Where are the best places to eat and drink in New York? No one knows that better than the chefs who call this place home. Plain old bagel with cream cheese. The line is long, so don’t go. I didn’t mean slugs. I meant snails. We have quizzed some icons. And over the next couple of days, we’re going to show you where they absolutely love. And later on in the film, we’re going to go to the best restaurant in New York. That’s good. Man, that’s good. Haven’t seen the edit of this yet, but it might be the best we’ve ever made.
We love bagels. Where’s the best bagel in Brooklyn? Shelsky’s. They have the largest selection of smoked fish in all of New York, which is very important when smoked salmon is an integral part of bagel life. It’s gorgeous. And because it’s super thin, you get all that surface area. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Started 12 years ago by Peter and Lewis. They knew it wouldn’t be easy. Right? Because they were doing something different. They had to educate their customers about an old-school bagel. Not one of these big ones that all the Instagrammers are going to follow. Bagels were made with a sourdough starter, so they’re chewy, they’ve got little holes through them, and they’ve got that beautiful crisp outer shell that is actually so hard to get.
It feels damn authentic in there, doesn’t it? It does. It feels really authentic, yeah. Okay, where should we start? I want to go for this. There’s no real crazy name on that. It’s a Shelsky’s Roast Turkey Sandwich with sauerkraut, Russian dressing, and Swiss cheese on rye bread. Oh my goodness, the ratios. So Lewis has gone easy on us. He reckons there should be another two or three ounces of meat on this. That’s my limit, like, opening my goal. Yeah. Can you beat around the bush? I love that. You keep biting it, so it’s pretty good. I’m gonna be a member of the tribe next. Tribe, alright. So it’s our Hoppy Seed Bagel, baked in a bagel shop on 4th Avenue—tomato, onion, capers.
Jess, that was a question. It wasn’t just shouting it. Sorry, I thought it was awesome. Sorry. Thank you. That’s a good idea, isn’t it? Cut the top of the bagel first. The outside of that, you only get that from a really fresh, well-made bagel. You should be able to burn the calories of that bagel by chewing it. Not toasted? Not toasted. You don’t toast a bagel, never. This is The Great Gatsby, another really popular one. The pastrami, salmon, cream cheese, and honey mustard. Celery soda. And celery soda. Oh man, that’s good. Sometimes I’ll watch people from the counter; they’re sitting outside, and I’ll watch them to see the reaction. When I see their eyes closed, it’s like, ‘Oh man,’ so good, that makes me feel so good.
Where’s really good value in New York? Wohop, man. Chinatown? Oh yeah, Chinatown. I shit you not, you could spend $90 and feed about 20 people. Chinatown. New York is vast, fun, and very good value. These are a few of the spots we’ve been strongly recommended by the chefs you’ve interviewed. $5 in New York buys you very little. However, it does buy you this, one of the best dumpling spots in Chinatown. We’re on Henry Street, not a very touristy one, but Jin Mei Dumplings. How are they doing that? 15 dumplings? These are pork-and-chive fried dumplings. They’re fried and steamed. They’re very aggressively fried on one side, so you get a real crunch. So it works out at 33 cents a dumpling.
It was very good value for money. People are eating all 15 to themselves. It feels like an aggressive number, I’ve got to be honest. I really like her. Tori’s giving a bigger reaction than I, actually. Every day there’s a queue here. A tiny little silver box with two lovely ladies in it, cooking up rice rolls. Big, bouncy, meat-filled rice rolls. Sorry mate, still not rolling. Come on, big, bouncy, meat-filled rice rolls. Gone for a small portion of the fresh shrimp rice roll, which cost all of three dollars and fifty. Just bargains galore here in Chinatown. That was it. Uh, reasonably saucy. You拼了算是yes and no. Tina Associates, thank you.多謝. C’en c’est!如何? Thank you. What does that mean?
Thank you. Thank you. Right, you choose your meat filling: roast pork, chicken, or dried shrimp. We’ve gone for fresh shrimp. So you have a big puffy rice roll in a little soy-based sauce. Oh, that t-shirt, mate. That is beautiful, dude. Is it more beautiful than this GoPro angle, you know? The texture of that rice roll, fresh shrimp, the peanut sauce, and the chili. Man, that’s delicious. Right, done with savory. Now let’s get some sweet stuff in Double Crispy Bakery. There are lots of bakeries in Chinatown, but we’ve been told this one’s the best. Okay, boys, I’ve made the executive decision that we should go for lemon bun. And a custard bun. Huh? And the custard. And the custard tart, yeah. It does say on the door, Portuguese Custard Specialty Store.
