic container for 35 minutes and that's on you, you lazy asshole"

almost walked into that Great Burrito but i'm always skeptical of mexican places in Manhattan xxp

It’s not gourmet but can be surprisingly good. Refreshing to have that in that area.

Tariqs cart on 19th and park is a good one.

Sammys on 4th and 6th is great obv but not quite as good as the original one in Jackson heights.

Xian is another one where it seems portions have shrunk while prices have risen. Its still good but seems pricey for essentially a snack. Other decent chains include Kati Roll, Dos Toros, and Toasties.

― o. nate, Tuesday, January 7, 2020 11:35 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

it's funny you say that because I like xi'an but almost never go because it's heavy enough that I feel like I have to set aside an entire day's food consumption for it, and if I'm already setting aside an entire day's worth of food consumption to eat somewhere I'm probably going to pick somewhere else

That’s understandable. It’s small compared to a gut bomb like a Dos Toros burrito, which I’ve been known to enjoy on occasion, but it is a decent amount of noodle at least. The amount of meat seems to have gotten skimpier over time.

a chipotle fake meat salad or bowl is the right amount of food to not wipe out the day IMO and their fake meat is actually good! i used to eat at the 6th and 22nd chipotle 3-4 times a week tbh. lost a bunch of weight. i was like the subway guy but without the other stuff.

lol

Chipotle has fake meat now? Time to go back

they've had sofritos for a really long time, that's my chipotle staple

it's sofritas but i bet sofritos would be tasty.

protip: it's BOGOF free on sofritas. you just tweet at them and say they accidentally got carnitas in your bowl and they send you a gift card. some people like the in n out secret menu. myself i prefer fraud.

When I'm leaning vegetarian, I prefer Dos Toros because you can get a burrito with vegetables in it. Sofritas don't add much, IMO.

dos toros now has fake meat btw

so why choose

though all fake meat just reminds me that the primary taste of meat is: salt

Yeah, I don't really get the point of fake meat in a burrito. Beans and rice and guac is hearty enough.

meat product substitutes were so mediocre and pricey for so long (except maybe 1-2 tofurkey products) that I still haven't tried any of the new fake meats. I saw Beyond Burgers at costco this weekend for so much cheaper than my regular grocery store but there was no interest to invest in 8 patties. Fake meat on top of beans is making me feel bloaty just thinking about it (we also usually are fine with bean, avocado (NO RICE) burritos).

Really want a burrito now tbh

though all fake meat just reminds me that the primary taste of meat is: salt

actually the science people who invented the beyond and impossible burgers found the actual secret ingredient is: blood

I want to believe in bean, avocado, no rice but my stomach started howling

I’m nearly 40, let me live

BurritoVille has a wiki page. I don't even remember if it was good or not but i know I enjoyed it.

i can't stand rice in burritos but what ends up happening is the burrito ends up being too soggy or skinny from chipotle-ish places. when I make it at home it's fine. I tried to do a ramen burrito once but it wasn't great.

I did two weeks jury duty in Brooklyn and the food choices around the courthouse were a total fucking nightmare, unless they gave you enough time to go to the Italian restaurant Queen on Court St.

supposedly more people are leaving ny than any other state and the population is decreasing. I think this year might be my last year as a resident.

Soul spot is still there on Atlantic I think. I always loved that place.