Ruth Reichl’s Ultimate New York City Snack Crawl

"Onigiri "I love onigiri and I love Sunrise Mart, too. It's another great resource in this city. You can go there and get the makings for sushi and sashimi at home. But I'm surprised that onigiri haven't gotten bigger. It's one of my favorite snacks in the entire world. It was one of my favorite things to eat when I was an assistant in media, when I only had five minutes or pennies in my pocket. It's basically a healthy snack. Nothing in it is bad for you. The Japanese have invented these incredible ways of keeping the nori really crisp. There's a separation between the rice and the nori so that you're not getting anything soggy. You're getting this really crisp, wonderfully salty nori. You bite into that and you can hear it crackle. And then you hit the soft rice, and then you hit the filling. The fillings: I know people are making all kinds of crazy things, but I love umeboshi—salty and fruity—and mentaiko. I would have them in my pocket all day." - brennan carley