Are they Portuguese? Or are they from Macau? Who knows? Nice, thick, eggy tart. It’s not like a Portuguese tart, so that’s probably why it’s from Macau. But it’s quite delicious. Lemon balm. No idea what it’s going to be like inside. I love lemon buns. Lovely, hospitable people. They give very delectable buns. Should have gone for a pork bun. That was my bad. Care is one of the best restaurants in New York. Bariel, why is that? It’s the most delicious Middle Eastern food you’ll have in the city, and it’s a vibe. Bariel is the executive chef, and Alvin Ma is a James Beard 2024 finalist. By the time this film comes out, we’ll probably know. Hopefully, I’ll be a winner. So let’s run, let’s run two. Winner! Runner-up. HAHAHAHA James Beard, 2024, runner-up.
The beauty of the menu here is that it doesn’t change. This is like the restaurant’s bricks. And the chicken doesn’t change, but everything else changes. So you have your front of bread to enjoy with all these delicious dishes. I see, I see, I see. Oh wow, that’s a hot one. That’s fresh out of the pan. I got chef hands. Okay. That makes me feel really good. Once you eat it, you’re going to be tempted to talk about your feelings because this stirs up so many emotions. Gosh, dude. So this chicken is marinated in yogurt and saffron for 3 days. Yeah, and I love that, like, golden hue it has, like, coming through it. It’s so juicy from that three-day marinade, right? But look how crispy that skin is.
Damn, how do they get a skin like that? Crispy skin. But the juiciest chicken. Juicy, juicy, juicy. What’s been your favorite place you ever lived? New York. New York. Why? It’s a tiny little concentration or a snapshot of the entire world in one city. But there’s something about the energy in New York that makes you realize the world is way bigger than your stupid little problems. So as soon as you arrived here, you were like, I’m home. I’m, let’s go. Boom. Okay, so these are like lamb kofte meatballs, right? Yes. A lot of chefs just kind of cut corners and make a bigger meatball because that’s how you can guarantee you get like a juicy meatball. These are small and they’re juicy as hell. They really are. There’s a slight Christmassy flavor. Christmasy, all the stuff is so savory and rich. You gotta have these pickles on the table. Come back, get a little break. Yeah, they got a lot of zing. Like, there’s water in my eyes now. Do you know what I mean? Whoa. Ah, so nice. Thanks, gang. Thank you all for that beautiful, beautiful food. My pleasure. Thanks very much for introducing us to this beautiful, beautiful food. That’s what this industry is about, right? Yeah. Good people introducing good people. Boom.
Don’t tell me that’s not going in the edit, mate. You can actually do one. Best pub in New York City, Dead Rabbit. You know they’re good at it, right? You know, New York’s good at Irish pubs. And yes, we’re not in Ireland, but that’s not the point. At the Dead Rabbit, we thought our first drink would be a Guinness; however, it’s not—it’s a frozen Irish coffee. Oh, this is my first alcoholic drink of the day. It’s like boozy coffee ice cream. Back in the time when New York was way, way more dodgy than it is. The group that protected the Irish in New York was called the Dead Rabbits. And this was the headquarters, all five floors of it. Obviously, it feels very… Irish. All the photography and artwork ever created is Irish.
It’s Zsuzsi, you know? It’s like, it’s high-end. The quality is premium. Look at that bar. That’s not, you know, that’s… Whoa, mate. Bro, it’s happened. We have a black velvet on our hands. Just two ingredients, but it’s a very hard thing to get right. Champagne Guinness. We love it, but it’s not really ever great. With anywhere and half the Irish bars in the world, it’s just good stuff during our time here. We’re staying at the Penny in Williamsburg, a super cool neighborhood in Brooklyn. It’s very cool, it’s super cool, it’s accessible, it’s really reasonably priced, and they have an amazing rooftop. They do a good margarita. Will, on Mondays it’s closed, bro. No!
Morning, mate. Morning, dude. Day two. The amazing thing about Penny is this beautiful roof terrace. Look at this beauty. On a day like today, when you’re up here, there’s no need to complain. No, bro. We’re going to one of my all-time faves in New York, Emilio’s. I really hope they’re doing the meatballs. This is… Easy. We need to start texting each other about what we’re going to wear because this is getting ridiculous, okay? When my friends ask me, ‘Hey, one restaurant in New York, where do I go?’ I sent them to Emilio’s Palazzo. And this is Emilio. How are you, my guy? I’m good, dude. You good? How are you, mate? How are you doing? Tell me about your place. It’s a mix of traditional Italian and Italian-American. Emilio.
