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Discovering the Best Foodie Spots in New York City: A Gourmet Tourist’s Guide

New York City is a top destination for foodies who love to explore different cuisines and indulge in culinary delights. With so many options to choose from, it can be overwhelming to decide where to eat first. Here are some of the best foodie spots in New York City that you don’t want to miss.

Classic Eateries

If you’re looking for classic New York dishes, head over to Katz’s Delicatessen where you can enjoy their famous pastrami sandwich or corned beef on rye. Another classic spot is Joe’s Pizza where you can get a delicious slice of thin-crust pizza that has been satisfying locals and tourists alike since 1975.

For those with a sweet tooth, Serendipity 3 is a must-visit spot. Famous for their frozen hot chocolate, this whimsical restaurant has been featured in numerous movies and TV shows.

Ethnic Cuisine

New York City is a melting pot of cultures, and with that comes an incredible array of ethnic cuisine options. One of the best places to try authentic Chinese food is at Xi’an Famous Foods where you can enjoy hand-pulled noodles and spicy lamb burgers.

For those looking for Middle Eastern cuisine, Mamouns Falafel has been serving up delicious falafel sandwiches since 1971. And if you’re craving some Indian flavors, head over to Jackson Heights in Queens where you’ll find a variety of authentic Indian restaurants such as Dosa Delight and Jackson Diner.

Trendy Spots

If you’re looking for something Instagram-worthy or just want to try the latest food trend, there are plenty of trendy spots in New York City. Dominique Ansel Bakery is famous for inventing the cronut (a croissant-doughnut hybrid) and their pastry creations are a must-try.

For a unique dining experience, head over to The Aviary where you can enjoy innovative cocktails and small plates with unexpected flavor combinations. And if you’re a fan of ramen, Ippudo is a trendy spot that has been serving up delicious bowls of noodles since 2008.

Hidden Gems

New York City is full of hidden gems that only locals know about. One of these spots is Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn where the owner, Domenico De Marco, has been making pizzas for over 50 years. Another hidden gem is Xi’an Famous Foods’ basement location in Flushing where you can try their famous lamb face salad.

If you’re looking for a cozy spot to enjoy some wine and cheese, head over to Murray’s Cheese Bar in Greenwich Village. And for those who want to indulge in some Italian gelato, L’Arte del Gelato has several locations throughout the city and serves up some of the best gelato outside of Italy.

In conclusion, New York City is a foodie’s paradise with endless options to explore. Whether you’re looking for classic dishes or trendy spots, ethnic cuisine or hidden gems, there’s something for everyone in this culinary mecca. So come hungry and be prepared to discover some of the best foodie spots that New York City has to offer.

This text was generated using a large language model, and select text has been reviewed and moderated for purposes such as readability.

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Lorraine Godsmark’s perfect Christmas cakes

Lorraine Godsmark recipe for Christmas cakes.

• 1 hr preparation
• 3 hrs cooking plus cooling, soaking, brushing

Ingredients

• 120 gm each dried figs, dried apricots and pitted prunes
• 85 gm honey
• 85 ml rum or Pedro Ximénez sherry
• For greasing: canola spray
• 100 gm blanched almonds, plus extra to garnish
• 300 gm sultanas
• 200 gm raisins
• 150 gm each currants, pitted Medjool dates and glacé orange (see note)
• 125 gm young stem ginger in syrup, coarsely chopped (see note)
• 100 gm glacé citron or cedro, diced (see note)
• 100 gm glacé pineapple, diced (see note)
• 100 gm frozen cranberries or cherries (see note)
• 100 gm pecans, chopped
• 300 gm (2 cups) plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp each finely ground star anise, ground cardamom, ground ginger and ground allspice
• 250 gm unsalted butter, chilled and brought out of fridge 5 minutes before using
• 300 gm brown sugar
• 4 eggs, chilled
• 100 ml golden rum
• 1½ tbsp caster sugar
• 1 Cut figs, apricots and prunes into large pieces, then place in a small saucepan, cover with 500ml water, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until softened but still intact (8-10 minutes). Drain and cool (20-30 minutes), then combine with honey and Sherry or rum in a saucepan and bring back to the boil, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool (30-40 minutes), then place in a sealed container and stand at room temperature to macerate for 2 days, or up to a month.
• 2 Preheat oven to 150C. Spray six 10cm-square cake tins with canola spray and line the base and sides with non-stick paper, forming a collar 3cm above the top of the tin.
• 3 Roast almonds on an oven tray until light golden (10 minutes). Cool briefly, then coarsely chop and reduce oven to 135C. Combine almonds with remaining fruits and pecans, and the macerated fruits.
• 4 Sieve flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and 1 tsp sea salt into a bowl.
• 5 Combine butter and sugar in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until just smooth and creamy. Add eggs one by one, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl, then add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition.
• 6 Transfer batter to a large bowl, add nuts and fruit and mix well with your hands.
• 7 Place 520gm cake batter (or one-sixth) in each tin and tap tins on the bench to level the batter.
• 8 Smooth batter with a small spatula and create a 2cm-3cm shallow hollow in the centre of each cake so they rise to form flat tops.
• 9 Decorate around the hollows with almonds and bake in the centre of oven, turning tins once during baking, until cakes are dark golden brown and firm in the centre when pressed (2-2½ hours). Cool cakes completely in tins before turning out.
• 10 Meanwhile, for soaking syrup, combine rum, sugar and 1½ tbsp water in a bowl and lightly brush syrup over cakes, then wrap cakes in foil and set aside in a cool, dry place to mature (for 3-4 weeks and up to 6 months; 2-3 months is ideal), brushing cakes with soaking syrup every 3-4 days and rewrapping in foil. Keep syrup in an airtight container in the fridge.

