There was a time in Spain when pork was the law. The Spanish Inquisition ramped up in the 1400s to brutally enforce a Christian culture. So while... More >>
A favorite Sichuan place brings its fire to a new nabe
By Robert Sietsema,
May 23, 2012
Seven years ago, when Little Pepper opened on Roosevelt Avenue across from the Bland housing projects, it was hard to get diners to go there.... More >>
Know this: Every time you wave away the dessert menu without even looking at it, a cook's heart shatters like a pane of burnt sugar. Every pastry... More >>
The locavoric folks behind Egg open a new Williamsburg spot
By Robert Sietsema,
May 16, 2012
When Williamsburg's Egg cracked open seven years ago, it was at an auspicious time. The local and sustainable movement was in full swing, comfort... More >>
Now you can play the ponies and eat dim sum at the same place—Aqueduct
By Robert Sietsema,
May 02, 2012
When Malaysia's Genting Group opened its casino in—of all places—Ozone Park's Aqueduct Racetrack, it followed the same formula it had used at... More >>
Plus spuds and spices at a new upscale Indian spot
By Robert Sietsema,
April 25, 2012
Perhaps the world's oldest city, Varanasi is also Hinduism's holiest site. It lies on the banks of the Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh, a state in... More >>
California expats find themselves a clubhouse in NYC
By Robert Sietsema,
April 18, 2012
You can't imagine how many complaints I've fielded from Angelenos who can't stand NYC's Mexican food. Invariably, the tortillas are all wrong,... More >>
A Salerno-style spot does both Belmont and the Flatiron district
By Robert Sietsema,
April 11, 2012
Twelve years ago, when Roberto Restaurant first appeared in Belmont—the Bronx's Little Italy—there weren't as many good dining spots as there are... More >>
It's hipsterized Cantonese classics in Williamsburg
By Robert Sietsema,
April 04, 2012
Let's say you craved Chinese food of the kind snagged from carryouts when you were a kid. But, somewhat absurdly, you wanted to enjoy it in a... More >>
It's something of an urban miracle how quickly NYC has gone from being a barbecue wasteland to a national 'cue capital. The phenomenon began 20... More >>
Five years ago, I rounded up a dozen friends and took them on a taco crawl along Roosevelt Avenue, from Flushing Meadows to Jackson Heights. Our... More >>
The restaurant king further annexes Battery Park City
By Lauren Shockey,
March 14, 2012
Is Danny Meyer going to revitalize Battery Park City the way he did the Flatiron district? Last summer, the wildly successful restaurateur opened... More >>
Five years ago, news that a protégé of Spanish chef Ferran Adrià—the guru of molecular gastronomy—was coming to NYC would have turned out hordes... More >>
Dale Talde sure knows how to write a menu. In perusing the bill of fare at his new Park Slope restaurant, Talde, I found not a single dish I... More >>
It was an auspicious beginning: a squat stack of culantro nestled against the branches of Thai basil and crisp bean sprouts on the herb plate... More >>
Crown Heights gets its own fancy Italian pizza parlor
By Robert Sietsema,
February 22, 2012
Barboncino is yet another of the wood-burning, Naples-aping pizzerias that have lately covered certain parts of the city like so much melted... More >>
Venice lends some savor to the New-York Historical Society
By Lauren Shockey,
February 22, 2012
Just a few years ago, museum dining meant chomping down on watery Cobb salads and mayo-laden tuna sandwiches—and that's if you were lucky. But... More >>
A classic kind of American restaurant goes upscale in New York 2012
By Robert Sietsema,
February 15, 2012
Known as "night owls," the first diners were horse-drawn carts equipped with a griddle and icebox, selling snacks outside the city's honky-tonks... More >>
A Brooklyn restaurant leaves herds of sheep testicle-free
By Robert Sietsema,
February 08, 2012
In a borough famous for its pickle platters, this one was exceptional. The tantalizing assortment flaunted big leaves of cabbage tinted bright... More >>
The past and present of a legendary soggy sandwich
By Robert Sietsema,
February 01, 2012
Stories vary, but nearly everyone agrees that the French dip was invented in Los Angeles around 1918. It coincided with a national craze for... More >>
The Lower East Side gets some Japanese home cooking
By Lauren Shockey,
February 01, 2012
When I tell people I review restaurants for a living, they reply, "You have the best job ever." Perhaps, but some folks have it even better: the... More >>
In the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, the emperor stuck it to the czar. Japan tightened its grip on the Korean peninsula, and Korean refugees... More >>
It's not every day you see a 4,000-pound oven flying three stories above Boerum Hill. But that's how Luca Arrigoni had to install the stove at... More >>
