I’d consider myself a bit of a city girl, and I’ve always wanted to visit one of the supposed best cities in the world: New York City.
There were many things I couldn’t wait to do in the city, such as visiting Times Square, watching a Broadway show, and trying the city’s best foods. I was fortunate enough to experience all these, but this post is dedicated to the food—the true highlight of the trip! Here is a tourist’s ranking of NYC eats that you can try if you’re ever visiting.
10. Dunkin’ Donuts
It may seem a bit strange to have this on the list, but I always told myself that if I ever visited the United States, I had to get a coffee from Dunkin’. I got a caramel latte, and wow, it was pretty bad! The caramel was way too overpowering for my taste, which dampened the overall flavour. I think I’ll stick to Tim Hortons.
9. Olive Garden
Olive Garden wasn’t exactly at the top of my must-try foods in NYC, but I just stumbled upon it, and thought,” Why not”? I love pasta, and I’ve seen many videos online of Americans eating it.
The choices were quite overwhelming, but I went with the cheese ravioli pasta. When the waiter placed the plate in front of me, I instantly noticed how large the ravioli pieces were. It unfortunately felt a bit bland and didn’t look appetizing. The only reason it isn’t lower is because of the breadsticks. I think I lost count of how many I had, and I thought they were definitely better than any I had in Toronto.
8. Broad Nosh
NYC is well known for its plentiful bagel options, so I was excited to try them out. I went to Broad Nosh and got a sesame seed tuna bagel, whereas my sister got a salmon bagel to diversify our selection.
The tuna filling was really great — I would take a tub of it if I could. The same goes for the salmon and cream cheese, but I found the bread to be way too tough and chewy.
7. Modern Tea Shop
Every chance I get, I’d grab a bubble tea from Chatime, but that wasn’t an option in NYC. So I was curious to try some bubble tea in the city. I headed over to Modern Tea Shop and ordered a brown sugar milk tea. It was okay, but I’ve had much better in Toronto, like at Coco or PrestoTea.
6. Joe and the Juice
I’m sure we all remember seeing the viral Joe and the Juice sandwich called the “Tunacado” online. Upon arriving in New York, I made it a priority to go try the Tunacado, along with their matcha.
It featured simple ingredients, including tuna, avocado, pesto, tomato, and various sauces. I enjoyed it; however, my one issue would be that it was too oily.
As for the matcha, I didn’t like it at all. It tasted way too watered down, and I couldn’t taste any actual matcha.
5. Juliana’s
Juliana’s is a pizza place we came across while exploring Brooklyn. The menu surprised me because, for a pizza place, it seemed like they didn’t have many options.
I ended up going with the margherita pizza, and overall, I thought it was average. There wasn’t anything special about it, especially since I ended up trying much better pizza in the city.
Although it seems not everyone thinks so, because as we were leaving, there was a line that had formed outside the restaurant, so to each their own!
4. 16 Handles
This frozen yogurt store is one I’d never heard of, but according to my sister, it was a must-try.
It had almost too many options, so I inevitably selected a peanut butter, chocolate and vanilla mix froyo cup. They had an endless array of topping choices, and I went with some classics, such as M&M’s, sprinkles, wafers, and many more.
The froyo was good, but I’d recommend this place for the toppings alone. It was so good that I forgot to take a picture!
3. Blank Street
In every NYC vlog I’ve seen, there’s almost always a stop at Blank Street Coffee for some matcha. As a matcha lover, I knew this was a must on my makeshift NYC to-do list.
They had many different flavours, and during my time in the city, I tried blueberry, strawberry, and vanilla. I can confidently say that every single one was amazing. However, my favourite was definitely the strawberry. It was the perfect balance — the strawberry flavour wasn’t overpowering the drink, and vice versa for the matcha. Blank Street was my go-to every day, so if you’re in NYC, definitely make some time to check it out.
2. Adel’s
Adel’s is a halal food truck that’s famous for their chicken over rice. You may have heard of it due to its growing popularity in the street food scene.
We had to wait in a pretty long line in the cold to try it, but it was surely worth it.
I got chicken over rice topped with garlic sauce and some fries. It was delicious and I won’t forget the taste of that chicken for a long time! I would definitely recommend it, but only if you’re willing to wait for good things.
1. La Italia Pizza
The second I tasted this last meal, I instantly knew it was going to take the top spot.
New York is obviously known for its pizza, but La Italia Pizza really proved the point. I got the Margherita pizza, again, and unlike Juliana’s, one slice was quite big, so you are definitely getting a bang for your buck.
The cheese wasn’t spread messily all over the pizza; instead, it was in large pieces of mozzarella that were perfectly melted across the slice. It was cooked to perfection and bursting with flavour. Nothing I had after this compared to every mouth-watering bite I had at this place. So I encourage all of you to definitely make it a priority if you’re ever in the city.
There you have it, my NYC food ranking. I would have loved to stay longer and discover even more, so I hope to go back someday. Feel free to use this list to discover some great food, and maybe you’ll find yourself making your own list!