Hello! This is my first time going on a trip to new york! (I’ve been there for a concert and for about an hour once, but I’ve never been able to explore the city. It’s always been my dream to go on a trip like this, and I finally have my chance! I’m going Jan 2-5 (while bryant park winter village is still open!!!!!!) and I’ve been doing some research on places to get food! I have a google maps link, just tell me whats good on my list and what i should add too! (note: i’m a vegetarian and I don’t like eggs or mushrooms that much, i’m also going with my family who literally will eat anything) https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZWodV9cyMLYM6x2Q7 tysm!!!!
by chaexluvz
2 Comments
I’m assuming you’re Chinese since some of the destinations are written in Chinese so here’s some more Asian focused recommendations.
**Nearish CafeBy2 in East Village:**
[Cha-an](https://maps.app.goo.gl/tSWohw9mgwQLW8iV8) is a OG Japanese dessert spot/tea shop. Absolutely love their signature black sesame creme brulee dish. They have good tea too. Never tried their non-dessert/regular food.
[Ando Patisserie](https://maps.app.goo.gl/2xXYrCpfSkxc17Bu8) is a “modern” French-Chinese bakery dessert spot. Chinese food tends to be the cheapest cuisine so the prices are higher than what I like to pay but it’s not really that much more expensive compared to other dessert spots. There really isn’t any “modern” Chinese dessert spots so I love that they’re making a good attempt on it.
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**A Salswee companion:**
I’ve never heard of Salswee until now so I’ve never been there.
However [Patisserie Fouet](https://maps.app.goo.gl/e5RWQH9hUHW1zJyp7) is like 1 subway stop/10 min walk away and they are a excellent French-Japanese pastry spot. It’s my favorite dessert spot in the city. I’ve never done it but they also have a 3 course dessert tasting menu with optional wine pairing.
Again I’ve never been to Salswee so I don’t want to shit on them and I will hit them up the next time I’m in the Flatiron area. But I find it hard to imagine that it’s better than Patisserie Fouet just because I like Patisserie Fouet a LOT lol. You can hit up both and compare.
**Misc:**
[Lady M](https://maps.app.goo.gl/JCBnTCwDD45z7Q4A9) might be worth a try and they’re across the street from Bryant Park. They’re known for their crepe cakes. All my Asian friends love them but personally I rather have a regular cake lol. Note that they have a ton of locations so you can go to any.
[Bibble and Sip](https://maps.app.goo.gl/quGkccoxzCxDpEWa6) is a super cute cafe and bakery. They have cute ass cakes and cream puffs and cute Totoro macaroons. It’s near Rocketfeller so you’re bound to be near the area at some point.
IMO I would skip Food Gallery 32. Most of the stalls are very mid and there’s too many better food options in Koreatown to spend a meal at the food court. If you want hotpot in the winter time, [Hakata Ton Ton](https://maps.app.goo.gl/FZGZiGgm9jtJp72A6) is nearby and does a excellent Japanese hotpot that serves 2 people.
Din Tai Fung is a chain, which means that (depending on your life circumstances), it is likely you would be able to eat at a DTF somewhere else in your life. If it was me, I would probably deprioritize it or remove it completely and replace it with a restaurant or food you could truly only get in NYC.
The problem I have when I travel is that there are only so many days and so much room in my stomach, so I try to deprioritize restaurants that aren’t necessarily only eatable at that location.
Another problem I have is trying to figure out the “best” dishes to order at a restaurant. The waiters always end up just saying “everything is good here”. You could try using [Dishr](http://dishr.sefino.co/?ref=r1) if you have that problem as well; it looks through google reviews to pick out and rank the most positively mentioned dishes.