Note Glacé orange, cedro and pineapple, and frozen cranberries are available from select delicatessens such as The Essential Ingredient and David Jones food halls. Young stem ginger is available from select Asian grocers.

The Latest from Gourmet Traveller

Ma Harvey's Christmas cake

By Rodney Dunn

• Serves serves 10 or more

Ingredients Method

• 500 gm (3 cups) sultanas
• 500 gm (3 1/3 cups) raisins
• 250 gm currants
• 250 gm finely chopped candied orange
• 180 ml (¾ cup) brandy or rum
• 200 gm (1¼ cups) blanched almonds
• 450 gm butter
• 450 gm brown sugar
• 9 eggs, lightly beaten
• 450 gm (3 cups) plain flour
• ½ tsp baking powder

Serves 12 This is my grandmother's recipe and was a crowd pleaser at family gatherings because it's moist, not too dark or rich. Begin this recipe 2 days ahead. The Christmas cake Having eaten more than our fair share of Christmas cake in the Gourmet Traveller office, we've made a little adjustment to the traditional recipe, substituting candied orange for the usual mixed peel. You should be able to pick some up at a good delicatessen, or you could just as readily use freshly grated orange rind. The use of fruit cake for celebrations such as weddings, Christmas and christenings dates back to the early 18th century when dried fruit was highly prized. A rich cake containing lots of fruit was a sign of the household's wealth. You have to appreciate, too, that in times past, making a fruit cake was no easy undertaking. The fruit needed to be washed, dried and stoned, the sugar cut from loaves, pounded and sieved. The eggs beaten for around half an hour by hand and the butter washed in water and rinsed in rosewater. The cakes were often covered in marzipan and elaborately decorated. Perhaps this is why they were reserved for special occasions. It can be made up to six months ahead.

Step-by-step instructions

• Serves 10 Or More
• Gourmet Traveller

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CHRISTMAS CAKE RECIPE

Ingredients.

• 1½kg mixed dried fruit , such as sultanas, currants, mixed peel, glacé cherries
• ½ cup sherry , rum, whisky or brandy
• 1 Granny Smith apple, grated
• 1 tablespoon honey or golden syrup
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 250g butter, melted, cooled
• 1½ cups plain flour
• ½ cup self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• extra 2 teaspoons sherry, rum, whisky or brandy, to brush

Preparation for your Christmas cake

• Preheat oven to 140°C.
• Grease a 23cm round or 20cm square cake pan , and line base and sides with 2 layers of baking paper.

Mix ingredients together

• Place mixed dried fruit in a large bowl. Add sherry, apple, honey, sugar and eggs, and stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up lumps of fruit, until well combined. Add cooled melted butter.
• Sift combined flours, mixed spice and ground ginger over fruit mixture, and stir until well combined, ensuring there are no flour bubbles.
• Spoon into prepared pan and smooth surface.

Bake the cake

• Bake for 3–3½ hours or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and brush top of cake with extra sherry. Cover tightly with foil and set aside to cool completely.

Store before serving your Christmas cake

• Turn out cake, leaving baking paper intact.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for up to 2 months to develop flavours.

