Weekend Getaway to New York (2025)
A painstakingly restored 1879 oyster-and-chop house that feels grand yet personal, now run by Brooklyn restaurateurs Sohui Kim, Ben Schneider, and St. John Frizell. Frequently highlighted by Eater and Time Out for its seafood platters and historic room.
In its new, relatively sprawling former Odessa Restaurant space, I found the same tight focus that made the tiny original so thrilling: a mostly vegetarian lineup where much is "accidentally vegan," executed with pop and precision. Brooks Headley ricochets around the dining room while cocktails - expertly made but not "craft" - now join the party at $17 ("YIKES!"), and a Cape Cod with real cranberry juice and supremely carbonated seltzer from a high-end Japanese dispenser pairs nicely with a gumball-machine snack mix of buttery broken Ritz crackers, peanuts, and Crispix scented with cumin. Prices for the food feel shockingly low for the quality (some produce comes from Campo Rosso): the quinoa-chickpea-walnut burger is $13, and the $19 Yuba-Verde is a spectacular hero of griddled yuba layered with chickpeas, broccoli rabe, and mayo, with a cheeky note that premium yuba costs by the gram like American Wagyu. Beloved holdovers remain wonderful - the Sloppy Dave (tofu chili, frizzled onions), the burnt-broccoli salad (eggplant puree, candied cashews), and beets with cream cheese and pretzels - while the few new additions land hard, including a texturally thrilling stuffed cabbage (sticky rice, oyster and button mushrooms, sweet-and-sour tomato sauce, crunchy focaccia crumbs) and even a plate of steamed vegetables rendered exciting by perfectly al-dente asparagus, overwintered carrot, and broccolini to dip in lemon-tahini and a tart, fruity hot sauce. Greens get their due in the market salad - a tower of Little Gem, arugula, and frisee with shredded carrot, fennel, herbs, bread crumbs, and pickled bird's-beak chilies - and a special apricot panzanella with griddled fruit, focaccia croutons, torn mozzarella, cucumber, and Thai basil. Desserts from Darcy Spence and Katie Toles run the sweet-savory seam - earthy, herbal coriander-banana gelato; a salty malted date shake; and the Pearl Pie, a triangle of passion-fruit custard on a Ritz-cracker base, shellacked in passion-fruit glaze with seeds and iridescent tapioca pearls, sometimes dusted with li hing mui - bright, sour, a little defiant, just right. (Dishes $9-$19.)
Unapologetic Foods’ LES powerhouse serves bold, regionally focused Indian dishes that reframe expectations. Applauded by The New York Times and regularly cited by Condé Nast Traveler and Eater for its verve and ambition.
In Milk & Honey’s former LES space, bartenders craft bespoke cocktails—no menu, just conversation. Consistently cited by Time Out, Food & Wine, and global bar rankings for shaping NYC cocktail culture while staying intimate and neighborly.
Williamsburg’s beloved slice shop blends Italian technique with New York swagger—think burrata-topped slices and seasonal specials. Recognized by Food & Wine and Time Out in 2025 awards for best-in-class pizza.
Since 1935, this Greenwich Village basement room has hosted jazz’s giants and rising stars. Revered by New York Magazine and national arts writers; the calendar still swings hard, making an essential late-night stop.
Inside a former barbershop in Bed-Stuy, I found a small Nigerian tasting room centered on a single solid-oak communal table that monopolizes the floor; the walls are lined with outlets and ornamented with photographs of owner-chef Ayo Balogun’s relatives in Nigeria, the lighting is warm and dim, and an antique record player spins Fela Kuti and other seventies Afrobeat. In an open kitchen Balogun—bopping to protest songs—cooks every four-course, prix-fixe meal himself for about a dozen patrons per seating, creating the convivial, buka-like atmosphere he’s trying to conjure; for now the place is open only fourteen hours a week, by reservation in one of seven two-hour blocks. With minimal equipment (two induction burners, a blender, a food processor, a KitchenAid mixer, and a convection oven) he introduces each course and its provenance: a scorching fish pepper soup (often swordfish, sometimes catfish, red snapper, or tilapia) flavored with thyme, cilantro, and ata rodo and meant to be enjoyed with lager or stout; pounded yam and salty mackerel; wara made from discreetly sourced unpasteurized cow’s milk and dressed in obe ata, paired with gbegiri made with fermented locust beans; and a recurring suya reworked with octopus or trumpet mushrooms tossed in a yaji blend his mother brought from Nigeria, balanced by chilled cucumber slices. The menu morphs with what’s available at African markets (he even crosses state lines for certain ingredients), he offers complimentary South African wine and a B.Y.O.B. policy for everything else, and he has a ten-year lease with plans to expand the tasting menu to other Nigerian states and to host other Nigerian chefs as guests.
A Bushwick taproom for NYC’s pioneering meadery, pouring dry, foraged, small-batch meads and inventive cocktails. Covered by Bushwick Daily and Time Out; a relaxed, creative hang in an industrial pocket of the city.
A community-built indie since 2009, known for savvy curation and author events. Brooklyn Eagle regularly lists its readings, and Publishers Weekly has chronicled its neighborhood roots—perfect for a quiet browse between meals.
Hallie Meyer’s Italian-leaning ice cream shop spins flavors daily and tops them with imported panna. Named New York’s best ice cream by Time Out in 2025, and frequently praised by food editors for inventive sundaes.
