Disclaimer: I was the guy who wrote a post asking whether New York food scene is dying, and rightfully I received some hate for it. I also mentioned that I will be visiting the city this weekend, and picked places that I can afford as a college student. Everything here was a 2 person meal.
September 03: Jongro. Amazing KBBQ place. The banchan did not miss at all. It was pretty cheap considering how much we ate. The prices are comparable to Boston’s, and the service is miles better (meat too). I was shocked the moment I stepped out of the Elevator into Jongro because of their amazing interior design. I did not know NYC has space for this kind of setting. Only complaints were that we wished there were more soup. Finding the place was slightly difficult, but I chalk it up to being tired after a 6 hour bus trip.
September 04:
Tal’s bagel: I wanted to get a lox bagel, but I am not a breakfast person, so I only got a sesame bagel with scallion cream cheese. It was so good, and it was my first NYC bagel. It was toasted to completion. Is there such thing as too much cream cheese? Cuz mine was spilling out the bagel. I also experienced the NYC treatment, where everyone was extremely quick. They were firing orders and asking customers what they want in rapid succession. It was the morning rush, so it was bound to happen.
Sushi Nakazawa: my first omakase experience. I went for the sushi counter dinner, and it did not disappoint. Everything was amazing. The chef paid Great attention. We were starting our first nigiri, but the chef waited for the couple beside me to put down their drink before plating. Chef has great humor. The Front of hours staff was extremely attentive, swapping out our finger wipes after every few nigiri pieces. The uni, pike mackerel, and Akami were my favorites. We went for the A5 wagyu add-on, but we should have went for the Uni add-on instead. The wagyu didn’t melt as much as I would have liked. The blowtorch did not render the fat as much as I wanted, but it was amazing nonetheless. Definitely worth it, I will definitely be back for more.
Magnolia bakery Banana pudding: this was my girlfriend’s impromptu suggestion, and it was delightful. A little too sweet for my taste, but it has a great texture.
September 5th:
Redfarm: I wanted to go to Decoy for Peking duck, but I knew they are currently closed for reconstruction. So we went to RedFarm, which I believe is their sister location. The dumplings were amazing, flavorful and tender. My first experience with Peking duck is mind blowing. The skin is fatty like butter, and so crispy. It’s something I will dream of for years.
Overall, this has been my favorite trip to NYC so far. It made our anniversary really special.
I truly truly can’t wait to move to NYC after I graduate. It’s really a special place. People in nyc get a bad rap for being rude people, but people were nothing but kind while also minding their own business. We saw a public dissent in the little island, and locals were instantly defending the people that are being harassed. My hotel was on queensboro plaza and early morning we hear claps and cheers for runners in the marathon! After the run, the streets were often filled with congratulations for those runners. The culture is so diverse, at some point I was in an elevator where 5 languages were spoken, not counting English or my own! local businesses are so proactive. Every single day we walked through parks that had stalls for selling food, farmers market in union square, and everything in between. The different districts? Of New York were so different in vibes. My favorite for now has to be between the upper west side, Greenwich village and east village. There were so many beautiful brownstones.
Kinda diverged from food content, but I truly truly love the city, and will call it my home one day(hopefully next year).
by yolozchallengez