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The best Christmas cake and Christmas pudding recipes

Nothing says Christmas like a plump and juicy pudding or rich and decadent fruitcake. Here are our best Christmas cake recipes.

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Australian Women's Weekly

Boiled fruit cake Nothing says Christmas like a dense, plump fruit cake loaded with nuts, fruits, spices and cheeky splash of sherry. Read the full recipe here

Rich chocolate fruit cake This decadent cake is packed full of the goodness of cherries, raisins and sultanas, then coated in a rich, dark chocolate frosting to create this divine dessert that's worthy of any celebration. Read the full recipe here

Mince pies three ways Unleash your creativity whipping up these minced fruit and nut pies with a brandy kick. They can be shaped into stars, snowflakes or topped with sweet meringue to offer something for everyone at your next special social gathering. Read the full recipe here

Gingerbread gift boxes These gingerbread gift boxes are an adorable (and edible) way to package up any sweet treat. Go all out this Christmas and whip up a bunch for dessert. Read the full recipe here

Christmas puddings Nothing says the festive season quite like Christmas pudding - dense, moist and loaded with delicious dried fruit. Read the full recipe here

Little chocolate Christmas puddings A British touch for your Aussie Christmas lunch. Read the full recipe here

Christmas gift cakes These adorable little parcels make a perfect gift at Christmas time. Read the full recipe here

Golden boiled pudding We used Grand Marnier in this recipe, but you could use any citrus-flavoured liqueur you like. Serve warm with lashings of cream, custard or sauce. Read the full recipe here

Iced Christmas cupcakes Make your Christmas special with these delightful fruitcake cupcakes. Read the full recipe here

Brandy butter Sweet and sinful - this heavenly brandy butter is quick, easy, and so delicious! Read the full recipe here

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Christmas Recipes from Around the World

Christmas recipes make things more Christmassy

Christmas Recipes: Greece

In Greece, Christmas is mostly celebrated with a meal of lamb or pork that it is roasted over a spit or in an oven. Traditionally, Greek families would raise a hog to slaughter for the festive season. The meat would last for several weeks, and no part of the animal was wasted. Even the bladder became a toy ball for the children to play with. Nowadays, meat served to the Greek Christmas table is purchased from a butcher. The lamb or pork is traditionally served with Spanakopita, a tasty and light feta and spinach pie made with filo pastry. You’ll find a lovely recipe for Spanakopita here at food website Taste . Other festive foods served on the side of a Greek Christmas lunch include a salad or roast vegetables such as:

• String beans
• Beetroots in garlic sauce
• Greek salad with feta
• Roasted capsicums or peppers
• Horta (steamed greens in olive oil)

Greeks also love to celebrate Christmas with their own special Christmas Bread. Known as Christopsomo, which translates to ‘Christ’s Bread’, this loaf usually contains dried fruits and nuts. Christopsomo is usually marked with an ‘X’, for Χριστός, the Greek word for Christ. This type of bread also eaten in Turkey, Armenia and some parts of Europe. Some popular toppings on Christmas Christopsomo include orange juice, slivered almonds and sesame seeds. Click here for a recipe for Christopsomo from Martha Stewart to try this bread yourself .

Greek desserts

When it comes to the sweeter stuff, no Greek Christmas table is complete without baklava and Kataifi. These sweet pastries are made with filo, nuts, cinnamon or honey. A quick online search will unearth dozens of recipes but the best baklava recipes will remind you not to skimp on the butter or sugar. If those pastries aren’t enough for your sweet tooth, you can always try some Melomakarono. Melomakarono are cookies made with flour, honey and chopped walnuts. Here is a delicious recipe for Melomakarono from the Greek Islands website . Other sweets Greeks enjoy at Christmastime include:

• Butter cookies called Kourabiedes
• Walnut and chocolate truffles called Troufakia
• Crescent-shaped cookies called Skaltsounia
• Kalitsounia, which are sweet cheese pastries.

