Visiting NYC from LA - what are the must-eats?

Americas - USA East NYC and environs
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We are visiting NYC from LA, and wondering what the must-eats are considering the depth and breadth of what we can get food-wise in LA. Also, lived in NYC from 2004 to 2015 so I have tried most of the must-eats from that era. I plan to revisit my favorites, but also put together a preliminary list of things to try for this trip. We are staying in the LES but will be going around Manhattan and Williamsburg. We have 3 small kids so plan to stick to affordable spots and do more of a food crawl so we can try as many places as possible. Open to any cuisine, but I am skipping Mexican food because we have excellent Mexican in LA. I love Asian food but hoping to figure which Asian are truly worth trying, and not just some fancy gentrified version of what I can get in LA.

Here is my list so far. I would appreciate any input or other suggestions! What else am I missing? Anything I should skip? Thanks!

Revisits
• Katz Deli
• Any Chinese takeout – chicken wings over pork fried rice (can’t get this in LA!)
• Xian’s Famous Foods
• Russ and Daughters
• Mamoun’s Falafel
• Peter Luger’s

To Try
• Shu Jiao Fu Zhou
• Yu Ji Shi Mo Noodles
• Danny and Coop’s
• Pecking House
• Milu
• Yumpling
• Urban Hawker Hainan Jones
• Fabrique
• Nero Lab
• Mary O’s Irish soda bread
• Double Chicken Please
• Trappizino
• Caffe Panna
• Rowdy Rooster
• Wah Fung No. 1

NY pizza
• L’Industrie
• Mama’s Too
• Stretch Pizza
• Una Pizza Napoletana

NY halal carts
• Santa Halal
• Mido’s
• Farook’s
• 29th St and 5th Ave
• Adel’s

NY bagels
• Apollo Bagels
• Brooklyn Bagels
• Best Bagel
• Tompkins Square Bagels
• Liberty Bagels

NY coffee
• Sey coffee
• La Cabra
• St Kilda
• Suited
• Coffee Project

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I’m verging on broken record on here, but as someone who lives in LA but spends a few months a year in New York, the Unapologetic Group restaurants, Semma, Dhamaka, Adda, are really good and not a genre common in LA. I’d also add Kebab aur Sharab and Chatti for Kerala style.

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The only bagel place that matters is Bagel Hole in Park Slope.

Unless you’re seriously into Neapolitan-style pizza I wouldn’t put up with the long wait in line for Una Pizza Napoletana, and even if you are it might not be fun with kids.

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hard to recommend because kids are not usually adventurous eaters, so i’m thinking fun spacious places

go to: kellogg’s diner, hamburger america, golden unicorn, wu’s wonton king, hometown bbq, thai diner, golden diner, other half brewery at domino park in williamsburg - you can bring over pizza from roberta’s next door

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have you been to naks yet?

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Thanks, I put Rowdy Rooster on my list, but I was not sure about the others given the higher prices. How do these Indian places compare to the Indian places in SF? We’re always impressed by the Indian/Pakistani food scene when we go to the Bay area.

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Thanks! Not too concerned about the kids. I figure a steady supply of pizza will keep everyone happy. They have been to Japan, Spain, and Bali so they are also at least open to trying new things if in the mood.

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Banh Anh Em

And Utopia Bagels 34th St., if you don’t wanna trek to Brooklyn.

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On my list. I’ll go when I’m back in September!

I also like Mam, though I find SoCal if not LA has Vietnamese well covered.

Don’t have a good index for that myself. Dhamaka is probably the most affordable.

*Also I hear people talking about Maxi’s, which expanded from Flushing to Chinatown.

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Pizza you will be near Jonny’s Pizza on Orchard. I’d add to the list for a slice. It’s close and it’s good.

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@krystle920
Gonna give a rec for Maxi’s as well. Probably one of the best wonton noodle soups atm and better than anything in the SGV.

Also Golden Diner. Everything on the menu is fire. I think I’ve had a good majority of it lol. The kids and the adults will love the pancakes!

Also in the LES/Chinatown is Kopitiam. I loved the coffee and the food. Pretty unique in that you won’t find it in the SGV at this quality. Ipoh in Alhambra was pretty meh. I see the Fujianese places on your list great value! Also don’t forget the rice roll carts! My NYC breakfast used to be a rice roll and a bacon egg cheese.

Thai Diner is also a lot of fun. Loved all of the Thai American fusion dishes. Fun menu that you won’t find in LA.

Will you be taking the kids to Prospect Park/Botanical/Brooklyn Museum? I think a trip to Luigi’s Pizza in Park Slope is worth a visit. It is the Platonic ideal for NYC Pizza. Everything about it.

Apollo Bagel is basically a Courage knock off. I would add Utopia Bagels and take out Liberty. I think because Liberty is the only real option in Lower Manhattan/by Wall Street/ferry/etc that it gets more than it deserves.

If you are in the LES I would also fit in Sunny and Annie’s for that corner NYC deli experience. The sandwiches are great too. I really miss the whole NYC deli experience. Also might be the only place in the city where you can add kimchi to a bacon egg cheese!!!

I would consider Cere’s over Una imo. Cere’s is the pizza spot atm.

Sey Coffee is amazing. La Cabra is great too and wild that they have in-house bakery and coffee.

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Is the quality way better than Ipoh in SGV? Couldn’t tell if I was unimpressed w/ Ipoh b/c of the quality or the actual style of food.

