Thank you for this article. I have now eaten at four of these restaurants (three after the article was published) and had incredible meals at all of them. I've passed on recommendations to as many friends as possible.
I just ate at Teranga after reading this article, and am so glad I did. Other than the black-eyed peas, I didn’t know what I was eating, but it was all delicious and just spicy enough to be interesting without being at all painful. I will be back.
This is one of the main reasons why I love living in New York, we have a little bit of everything food wise. Then to speak on those pupusas, they are so good, my boyfriend gave them to me and I fell in love. Surely need to try the other items on this list because I love trying food from different culture.
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I wish I could afford to live in New York. I’ll have to be content with visiting for a week, once a year.
Two favorite places from prior trips: Pravue, an Albanian place in Ridgewood (sadly, now closed) and BK Jani, a Pakistani place in Bushwick.
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For global gourmets of refined taste and gastrotourists (I am not one of the latter), I think that the four culinary capitals of the world are New York, Paris, Zürich, and Tokyo. For the lovers of true bouillabaisse one may add the Mediterranean coast of France.
Ms. Mishan confirms again the standing of NYC as "the capital of the numerous national cuisines in the US". Alas, it is "not a capital of US national cuisine", that is represented by turkey, hamburgers, and peanut butter.
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@Tuvw Xyz "turkey, hamburgers, and peanut butter"
I think I'd add Tex-Mex, BBQ and Cajun to your list; those would certainly seem worthy additions to our culinary culture.
@Tuvw Xyz Do I understand correctly that with your 'alas' you wish NYC was a capital of U.S. national cuisine featuring turkey, hamburgers, and peanut butter? Bewildering.
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@Christopher Lee, I think Tuvw Xyz means that NYC may be the US capital of international cuisine but it is not the US capital of domestic US cuisine. I can't explain his food choices however.
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"It was the highest rating he ever dispensed, and an acknowledgment that whether you eat poorly or well can depend less on the skills of a particular chef than on your openness to experience."
I wonder if this sentence has been edited carefully enough. What it actually says is that if you are open enough to experience you can eat very well from a horrible chef. That, of course, is pure nonsense.
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Fantastic article! Please keep up similar coverage!
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I feel so blessed to live in NYC! Have plans to visit every single place on this list. Thank you!
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@ Olivia New York
Your plan to visit them all is a most charitable undertaking. Guests like you help keep all those eateries in business.
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This has depth! Better researched list than Eater and other promo driven food media offer. I with you were in the Bay Area which needs coverage like this.
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The best snapshot ever of the American melting pot.
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@ Thegooodlife San Diego
"the American melting pot" -- I would say a Place of Rebirth, not to be confused with the image of Purgatory where souls are miraculously made to be reborn.
"In 1973, the New York Times restaurant critic John L. Hess gave Chinatown — the entire neighborhood — four stars. It was the highest rating he ever dispensed, and an acknowledgment that whether you eat poorly or well can depend less on the skills of a particular chef than on your openness to experience."
This perfectly describes how I feel about Houston's Chinatown. For just one mile down just one boulevard, there are about 150 restaurants or so of varying qualities (and although their quality might vary, their charm does not). Mixed in with all this Asian culinary goodness are the occasional taquerias and even Salvadoran offerings. Of course, one mile has a completely different meaning here in the vast expanses of Houston when compared with NYC's density, but it's still a great experience for those who appreciate culinary culture.
Cheers.
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Boston's Chinatown is compact but excellent as well.
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@ Independent Observer Texas
Alas, I could not say the same about the Chicago Chinatown. Yet the article brings to mind a broader gastrogeographic issue: there are Chinatowns and Little Italies, but where are Nihontowns, Franch- or Gaulotowns, etc.? The welcome representation of the various national cuisines in the US and NYC in particular calls for such a "gastroghettoisation".
@Tuvw Xyz "there are Chinatowns and Little Italies, but where are Nihontowns, Franch- or Gaulotowns, etc.?"
One answer to this might be the incredible influx of Chinese and Italian immigrants 100-150 years ago that quickly formed up neighborhoods in NYC. As far as more recent times, China has over 1.4 billion people compared with Japans 126.6 million and France's 65.1 million. With all else being equal, the Chinese have vastly greater numbers with which to form such expansive neighborhoods. Also, the governments of both Japan and France make for a far better quality of life when compared to the totalitarian Communism of China. As such, that far greater population probably has a far greater probability to want to immigrate elsewhere. All that might add up to the answers to our question, although I'm admittedly hypothesizing here.
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Thank you for giving coverage to these businesses. The passion and persistence that goes into every dish are worthy of our attention and regular custom.
This is dining in the sense that makes NYC a serious food town.
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