Spotted in NYC: Ms. Mino, Dr. Ponzio and a group of 13 passionate, food-loving Marlborough students, exploring and learning about the city and the food industry. New York City has a massive food scene with cuisines from all different cultures and iconic dishes like the New York bagel or the black and white cookie. It’s hard to write about the best restaurants in New York City because there are so many good ones, but join me as I show you a peek inside Marlborough’s own Epicurious food trip to the Big Apple last June.
We began by visiting four different pizza restaurants on the pizza tour of Williamsburg, a neighborhood in Brooklyn. There was Vinnie’s Pizzeria (a classic New York City slice), Best Pizza (a crowd favorite for sure), L’Industrie Pizza (for burrata pizza fans) and Emmy Squared, which was Detroit style with a really good sauce. All of the pizzas were delicious, but Best Pizza stays true to their name. I tried a slice of their white pizza. It had a crust that was both crispy and fluffy and had sesame seeds that really took it to the next level. There were also caramelized onions and the perfect amount of cheese. I cannot express enough how much I loved this pizza.
Our taste buds then traveled from Italy to Spain. Mercado Little Spain is a Spanish market from the chef José Andrés. There are Spanish foods and a collection of restaurants to try, similar to Eataly in Los Angeles. Andrés not only has creative and delicious plates but is also working to help solve world hunger and feed people in times of distress. For example, Andrés and his organization, World Central Kitchen, have recently been working tirelessly in Ukraine and Puerto Rico, among other places. Our trip to Mercado was a very special experience. We were so grateful for the private tour, paella cooking class and delicious meal. Our favorite dishes were the avocado salad (so refreshing), the paella (no words necessary), the burger (Nola ‘25 gave it a 10 out of 10) and the basque cheesecake, which is unlike any other cheesecake.
Our next stop was Red Rooster in Harlem, where the food was scrumptious. The cornbread was buttery and perfect. I also liked the salad, which had watermelon radishes, cucumbers, green apples, seeds, lettuce, onions and a really good dressing. Normally I don’t like dressing on my salad but I enjoyed this one. Other dishes that are must-tries are the fried chicken and mac and cheese.
Another food that I obviously have to discuss are the bagels. You might have heard that the bagels in New York City are different from other bagels, and this is entirely true. The reason for this is that the water used for the bagels is different and softer in New York, due to the state’s geology. Although people have tried to ship the water from New York to other places, it is never the same. New York bagels are actually out of this world.
Finally, many people on the trip loved dim sum. I unfortunately missed this due to my flight time, but I had to give it a shout out. The Epicurious group raved about the environment and the cat robot. When asked for food recommendations, favorites included the fluffy and flavorful baked pork buns, the flaky egg tarts, the soup dumplings and the spring rolls.
This was a super fun trip, and the food was even better. I wish I could include every restaurant that we went to, but if you are ever in New York City, I highly recommend checking out the restaurants above.