Partner and I will likely in NYC in 2 wks, and I’m starting to research places now (thanks to OP for this well-timed thread!)…

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my favorite Malaysian spot in the city is West New Malaysia, they have the best seafood curry soup, kangkung belacan, and nasi lemak. although im not as big of a fan since they moved locations, real ones remember the alley way days on Elizabeth. Kopitiam is more of a cafe but it is a treat! The most “restaurant” experience for Malaysian is Nyonya or Laut

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I was also unimpressed by Ipoh! So not just you. It was just ok. Now wondering if Hainan Jones is worth trying in NYC.

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Urban Hawker is worth checking out though, there’s many many options in there even if you don’t want Hainan Jones - Lady Wong is one of the best dessert shops in the city, the pandan serimuka is soooo good

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Take a look at these recent threads if you haven’t already for some suggestions.

Consider adding Queens to your exploration (easy to get to by subway) for lots of not fancy but delicious eats of many origins (Filipino, Thai, Indonesian, the full gamut of South Asian, Malaysian, another Chinatown in Flushing, and also various Central and South American).

When you say “small kids” – how small? As in, if you head to Chinatown, can you check out a few places instead of a single sit-down meal?

Some thoughts:

Chinatown:
I’m not a fan of the “scooped” style of cheung fun at Yu Ji Shi Mo or similar – for the dim sum style with great fillings (eg shui mai cruller), head to King’s Kitchen instead (also easier with small kids, and you can have a full meal – their roast meats are good, as are the clay pot rices, and the rest).

Shu Jiao Fu Zhou is also not going to be optimal with small kids, and the dumplings are good, but you can carry out a small order if you just want to see what the hype is about.

Do you have something like Spicy Village in LA? There’s a “new” location (by former employees of the real one) that’s a bit easier with kids / visitors (big tray chicken is maybe 80% of the original, but it’s a lot cleaner and more comfortable space). Bo Ky, Cafe Hong Kong, NY Noodletown, Wu’s Wonton King, and more are local institutions worth a visit.

There are also a number of good regional Chinese places not in Chinatown that you can comfortably sit and eat at with kids. Near where you’re staying there’s Che Li and Szechuan Mountain House just for starters.

Halal carts – I don’t know that the “branding” makes much difference. A halal cart near where you are is a good halal cart. This is not destination dining imo.

Urban Hawker is convenient to various things, but not really a destination in itself. Better (and cheaper) of most of what’s there is available elsewhere.

I’d swap Xian for something else unless there’s something specific you can’t get anywhere else. There are also other mini chains like Bites of X’ian now.

Do you have Uyghur options near you? Otherwise that’s worth trying. Food overlaps with several Central Asian (samsa, noodles, dumplings, even the big tray type chicken – but a different style than the one at Spicy Village).

I’d swap Mamoun’s for Kati Roll Company (assuming the village location). And if you’re around the village, you may want to visit the newish Tashkent and pick up food for a picnic – walk over to washington square park to eat.

There’s been a surge in high end Indian restaurants, not sure what’s available that’s equivalent in LA. If you don’t want high end, go to Lex / curry hill or Jackson heights for “cabdriver” aka casual places with excellent food (and seating) that you probably don’t have.

We also have different Korean options than LA.

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Oh this is a fun one; I was around LES / lower mnhtn from 2016-2021 before coming to LA.

There’s been a lot of new developments at/around St. Mark’s Place with all the international students from NYU … CheLi / uluh come to mind as nicer sit down places that aren’t actually formal; but less of the food crawl vibe.

• Shu Jiao Fu Zhou ---- I think this is skippable unless you’re just around the area and want a quick snack; not a “destination” spot
• Urban Hawker Hainan Jones
+1 someone downthread mentioned Lady Wong. The kuih and cakes are amazing; can’t get that fresh of kuih in LA fo rsure.
• Nero Lab - this looks like a cool new space but foodwise looks skippable.
• Trappizino - this is a good time; casual, don’t know where to get the cone pizza in LA.

I actually think Xian Famous Foods is worth revisiting because it’s just so convenient. The noodles imo are thicker and more textured than LA equivalents - I haven’t been into deep SGV, but XFF has much more “coverage” of NYC thann the equivalent in LA. (Qin West similarly has good “coverage” but very dfiferent product imo).

Seconding Golden Diner, Thai Diner … these are fun spots without “equivalents” in LA. I haven’t been to 886 yet but it’s a vibe. Lady Wong has a EV standalone. Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings (from Flushing) has a new outpost in EV too.

Snacks in Chinatown - Mei Lai Wah for the best pork buns. +1 if there is a new, larger spicy village outpost. Kuih Cafe

+1 domino park. it’s new and great in the summer. There’s an oddfellows too

Taking notes from the thread - :writing_hand: when I’m in NYC all I do is alternate XFF and bagels tbh.

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I second Xian Famous Foods as well as the comparison to Qin West (regarding the liang pi). Qin West liang pi are so smooth (melt in your mouth). XFF (and most SGV) liang pi have more texture. Truth be told, I like the Qin West liang pi, though I have a suspicion they are technically inferior (starting from starch instead of flour and skipping the process of removing the gluten, which you may notice is neither a component of Qin West liang pi nor a separate menu item).

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Not exactly Liang Pi noodles, but I really like the You Po noodles from Chong Qing Special Noodles in San Gabriel. It has that same refreshing, light, and flavorful taste that always hits the spot. I don’t remember exactly how XFF tastes but I do remember taking a long subway ride to Flushing back then to eat at XFF in a basement somewhere.

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Yes, the you po noodles from Chongqing Special Noodles are great.

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