NYC Food Tour

I went on my very own NYC Food Tour recently and had the best time! So actually my husband and I were celebrating our anniversary and the Caribbean vacation I was hoping for fell through (lonnnng story short). That’s ok though, who needs warm weather and beaches when you can have your very own NYC Food Tour and eat your way through New York City?! Perfect NYC foodie tour for me and my not-so-foodie husband.

It’s only about an hour train ride into NYC from my home but I could probably count on one hand (maybe two) how many times I’ve actually been into the city. Sad, I know! But you know how it is…you never seem to visit the places close to home. My husband and I decided to go into NYC for a few days just the two of us (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa who were in town and agreed to watch the kids)! We stayed at the Doubletree – Chelsea. Is it wrong to like a hotel because they give you all the warm cookies you want while you’re staying there? My husband didn’t have anything in particular he wanted to do while in NYC (since he goes regularly for work…) so I tortured him and made him go on my own little NYC food tour including bakeries, restaurants, kitchen stores, and more!

One of our first stops was Eataly.It’s a great Italian market that is a lot larger on the inside than it looks from the outside. Lots of food, restaurants, and shopping areas inside. There were long lines for everything on a weekday afternoon so we decided to just split a prime rib sandwich and enjoyed it while people watching at some tables across the street. Eataly is definitely a must stop if you’re in the area!

Next up was a little shopping at Fishs Eddy. A fun kitchen store with lots of reasonably priced merchandise.

If you like chocolate, Max Brenner is a fun stop! We just stopped for dessert, but the meals looked great too! Check out the Banana Split Waffle we had including caramelized bananas, ice cream, chocolate ganache, and choco-pops! So good!! A fun place to take the kids too.

A little more shopping at Broadway Panhandler, another kitchen store.

Quick stop at a Burger Joint (website no longer working) to share a burger, fries, and beer. Then some sightseeing and misc. shopping. For dinner, Little Italy at Paesano’s. Prices are reasonable, servings are large, and the food was great!

Next day, I tortured my husband with a few bakeries. :) First up was Sugar & Plumm for some delicious macarons. They have all sorts of fun flavors and bright colors! There were also a lot of people eating at the restaurant which we had to pass on this trip. Jacques Torres also has some chocolate shops around town but unfortunately I don’t have any pics!

One place I was really excited to try on my NYC food tour, was Levain Bakery. Best known for their HUGE cookies (and being on the Food Network) these cookies did not disappoint! If you’re a cookie lover, you must try them! The chocolate peanut butter cookies were incredible too! After all that sugar, we decided on lunch and headed to Rosa Mexicano. I had a wonderful salad (as crazy as that sounds…) and my husband had a huge plate of enchiladas.

A little more shopping and walking including a stop at Gracious Home. It looked like a really small shop from the street but when we went in we realized there were 3 floors! They had everything from kitchen and home decor to hardware needs! More walking was next on The High Line, a rooftop park. There were a few fun food stands that I look forward to trying next time!

Near The High Line, is Chelsea Market, an incredible indoor food court, kitchen store, markets, and more (including home to the Food Network)! We actually stopped at Chelsea Market several times while in NYC because we just couldn’t get enough! If you’re a foodie, you MUST add Chelsea Market to your own NYC food tour!! There are some great markets and stores, bakeries, and restaurants. We bought a few brownies from the popular Fat Witch Bakery to take home with us. They are rich, fudgy, and delicious! Blood Orange lemonade from Num Pang (website no longer working) was a refreshing drink to enjoy while walking around!

A MUST try is Los Tacos! Even my (non-foodie) husband stood in line for a SECOND time to get more because he loved the food so much! Check out the pork on the skewer above that they slice off for you! The pork tacos (bottom center photo) and the especial (fried quesadilla – upper center photo) are incredible! Another fun place was Doughnuttery where you can get warm fresh mini donuts. The best part is that they have 20+ choices of specialty sugar flavors, sauces, etc.to top your doughnuts! We went with the Cacaoboy, Pumpkin Pie Brulee, Speckled Strawberry, and Vanilla Glaze! For dinner one night, we went back to Chelsea Piers and ate at Buddakan. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures but the presentation and food were incredible! One of my favorite meals the whole trip and I would definitely go back (although not really small kid friendly…). It’s a great restaurant to order several dishes or even just appetizers and share!

Hill Country Chicken had a VERY long line every time we walked by so we decided to stop in for some fried chicken, chicken fingers, fries, cole slaw and biscuit! Delicious, casual, reasonable prices, and kid friendly! They even have a downstairs kid play area and tables for families. They also had a wide variety of pies, but unfortunately we were heading out for doughnuts. We did have a little pie sample though, and it was delicious and on our list for next time!

Our last stop on our NYC food tour was Doughnut Plant. Lots of fun flavors of doughnuts and how cute are the doughnut pillows on the wall?!  We had a Blackout and Creme Brulee Doughnut. Delicious!

We had so much good food on our NYC Food Tour but still had to skip many places we wanted to try!!  Not sure you can go wrong with any place in NYC (well, maybe you can…) but here are a few more places to check out if you’re visiting….

• Grand Central – a train station with a great food market and a large food court in the lower level with lots of NYC faves.
• Junior’s – known for their NY cheesecake!
• Magnolia Bakery and Crumbs – Popular places for cupcakes.
• Shake Shack – A well-known fast food burger restaurant chain around town.
• China Town – Lots of restaurants, markets, and shops.
• Serendipity – Known for their frozen hot chocolate, yum!
• Dylan’s Candy Bar – Candy, candy, and more candy!
• Carmine’s – family style Italian food.
• Grimaldi’s Pizzeria – Brooklyn pizza

This is just a small list of places around NYC! I could go on and on but for more ideas, check out Yelp, Urbanspoon, and Open Table. Would love to hear about your NYC food tour! Where do you like to visit in NYC? Would love to hear more ideas!!!