Emilio. That’s the real Emilio right there. Yes. He told me his watch is fake. Oh, listen, I mean, fucking bullshit. There’s a lady here. Stop. Sorry. It’s full of crap. A lot of history in this place, man. A lot of memories. Anthony was a great guy, man. That dude was a beast. Did he come in a lot? Yeah, we used to hang out all the time, man. Really? Yeah, we’d go in the back. Oh, come on, man. Anthony was a great dude, man. Hello, Chingo. All right, well, I got the clams here. So here are the little necks. I’m going to show you guys how to open these bad boys. I’ve never opened a clam before. Oh, yeah. Not one of those, anyway. Hit that right there.
Hit this right here. It’s open. Up, down, and around. Practice makes perfect, my guy. People think this shit is easy. It ain’t fucking easy. Yeah, I’m in. Those are the meatballs. So yeah, these guys are cooking. We let these slow cook for about seven hours, man. This is the tagliatelle bolognese. We got pork veal and beef in here. This is the number one dish right here. Is that what brought you the watch? Yeah, that’s what buys me all the watches. Pasta, baby. Emilio’s currently preparing a clown dish. Yeah, this is the linguine a la vongole. It’s my favorite fucking dish, man. Honestly, my stomach is, like, beatboxing right now. Thing needs, like, another second, and then we’re good to go. And that’s your dish right there, papa. All right? Now we got to try it. You first! I could eat this all day and night, man. Gorgeous. So in the meatballs, they’re packed with parmesan and then beef veal. Pork veal, beef, yeah. Still hurts. Oh, my God. Why are they so good? They’re the juiciest guys you’ll ever put in your trap. All right, bye guys. Brother. I appreciate you, man. Thank you so much, man. That was amazing. Thank you, guys.
It’s been about a half-hour cab ride out of Manhattan. We’re now in South Brooklyn in a place called Red Hook. Random little area this way. A bit different from Manhattan. Tangerine? This is an industrial part of town, the Strong Row Brewery. This is a farm brewery. 100% of their ingredients are from New York State. So hops, malts, everything, all from New York. This place is absolutely ridiculous. What else is hazy and delicious? We do have a hazy pale ale. Let’s give you one of those. Permission to have a little supper on each of them? You’ve got to do you. You crack on, bro. Oh, gosh, that is flavoursome. Pails for the males, dude. Look at this. Pure glory. There she is. The old copper princess. Cheers, bro. Look at this beautiful sunny day.
By the water, drinking a thick boy. We’re sort of switching it up on our hoppy journey, right? Just moving from a hazy IPA to a burnt IPA. That’s not a big deal. No, it’s not, is it? So Burton IPA, kind of like a little West Coast IPA. Mmm. You’re forgetting something. Thanks, Caitlin. Oh, yeah. No, but also… Who wants tangerine? You want a tangerine? Right, I didn’t want to leave that place because I could sit out there all day, but we’ve got work to do. Next up, Steve’s key lime pie. Okay, so they do these key lime pies in the little foil— the classic little single servings. So cinnamony and delicious. It does taste like Halloween. I’m not sure why. And then they also do these swingles, these sticks.
So they’re key lime pies in China. chocolate on a stick. God bless America, man. One of these Swingles here, one in chocolate, one’s also got ChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotleChipotle. The Chipotle-flavoured one. It’s that chilli chocolate thing, you know? A bit spicy. Brilliant. This one is normal chocolate. No Chipotle on this little swingle. That’s good, man. Who’s woken up in the night and gone? In my chocolate-dipped key lime pie, I need to add Chipotle. Steve, you fucking madman, mate. That is so good. Chefs have told us that Red Hook Tavern is one of the best restaurants in New York and that its burger is the best. Best burger. Red Hook Tavern. Yeah! It’s at Red Hook Tavern. If you want a burger where you can eat with your pinky up, Red Hook Tavern. And it’s this guy, Billy Durney.
What is Reddick Tavern? Reddick Tavern is an homage to my grandmother, who grew up in this community in the 1930s. Just a really cozy place, small. Great guests and great vibe, as you can see tonight. Best dishes on the menu, what are they? If you asked everyone in here tonight, they’d tell you the burger. Eight months and 100 iterations of the burger to get the fat content and the mix of the beef and the cuts exactly perfect. Okay, so I was looking at what to order, but then I went to speak to Billy and was like, ” Can you just order for us?” And he was like, I’ll order for you. That could be a very good decision or a poorly judged one.
