Places To Eat At In New York

When planning our trip to New York, we never sat down and made a dedicated list or plan for where we wanted to eat and when. We did ask others for suggestions and made a mental note of what they said. From there, we just went with the flow of the day and what was near us. This blog post is simply dedicated to sharing some of the places we went.

SHAKE SHACK

This was the second place we went to when on the search for food in the city and I am so glad we went. My husband had heard about it from others and we realized there was one next door to our hotel in Grand Central Terminal. 

The lineup to order for at Shake Shack can be absolutely ridiculous. Be prepared to wait, or download their app to your phone and order ahead of time and just walk right to the counter to pick up. You even get updated notifications for when your order is being prepared and when to pick up.

We do find portions to be much larger in the USA than where we live, often we were able to simply share a meal to help save on the cost. The exchange rate during our trip was horrible. We enjoyed our burger, fries and shake so much the first time that we actually ordered a second time. They say that they wrote the book on burgers, and I’d have to agree. There was something great about eating a burger at a wobbly table and chair while admiring Grand Central Terminal.

Dear Shake Shack, the one thing you could greatly improve on is using real cheese instead of American cheddar on your burgers. It would be a game changer. Please think about it.

STREET FOOD

Trying the street food from the different carts and vendors is a must. You never know what you’ll discover being served from a tiny little cart with an obnoxiously loud generator. You’re hit with gas fumes and the smell of good food all at once. Maybe it’s all the walking around the city, but the street food always hit the spot.

Our first experience with it was thanks to a little cart outside of the American Museum of Natural History. There were lots of vendors all lined up with their different food options. Most were very simple, and we kept things simple by just grabbing a hot dog and fries. You must get a hot dog when in New York, plus you can even find veggie dogs! 

The pizza is also a must. A few people said we had to get a slice of pizza and oddly enough it took us a while to get some while on our trip. It ended up being some of the best pizza I have ever had and to this day I am still crazing NYC pizza and wish we had another piece before leaving. 

BROOKYLN ROASTING COMPANY

We stumbled across the Brooklyn Roasting Company by accident. We had been up since 4:30 am as we tried to catch the blue and golden hour while walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. Heading into DUMBO we were hungry and in some serious need of caffeine.

Two exhausted tourists in Brooklyn couldn’t have been more impressed over the customer service and selection. the 45 Washington location is filled with all sorts of reclaimed furniture and some very unique gramophones. It’s a great little location for those trying to get the perfect Instagram photo with the Manhattan Bridge in the background. 

STARBUCKS

While going to Starbucks may seem preposterous, we were on a mission for one thing and one thing only. We wanted to get an NYC mug to take home. It’s one of our go-to souvenirs whenever we travel. There were several different styles, but we wanted one specific design. The “You Are Here” version of the New York mug. 

Now, New York has a lot of Starbucks locations. Oddly enough, we went into many locations searching for this and none of them had it. We almost surrendered but found one at the counter where the box was facing the wrong direction. The other good thing about Starbucks is if you do want coffee, but also want to save a little on your trip is that you can use the app on your phone and pre-load it before going or save up your stars to use for free drinks or treats.

CARLO’S BAKERY

It was totally not practical to wait in a 40-minute long line at Carlo’s Bakery in Times Square, but we wanted to get some treats. Several people had highly recommended going there to get the cannolis. We did a little bit of searching online, while waiting in line, to see what others recommended we get.

The cannolis were on that list but the éclair was coming out on top. We ordered one of each and took them back to our hotel to enjoy. Have to say, the éclair was the winner. We were glad we had the canolis first as we were slightly disappointed in it. Maybe if it had just been made and was truly fresh, we would have been wow-ed by it. 

GET A RAINBOW BAGEL

The rainbow bagel was on my foodie must-have list. This was an item I wanted to find. We stumbled across Bagels & Co, and while it may not be the “originator” of the rainbow bagel, I was still completely impressed. It was so good that I have refused to have a bagel back home because I know they just are not the same.

I’ve been spoiled by this colourful bagel and I can never go back. If you are looking for a great carby snack, then you are going to want to find one of these to try!

SERENDIPITY 3

Ever since seeing the movie Serendipity years ago, going to Serendipity 3 has been on my bucket list for New York. This was something my husband knew and wanted to make sure happened while we were on our trip. We did not think to make reservations well in advance. Thankful my husband looked into it while we were there and made a reservation the day-of. 

The menu is very extensive. I strongly recommend that you look at it online before going into the restaurant. Also, ask the waitstaff for recommendations. We knew we wanted something warm to enjoy as well as a dessert treat. The chicken pot pie is up there as one of the best we have ever had. We learned that the recipe had just been changed the week before by the chef. 

There is one wild item on the menu that will set you back $1000 and then tax. According to the staff it gets ordered about once a month. We went for the “Forbidden Broadway Sundae”  that contained chocolate blackout cake, ice cream, hot fudge and whip cream. It was decadent and so perfect. 

EATALY

Eataly came highly recommended to us when we asked for suggestions on Instagram. I lost track of how many people said to go there. When we found our way to the Oculus, it happened to be lunchtime and we realized Eataly was not far away. Somehow we didn’t wait more than 15 minutes to be seated and we were able to get a seat by the window.

We kept our order very simple and shared everything again. The restaurant makes things that are also available to purchase in the store. So, if you fall in love with a dish, it’s possible to recreate it at home. Order whatever pasta catches your attention and enjoy the bread basket. We also really liked the Aranciata drink that we ordered. It’s a sparkling orange beverage that was really refreshing. 

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