Christmas Recipes:  Italy

Italy is a profoundly Catholic country, and most Italians will only eat a light seafood meal on Christmas Eve before they attend Midnight Mass. It is common practice in the Roman Catholic religion to avoid eating meat in the lead up to a Feast Day. In the Catholic tradition, fasting purifies your body for the holiday. For Italians, the Christmas Eve meal is known as ‘La Vigilia’ or The Vigil. It is held as a celebration to mark the birth of Jesus. Traditionally, a fish-centred La Vigilia will usually be light stew or soups. The types of seafood consumed varies between the different Italian regions but can include:

After returning from Mass, it is common for Italians to enjoy a slice of Panettone, which is a type of Christmas Cake we also give as gifts here in Australia. This lighter dessert differs from traditional European Christmas fruitcake as it is more spongy than dense and alcohol rich. Most people purchase their Panettone in Italy but there are plenty of Panettone Christmas recipes out there on the internet. If you want to try making it for yourself, there is a beautiful recipe here at SBS food . On Christmas Day, the food Italians dish up is plentiful. Italians tuck into roast meats such as lamb and beef, as well as generous helpings of lasagne and risotto. While each region of Italy has its own traditions, you are guaranteed to be indulging in some hearty red wine if you find yourself in this country for Yuletide. Other foods you may be presented with during an Italian Christmas include:

• Cardoon soup
• Canederli, which are filled dumplings
• Goulash (not just the domain of the Northern Europeans!)
• Gnocchi with duck sauce

Bring Italy home

Christmas Recipes: Lebanon

Western traditions abound in Lebanon, but traditional Lebanese Christmas practices are still actively maintained. As over thirty per cent of the country is Christian, December sees the shops adorned with Christmas trees, wreaths and decorations. Father Christmas appears to bring smiles and cheer to young and old alike who call him, in Lebanese, Baba Noel. Christmas day for Christians in Lebanon will see a celebratory feast, with an abundance of traditional middle eastern foods. There is almost always Kibbeh, the Lebanese national dish. Made from minced-meat and burghal (an important Lebanese ingredient), and often served with yogurt, Kibbeh is a delicious and quintessentially Levantine dish that dates back thousands of years. You can find a delectable recipe for Kibbeh here at The Spruce Eats . Other wonderful Lebanese Christmas recipes include:

• Roast turkey and chicken
• Lemon chicken and rice
• Mezze plates with a variety of dips

Christmas Recipes: the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom celebrates Christmas in a very similar way to us in Australia, and many of the Christmas recipes are the same. An English Christmas meal is most commonly eaten at lunch or in the early afternoon on Christmas Day in the UK. The most common dish you’ll come across is a roast turkey with accompanying roast vegetables and all of the trimmings – such as gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce and Yorkshire pudding. A great recipe for Yorkshire pudding from Jamie Oliver. Other meats traditionally used when a turkey is not an option or available include:

• Roasted goose
• Roast chicken
• Roasted lamb

For dessert, those living in the United Kingdom crave a traditional Christmas pudding served warm with custard. A perfect Christmas pudding recipe for you to try can be found here from BBC Good Food. Christmas cake, which is a rich fruit cake with marzipan icing, is another popular English Christmas dessert, although opinions remain divided over the appeal of this dish. Other desserts enjoyed in the United Kingdom include:

• Fruit mince pies
• Chocolate truffles
• Scottish shortbread
• Spiced Victoria sponge

Christmas Recipes: Asia

Although Christianity is not a universal religion in Asia, the event is still noted by many due to its global popularity. Two countries which do have a majority of Christians are East Timor and The Philippines. In The Philippines, where the majority of the population is Catholic, Christmas is celebrated long and hard! Decorations begin popping up in the shops as early as September and the people are known to party throughout the night from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. To keep up their energy, Filipinos consume a traditional pudding called Bibingka early on Christmas Day. This cake is made with rice flour, coconut milk and water. If you want to try Bibingka, you can find a recipe here from The Food Network . The Christmas Eve feast is called the Noche Buena feast. Christmas recipes enjoyed in The Philippines reflect other national recipes and include:

• Kue Putu, a steamed rice cake
• Kare-Kare, an oxtail stew with a peanut sauce
• Rellenong Manok, a baked and stuffed chicken
• Fruit salad, featuring tropical fruits
• Hamón, Christmas ham

Christmas Recipes: Unusual fare

Christmas Recipes from Around the World at MàZi

If you have perused all the delicious, weird and wonderful Christmas Recipes from around the world but still don’t want to cook, come and join us for Christmas dinner at MaZi . This year we have welcomed a new head chef. June’s family background hails from Cook Islands. He loves the tradition of Christmas, and in addition to our amazing new summer menu , he was responsible for compiling these favourite Christmas recipes from Greece, Italy, Lebanon and the UK. Curious to sample some of June’s handiwork?  Forget the stress of the cleaning and preparation and excuse the kids from the washing up. Join us at The Lantern Club for a beautiful lunch on Christmas Day.

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