Okay, these are the country ham croquettes and a rye breadcrumb. Breadcrumb? I’m going to start with the country ham croquettes. This is the romaine wedge with buttermilk herb dressing, blue cheese, and applewood-smoked bacon. That is laughably amazing. Ha ha ha. Oh man, right. This is the burger. Of all the burgers in New York, incredibly talented chefs have been like, ‘Hey, that Red Hook Tavern burger is fist in mouth awesome.’ Very high-quality American beef. You can taste that little funk. It then just has this light, crusty pepper coating. Well, mate, I’m happy we got one each. Yeah, 25, 30% fat content. Oh yeah. We use a lot of black pepper on the burger, and it really locks in that sear.
At this point, we don’t have a single table that doesn’t at least get one burger. Really? Yeah. It’s the cavatelli, oxtail ragu, and garlic breadcrumbs. What the f***ing hell, man. So these are mussels. This wasn’t a spicy tomato. Andouille broth. The flavours, the spice. If Billy said to me tomorrow, ” Hey Jesse, you want to tour the United States with me? Just you and me for three months. Let’s go now. Whose story? Who missed what? What’s this then? That’s 96 screaming eel. Is it? I swear to GodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGod. Holy shit. Good? I haven’t tasted it yet. It’s a brand new guy. I guarantee that no other interview has had 96 Screamin’ Eagles. Give me a high five through the camera. Honk. Peace. Brooklyn loves London. Ha!
Morning, bro. Good morning, mate. How do I look? Yep, like you’ve enjoyed the last couple of days. Brilliant. So on the roof of the penny, this is El Nico. And they do tacos, margaritas, little hazy beers. Right, we love margaritas. But I’ve not had one like this. This is a verdurita, made using fresh avocados. They sort of chop up every day, mix it with lime and sugar. Oh, I could sink a good few of those. These margaritas are no joke. No joke, right? Like this one here is the rhubarb margarita with rhubarb, celery, and cucumber, two different types of agave, some yuzu, a bit of Aperol, other stuff. What’s going on? Oh, yeah! Also later today, we’re going to meet an absolute burger don, like crazy professor of the burger world.
Now it’s time for the best bakery in New York. This is Radio Bakery. There are quite a few bakers in a bright, airy space, kicking out delicious baked goods. This is Jackie Head, the baker at Radio Bakery. Set us up with a little spread here. I’m really excited for this beauty, the maitake mushroom croissant. So the radio’s only been open for less than a year. It’s a beautiful, energetic ballet in progress. There to create these quite delicious-looking baked goods every day is head baker Jackie. This is her favorite: maitake mushrooms, when they’re slow-cooked,slow-cooked, they really break down and go gooey in their savory croissant dough. Smoked salmon and cream cheese are very commonly found. And usually in a bagel. Here it is in a crunchy, crispy focaccia sandwich.
That salmon focaccia sandwich, blow your dick off. Right. That could be one for the Patreon. This is the Earl Grey Morning Bun. I love it. They’re not conforming. They’re not just doing like a little cinnamon roll. Switch it up. Make it different. Oh, wow. It tastes like Earl Grey. I don’t know how, but it does. It’s the rhubarb and custard. It’s all very discerning, elevated, delicate flavours. That’s got to be up there, Will, hasn’t it? The top three bakeries in the world we’ve been to. Whoo. Independent. Through the stones, independent. This is Frank Piniello from Best Pizza. Welcome to Brooklyn. We’ve been here before, and he wasn’t here, but we got him. Come on. I want to show you guys around. So this is the compound.
About the oven, this is the oven. This is the whole structure of the oven. So it’s 120 years old. When they were building these ovens, they were building them for coal because coal was very specifically coming from, like, Pennsylvania. They cook 300 loaves of bread in here a day. This is the walk-in where we keep everything, try to keep everything, like, nice and organised. So you’re making your own mozzarella? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. When we make the cheese, I can control, like, the salinity. I can control the salt. I can control the moisture. It takes a little extra work, but at the end of the day, I’ll get a product that I know exactly what’s in it. I know exactly how it melts.
