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This article is part of the FT Globetrotter’s guide to New York
The right meal at the right time almost always beats a “perfect” meal. When I make reservations in advance, 6pm usually rolls around and I fancy something completely different (often involving showering and staying home). So my New York City restaurant recommendations reflect my appetite rather than the scene; tend toward spontaneous dining at places that will have me when I need them, without a very long wait. With one exception.
That exception is Sailor in Fort Greene. It’s quietly, casually wonderful. Chef April Bloomfield does the classics—Caesar salad and steak béarnaise—better than anyone. She also slingshots familiar-sounding dishes into an otherworldly realm: stuffed charco is topped with sticky risotto; half-roasted chicken—slathered in yogurt, cilantro and jalapeño—has the texture of a rotisserie bird and the flavor of a tandoor; and her ice cream-filled profiteroles are covered in a salted caramel sauce that gets almost chewy like a Twix as you eat. Set your alarm for 11am to be first in line for tables two weeks in advance, or try to get in when it opens. If it fails, Roman is on the way – a neighborhood Italian where you will start beans and chicory and finish with chocolate sorbet – you’ll forget you ever thought of eating anywhere else.
A train ride to Flushing, Queens, might not feel like the spontaneous option, but the New World Mall food court will offer a frenzy of instant gratification in the form of hot pot, noodles and noodles. Chong Qing Noodle 19 serves one of my favorite dishes around: chong qing noodle soup with perfectly sized broth, noodles, Szechuan chili oil, minced meat, peanuts and pickles. Every bite is electrifying. Laoma Malatang, the dry pot kiosk on the left (whose name often changes), lets you fill a large bowl with any meat, seafood or vegetable by weight before it’s fried in Malay spices – mild, medium or severe. I choose medium with all the vegetables: lotus root, enoki and wood ear mushrooms, and broccoli.
In the East Village, Sobaya specializes in homemade noodles, but everything on the menu is delicate and satisfying, from old man tofu with marinated spinach. It’s a great place just for a quiet lunch and it’s very close to Kettl Tea on the Bowery. Follow your soba with a matcha shake and a matcha chocolate bar with roasted soba crunch.
If you’re around the Flatiron and wondering why, S&P Lunch is an old New York lunch counter filled with New Yorkers doing New York things like eating pastrami and tuna melts. It’s a great place to stop for an off-peak matzo-ball soup—theirs includes vegetables and fennel. And although Superiority Burger has a reputation for being difficult to get into, if you’re an early bird or happy to have a drink at the bar out back, it promises something very different than its name suggests. It’s completely vegetarian and delivers whimsical vegetable perfection—in winter, chicory from Campo Rosso Farm, creamy little bowls of grilled beans and brassicas—and incomparable scoops: gelatos like Sicilian almond and Evercrisp apple. Food this good isn’t usually served so casually.
In Midtown, I can go to Cho Dang Gol, a Korean tofu specialist in Herald Square that feels remarkably not like a restaurant. From the canteen-style dining room, you can see wooden barrels of tofu steaming in the kitchen, and the endless stream of unordered nutritious dishes makes you feel like you’re in someone’s home. Every meal starts with a spoonful of warm tofu banchan (Korean Side Dish). Whatever you order comes with a wooden bucket of chewy rice that doubles as a kettle to make toasted rice tea. Drink this after eating your stew for something better than a spa day. There are no reservations, so arrive 15 minutes before opening.
Back in Brooklyn, Chez Ma Tante in Greenpoint keeps the bar seating for walk-ins, so the aioli fries are within easy reach. The rarity of the room and menu may remind you of St. John’s, and its meat specials are as good as those at the British establishment. If a house-made sausage is on the menu – served with just a spoonful of beans – don’t miss it. Kohlrabi salad, pork shoulder and dumplings are the basics, and you should get these too.
Finally, my brother-in-law from Beirut says the food at Nabila’s in Brooklyn is as close to his mother’s cooking as it gets here. Of course, my bar is not as high as his – but he is fatayer, Kousa AND yakhnet sabanegh they are some of the best I’ve had. This is spicy Lebanese home cooking with gravy, simple and brilliant without being over the top.
Clare de Boer is a four-time James Beard-nominated chef and writer. She is the chef/owner at Stissing House in Pine Plains and co-founder/owner of King in New York
What is your favorite restaurant in New York? Tell us in the comments below. AND follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter
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