I don’t really assign the restaurants I review a rating, at least not publicly beyond a circle of close friends or family. It’s a habit I developed from my days as a film critic. How could I fairly rate a Marvel movie on the same scale as The Godfather or any other classic or groundbreaking modern film you would put in the top echelon of cinema?
Williamsburg has always been a neighborhood in conversation between old and new, between grit and polish. At Meili, that conversation takes a new shape, this time between Brooklyn cool and Sichuan soul.
Midtown Manhattan is not where I go to be surprised. It’s where I go for a function: a passable working lunch, mediocre midday coffee, and a predictable dinner. There are nice places, but many are large saccharine messes designed for client dinners and not a nice night out.
There’s no shortage of Indian food in New York, but finding Indian food with a point of view—that’s rarer. Some restaurants make you feel like you’ve traveled. Others, like Indigo, make you feel as though the chef has and if it wasn’t clear, that’s what you really want.
I hate the part of East Village near Stuytown. I know that’s a hot take as the East Village in general is a fun jaunt, but this specific section always feels like a part of town time forgot about and more specifically abandoned.
Stone Street has become one of my favorite little secrets New York City has to offer. While not being inherently hidden or a secret, I feel that it lacks the night life acclaim that other parts of the city hold.
It’s far too often that I hear that there’s nothing fun to down in FiDi and that couldn’t be farther from the truth, especially in the Fall. With Oktoberfest in full swing, some of the best places to celebrate are downtown in the Financial District.
New York is constantly evolving. I know this isn’t a profound thought by any measure but it’s one that’s been entering my mind a fair bit as of late.
Putting together a special omakase menu is like putting together a set list for a concert.
New York is a truly global city. As a native New Yorker, one of the hardest things to find these days is another true New Yorker.