I know exactly how much I need to use. So, yeah, why pizza? Why should you open a pizza shop? When I got out of culinary school, I thought for sure I was gonna go to fine dining. And then Roberta’s opened, which I’m sure you guys are familiar with, that was making pizza, but doing it in their own way. And I went to work for them, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is cool.’ What would it be like doing a slice shop like this? What makes the best pizza different? I think one thing that separates us from a lot of pizzerias is that it’s very rare to go, like, to be in New York and to go to a slice place and they’re cooking, you know, 20-inch pizzas or 18-inch pizzas in a wood fire oven. It’s very simple, like, in theory, our pizza is the best, but there’s a lot of nuance, like on the back end.
Woo! That makes me happy! Behind me is the most talked-about burger joint in New York City right now. And it’s all because of this guy, George Motes. George, why are your burgers different? Everyone’s trying to overdo it with their burgers, but to me, it should be simple. Beef, cheese, and bun. That’s all you need, really. The same outfit. Look at that right now. Oh, sorry. It doesn’t work here. Oh no, it’s happened! Okay, George, what are we ordering? You should get a salad plate, a single onion burger, all the way single, fries, and a coffee milk. You know what a coffee milk is? Nope. You know what coffee ice cream is? Yep. Coffee, ice cream, but melted. This is hamburger, America.
It’s been open for about 6 months and has caused a huge stir. It’s got a two-star review from the New York Times, which is a massive deal. Loads of fine-dining restaurants will get one-star reviews. How does a hamburger joint get two stars? All right. Thank you. This is the fried onion burger. It has onions in the patty, all fried and caramelized. To me, somebody who hasn’t grown up in America is so young. It’s so soft, so oniony. Oh, this classic smash has sweet white diced onions, mustard, and pickles. That’s amazing. It’s amazing, right? Weird. There’s one place in London that serves Oklahoma smash burgers, and they’re really good, but they taste nothing like the real thing.
Most places that make Oklahoma onion burgers make them at high heat, then serve them to you, and it’s still, the onions all pull out. There’s a point, scientifically, where the onion breaks. To do it properly, six, six, to six and a half, seven minutes. Right. Somewhere in there. That was probably seven minutes right there. Egg salad, tuna salad, George’s mum’s recipe. It’s your mum’s recipe, right? Yeah. It’s supposed to be the epitome of comfort food. That’s the point of this place. It’s supposed to feel like it’s your place. You can come here, walk up to the counter, and get a burger or a sandwich. until you really feel good about yourself. That was like eating burgers from the movies.
All the films I’ve seen where people are at diners having a burger, and I’ve been like, ‘Oh, I wonder what that’s like.’ Now I’ve done it, and it’s buzzy, and it’s great, and I love that George is there, cap on, chops out, smashing those fried onion burgers. There is almost one thing that every chef in New York agrees on. The best pizza is found at Lucali—the best pizza in New York. Lucali is my favorite pie. It’s a New York institution. I really enjoy it there. Lucali, best pizza in New York. Exclamation point. He’s making pies right now. He’s making pies. Lucali’s been here 17 years, and it’s a BYOB. And what a BYOB it is. Why has Lucali become this thing? It’s humble, it’s relaxed. People, like, flock here, celebrate here.
What happened? I don’t know. The pizza may be good. I’m starting to believe in it. Why did you choose to be YRB? Growing up in Brooklyn, you know, we went to these pizzerias, and it was like, we didn’t drink wine with pizza. You know, we’d go in there and get a Pepsi, a Coke, or the fountain soda. Either my friend Nick or I, man. buzzing here. Oh, Anthony Rizzo, New York Yankees. Oh, Rizzo. AHHHHH! for Anthony Rizzo. Hello, Mr. Rizzo. How are we doing? I’m sitting here with Topjaw, and they want to know which of your favorite pizza spots in New York is yours. Blue Cowleys. How’s everything going? Good, you? Good. Where are you at? Are we in the back? We’re in front of Luke Alley’s. The back is set up.
Your table is set up. Nice. Wizards, where’s the best burger? Yeah. The one restaurant in New York that you’d send someone to, what would it be? Poor Charles, yeah. Yes. Thanks, bro. Thanks for watching! So Iqali is small. It’s a 10-table restaurant. There are no reservations. You just have to be lucky and get a table, or queue up, put your name forward, and they’ll give you an allocated time. All right, we’re going in. How often do you eat your own pizza? Almost every day. Let me get your dish. Okay, here we go—plain pie. I mean, it’s gorgeous stuff. And you get a very crisp base, but it’s super thin. It’s like Neapolitan thin, but it has a lot of, like, structure.
Sometimes I’ll go up to the customer’s table and steal a slice. Ha ha ha. Thank you. You stretch that dough out thinner than, like, knickers, you know? Than what? It’s thin, it’s crispy, and it’s Moorish. They’re big slices, but you can do them because the dough is light, dough’s next, bro? We’ve got meatballs. And I love meatballs. And I love New York meatballs. What goes into your meatballs? They’re brisket, short rib, and spicy sausage. There are serious meatballs there. I’ll never say I have the best pizza, but we may have one of the best meatballs. Stick the knife in a little twist. They’re very soft. Ugh. Oh, man. When you don’t like something, do you still react like that? No. Beautiful. That sesame crumb.
This is three-cheese fusilli with pecorino, parmesan, and the gacha cavallo. It’s got a little, like, smoky paprika in it and chili. Uh-huh. They’re like a pasta samosa. And these are always on the menu. You ask too many questions. Fewer questions, more readings. Thank you so much. Meeple, meeple. Two meatballs. What, you don’t eat meat? Nah, trust me. Two meatballs. If you can believe it, we’re asked for even more recommendations than the ones we feature in these films. It’s wild, but we have a map for that. By downloading Step and subscribing to Topjaw, you get exclusive access to over 3,000 pins from all over the world. There’s no excuse to be stuck in a tourist trap or even in a place that’s bang average ever again. All killer, no filler, baby. We have it on good authority from all these chefs that the best tacos in New York right now are at Taqueria Ramirez. Started by a couple from Mexico City, Tanya and Giovanni. Wicky little atmosphere on the street. Short menu, they do six tacos, that’s all it is. But no marker. What should we do? What should we have? Why is it so windy here? Ne, ne, ne. Ah, done. It’s for the camera. What should we do? What should we eat?
Tanya has done the ordering for us. They do six tacos; four are gone. Is that too much? Yo sé igual. Beef and chorizo, beef and spicy sausage, topped with salsa as per Italian instructions. It looks just so juicy. Beef and chorizo, here was the New York Times’ 7th-best dish in New York City in 2022. It’s good. This is the pastor. The pork that they shave off that sort of elephant leg that you see in the back bar there. It’s also their best seller. God, it’s a chunky one. Jesus. This is a vegetarian taco cactus. That’s the main bulk of it. Well, it was vegetarian, so they put the pork scratchings on top. Chicharrones. Awfully pronounced by me. So sorry. Thank you very much, guys. Thank you. Best tacos I’ve ever had. That’s not a particularly high bar because I’ve never had tacos in Mexico. But they were absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much. Thank you, brother. Thank you. Thank you for coming.
Okay, we’re in one of our favorite areas, the Lower East Side of Manhattan, for a while there. French techniques in there, cooking, but a little bit slutty. Three cocktails. I have spirits, a white mezcal Negroni, and a vermouth and soda. Very intrigued by the white mezcal Negroni. Yeah, same. This is really good, by the way. It’s Negroni. So on this Red Snapper crudo, we’ve got kumquat. It’s always a good day when you can say kumquat. And that’s delicious. That’s really good. So this is called the pistola di eclair. It’s so. They’ve trademarked the name. It’s intense. It is a savoury eclair. Can I shove it in? All right, shove it in, mate. You’ve got anchovies in there, olive tapenade, definitely, definitely getting their whole French technique, but a bit slutty.
I feel like this dish sums it up. A couple of drinks in and I’m feeling instantly better. We often bundle around Europe. There’s no time difference. We’re there in a flash, happy days. When we have a long flight to New York, and we’re there, the time difference and we’re boozing loads. Well, yeah. And it’s a five-day trip. We normally do two days. It’s a struggle. It’s a bombardment of all the senses. But hey, we’re powering on through just for you. This is a pithivier, and in it you have alfatorno cheese, you have sesame, you have an egg yolk jam, almost like a kimchi cheese milk boy. A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the tits. Type thing again, French technique, slutty execution, shredded potato in like a sort of almost like a classic tortilla jalapeno relish and a uni sea urchin.
Yeah. What a weird, wonderful blend of flavors, that. Got one of each of the desserts on the menu. They all have very simple, familiar names. Chocolate mousse, sundae, no foil. This chocolate mousse is surrounded by coffee jelly and caramelized Cocoa Krispies. That’s a big old serving as well for dessert, isn’t it? Lambda ice cream, a blackberry sorbet. This is lavender milk jelly. That’s mad, that’s so good. Milfoy, this is topped with a milk crisp. Delicate flavours, it’s really good. Right, well there. Really fun, bold, interesting, nuanced flavours. With a really vibrant atmosphere in there, isn’t it? But it’s also not somewhere that you need to queue up down the block or book months in advance. And I like that. It’s a New York neighborhood restaurant doing really good stuff.
Best cocktail bar in New York, Maison Premier. They describe it as one-third old New Orleans, one-third old Paris, and one-third old New York. All have a rich history of oysters and absinthe. I don’t know how much absinthe I’m going to have right now. I don’t know how many oysters I want. Will they get through a lot of oysters? They get through around 6,000 oysters a week. This right here is the raw bar. Yes, lad. They do all sorts of things, like oysters, their lobster, and other shellfish. But this is where they’re chucking the oysters, doing the big platters, and shifting through. So Ben has just made a table-side martini as a homage to the kind you’d find in an old 1940s hotel bar. Start with a bit of orange bitters.
Stirred slowly but for a long time till it’s just right. Good luck. Even though they’ve been here for 13 years, it took them 12 years to add a margarita to the menu. But this one uses pot-stilled tequila. It gets the beautiful pink from hibiscus. And this right here, there’s a little candied hibiscus flower. Sorry, Rolf, having your drink. You go, bro. Yeah, that’s great. Oysters, cocktails, Maison Premières, absolute jam. And they have a large oyster menu that changes daily. These three, and these three here from the East Coast: Maine and New Brunswick. These guys are West Coast. These are Washington State bad boys. Put a bit of that on there. Gorgeous. Let’s go to the East Coast. Oh, f***. What a day this is. And what a way to end the day, mate. Finishing it off in a springtime, nice, warm, dark garden. With oysters, cocktails. And your best mates. And two best buds.
It’s a rainy one. We’ve had all the seasons this week, but we’re now on day four. This is Sola El-Weili, and you’re taking us to your favourite breakfast or brunch spot in all of New York. What is it? Veselka, huh? It’s an institution. What’s been the most unhinged time that you’ve gone here? Well, before the pandemic, I only came here at 4 a. m. What? 4 a. m. Why 4 a. m.? After a long night of drinking, you get a burger and pierogies here. Like, I’m a mom now, so now I’m, like, a breakfast-brunch person. And now I get, like, the breakfast spread at an appropriate time. Okay, so I don’t want to see a menu. I’m going to have what Sola normally has when she comes here.
But we’re going for scrambled eggs with tomato and sausage and sharing pierogies. I don’t know what. A traditional Ukrainian dumpling, yeah— but you’ll see it all over that region, so I got the traditional. I like the traditional, so this one’s cheese. They make the cheese in-house, it’s like a fresh ricotta kind of situation, and potato. I like fried food because it reminds me of a samosa. I know what you mean. After a few drinks, that’s the sort of fried wholesomeness that you want to chow down on. I really like the sausage. Have you not had a pierogi before? No, I think this is my pro-you first outing, yeah. Whoa. This area, little Ukraine. What were you saying? The area is changing. All of New York’s changing. It’s easy to say it’s changing for the worse, but I don’t know.
Vasilka almost didn’t make it. Really? Yeah, there was a point where they cut their hours back severely. People have been coming out to support this place after the war. When you get to peak lunchtime, there’s always a line. I’m glad they made it, but many places in this neighborhood didn’t, as Sola recommended. Let’s go for a sweet waffle, an egg, and a bit of sausage. I put Tabasco and maple syrup in there. Oh, whoa! And the key to a good brunch is you have to, like, go back and forth. Sweet, savoury. You know, mix it up. Right, Sola, thank you so much for introducing me to Veselka. Proper Ukrainian slash American. Loved it. Awesome. Right. Stop raining! Yeah! To be too stressed, it’s going to be fun.
We’re meeting Andrew Rea, better known under his pseudonym Babish. He knows his food. He’s a New Yorker who lives in Brooklyn, and he’s taking us to a place called C, as in Charlie. Have. Have you been here before? No. So we’re trying this out for the first time. It’s like a contemporary Korean restaurant, right? There’s some fusion happening. I looked at the menu. One of the desserts is called ‘like a deli bake’ or something like that. It’s like cream cheese ice cream, and it looks wild. I love being tricked when I eat. Yeah, I love it. Fool me up, baby. So, just chatting with brothers here. It’s a fusion of their childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, and their Korean heritage. And like every dish is a bit of that. Absolutely.
This one, especially, he said they use Holy Trinity, which is green bell pepper, onion, and another ingredient I can’t remember. This is their, like, gimmicky dish. Looks like a cappuccino or a latte, but it is a Caucasian dish with bonito cream all whipped up. Oh my god. What the hell? What in good GodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGod damn? Whoa, wow, that’s so, so powerful. If I ate this whole thing, I don’t think I would feel shitty afterwards. I feel just fine. This is ox bone marrow pasta. I didn’t think the first thing I’d be eating in a Korean restaurant would be pasta, but it doesn’t taste Italian. Not at all. No way. It tastes distinctly Korean. But in an Italian form factor. I do love what they’re doing, dying to try this chicken.
So he was saying it’s like a gochujang-style fried chicken, a little bit of their Atlanta, Georgia thing in there. That’s good stuff. Dark meat, too. That’s the way to go. Is Bibimbap healthy? Absolutely not. Oh really? Perfect. I’ve always told myself that they might be, having never made one. Define healthy. That’s awesome. Ironically, like the meatiest thing on the table, it has no meat. Huge amount of omami. Omami? Omami. Omami, that was good. OMG. Oh, Barbie. This is one of the desserts. You have a little frosting you can draw on. You can enter the competition to win a bolognese. But really, it’s banana pudding. I am allergic to bananas, so that’s all you. I didn’t want to make him sad. What’s his thought?
Yeah, it’s ice cream, jam, and a cookie. What’s there to complain about in this world? He commits to the bit, which I really respect. I will do anything for the bit. First time we tried C as in Charlie. I asked about that name, by the way, and it’s all to do with their childhood going through these things where their parents were like, ‘Oh, it’s R as in Romeo.’ is in Charlie. That’s not an interesting story, actually. You’re politely looking at me like I’m interested, and I’ve just realized that’s fucking dull as shit. Restaurants sometimes succeed because they want them to be successful, as if they were formulated to be successful. Instead, this is a success because it’s part of their DNA. It’s built into that. So that’s…
Yeah, that’s way better. Yeah, it’s bullshit. No, you’re right. So nice to meet you. Thank you so much for having me. Thanks for doing it. Come here. I’ve never done this one through the camera. Oh. Oh. Wait a minute, who’s that? Looka so stylin’, All original Ignacio Matos, this is your place. Estella is one of the best restaurants in New York. Describe it to people who’ve never heard of it. Food is Mediterranean-inspired, but it’s its own thing. Delicious, it’s fun, it’s casual. Dinner’s super busy, but on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you’re open for lunch. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, lunch, yeah. It is easier to get a table at lunchtime. I hope it’s easy, yeah. But yeah, it should be easier, yeah. I like the way you don’t have your Michelin star on here.
We don’t have anything here. But you have, we’re on TripAdvisor. You know, first to first, you know what I mean? There are many Michelin-star restaurants in New York, but Stella is a real foodie favorite. It’s very relaxed, very accessible. We’re sitting at the bar, but I have a little beautiful oyster. We’re not so tight; it’s a nice little program. Last night, uni sea urchin, and in this dish right here, the scallops, there is uni sea urchin in it. That’s quite wild, because it’s not a common ingredient. That’s good, man, that’s good. The scallops sat on uni in a date, it’s a Nipponzu sauce, fucking yes. It faces it all, mate, to be honest. Let’s go digging for gold, bro. Take up these endives.
So what’s going on there, man? That’s, um… This endive salad has been on the menu since they opened 10 years ago. It’s one of the signature dishes. There’s an orange zest, some orange juice or orange oil, two tubs of cheese, the homemade granola, walnut, and it’s so crunchy and… Oh! Thank you. Black rice is made black from squid ink. But there’s so much more going on. That’s good, it’s a wagyu steak with morel and cheese sauce, served with a sweet potato. Such a lovely, chewy barbecue char on the outside. Chocolate cake with black sesame. Like after that, you go like this all day. This is a super decadent chocolate cake. That’s gorgeous. Panna cotta with honey and bee pollen. I know this sounds wild, but it does taste like a holiday. Cherry sorbet with a candied cherry leaf. Ooh, hello. Distilla has that New York restaurant buzz. Beautiful flavors, nothing too rich or overdone or fancy, and the service has been wonderful, hasn’t it? It’s not breathing down your neck and licking the back of your ears. It’s a phenomenal end to one hell of a trip.
Definitely not the lowest-priced restaurant we’re featuring in this guide, but what an experience. Ignacio’s a dude as well. Chief chiller, love him. New York has been wild—we’ve been so, so lucky to have so many icons in one film. Are you screaming at us for missing someone or not interviewing someone? If so, let us know in the comments because we’ll be back, thanks to Penny for having us and giving us this wonderful roof terrace. Benji. Well… See you next Tuesday.
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