photo courtesy: Long Island CVB
New York: dream or reality?
Both, of course, especially for those who have enjoyed its multifarious culinary excellences.
Every block is a new experience, a new world, a celebration as much of diverse food as the ethnic diversity of America. Each of the five boroughs is a food adventure as is Long Island, from the bridges and tunnels out of the city to the fabulous Hamptons.
Of course Manhattan, originally the home of the Lenape Native Americans before Verrazano and succeeding ships arrived, has you-name-it everything: French, Indian, Italian (Amarone was started by Chef Marcellino Verzino in 1997 before his current Marcellino’s in Scottsdale) Hungarian, Thai and Chinese, tapas. Eat at 100 stories in the heavens or looking at heavenly Central Park: a world-class menu of choices.
In Brooklyn, at Brighton Beach, there are outstanding Russian restaurants, and in the old home of the Dodgers, there are a lot of Chinese establishments in Sunset Park, while Astoria in Queens has many fine Greek restaurants, such as Bahari, and Indian and Australian, if you go down under to The Thirsty Koala. And, the Bronx, home of Yankee Stadium, combines great neighborhood restaurants and cultural attractions, all within walking distance of the train from Manhattan.
Italian restaurants are common throughout Staten Island because of its large Italian population, but you can also find great Sri Lankan cuisine in Staten Island’s Tompkinsville.
Long Island is the most agriculturally rich area, although not one of the boroughs. “The prevailing theme on Long Island is not just ‘from-farm-to-table,’ but ‘from-farm-and-vineyard-and-sea-to-table,’” says Kristen Matejka, director of marketing and communications for the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission in Hauppauge.
“We believe we have the perfect trifecta in that we have an abundance of fresh and often unique produce and livestock; a thriving wine country featuring over three dozen wineries; and of course amazing local seafood including Peconic Bay scallops and Blue Point oysters.”
“In New York City, you can taste your way around the world and you don’t have to go far to do so,” says Sean Altberger, a Staten Island resident who is the coordinator, Global Communications, for NYC & Company, the marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the city of New York, in Manhattan.
“You can find everything from Italian to Sri Lankan cuisine –– all within a short subway or ferry ride away.”
photo courtesy: NYC Company
Soul BBQ, The Bronx: Sam’s
Let’s get cookin’ in the home where the Yankees have smoked the record books: Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, and the just-retired Derek Jeter, the greatest shortstop ever.
On 596 Grand Concourse, between 150th and 151st streets, near Yankee Stadium, Sam’s Soul Food Restaurant and Bar is a Southern-style kitchen with a Caribbean touch, featuring a welcoming wood-paneled bar and a sofa-filled lounge. Sam’s drawing in college students, lawyers and foodie cognoscenti all the way from, can you believe?, Manhattan.
For 15 years, Ghana native Sam Amoah has been offering dishes such as the moist Fried Whiting, plump Jerk Chicken and freshly Hickory-Smoked Ribs, which just fall off the bones, Pork Chops and Seasoned Oxtails with Caribbean herbs.
Try, too, the Meatloaf and the BBQ Chicken and the Fried Chicken and the Yams Potato Salad, the Warm Cajun Chicken Salad and accompanying Hot Corn Bread. Drink these deliciously down with a signature Hennessy Colada.
The ubiquitous Anthony Bourdain filmed a segment here, and the city’s First Lady has stopped in, too.
So, stop in: “Sam’s is wonderful restaurant with a mix of all people, a place you must visit,” Sam says. “It’s a dream come true for a hard-working chef from West Africa.”
photo courtesy: NYC Company
The Real Chinatown at Pacificana, Brooklyn
So, if you’re traveling to New York, you’ll want to visit Chinatown in Manhattan, of course.
Well, maybe, if you have the touristy time: “There are three Chinatowns in New York City,” says Jimmy Ching, host at Pacificana, opened in 2006 in the Sunset Park neighborhood. “The one the tourists go to these days is in Manhattan. But there’s a second one in Flushing, which is predominantly Mandarin-speaking Chinese.”
The third is one of the fastest growing communities in the whole United States, home to many immigrants from the Fukian Province. “The area 15 years ago was mainly Cantonese Chinese, but it has since changed and the Fukian immigrants have a dominant presence now,” says Ching, a New York University graduate who had emigrated from Hong Kong at 5 with his family.
At 813 55th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, Pacificana is known throughout the city for the Hong Kong Dim Sum. But 150 menu items are available: exotic Seasoned Soy Sauce Duck Tongue, Jumbo Shrimp with Honey Walnuts, Lobster Fresh Fruit Salad, Crab-meat Soup Dumplings, Peking Pork Chops and Lamb Chops with Garlic.
But be patient: Although Pacificana seats 398 for Dim Sum and Hong Kong-style cuisine, the restaurant hosts many parties, including weddings, and you may have to wait, as you do for the best Chinese food in Chinatown, San Francisco.
Wait.
Sri Lanka, Staten Island: New Asha
Take the famous ferry to Staten Island, where you’ll find New Asha Sri Lankan Restaurant, 322 Victory Blvd., specializing in authentic Sri Lankan and South Indian Cuisine since 1997.
One of the signature dishes is Kottu Roti, or string hoppers with coconut sambol, explains Asha Subhaschandraboasc, for whom the restaurant was named when she was just 5.
“The string hoppers has a famous side dish known as sambol, which is made of freshly grated coconut, red curry powder, onions and green chili,” Asha says.
“‘Kottu’ in Sri Lankan means ‘chopped,’ so we chop up pieces of roti (flat bread) and fuse it with your choice of curry (chicken, fish or mutton) and mix it with fresh veggies such as carrots and leeks with scrambled eggs, spices, and onion,” she says. “There’s a burst of flavor from all the ingredients and it’s definitely a favorite among our customers.”
Idiyappam is also well known here. A traditional South Indian dish consisting of rice flour pressed into noodle form and then steamed, it can be served with a coconut milk curry called Sothi, a mild spiced yellow curry with onions.
Her aunt, Viji, was born and raised in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and came to the U.S. in the ‘80s, eventually moving from Queens to Staten Island to run the thriving family business.
“Little did we know that our simple ‘hole-in-the-wall’ store, as many would call it, would turn out to be a success in the hearts and stomachs of many people,” she says.
In Queens, Regal Food at Manetta’s
“Slow down, you move too fast/You got to make the morning last . . .” Or the evening, at Manetta’s Ristorante, in Long Island City, just over the Queensboro or 59th Street Bridge, which inspired the Simon & Garfunkel song in one of the great rock albums ever, Parsley, Sage Rosemary and Thyme, 1966.
“Long Island City has been gentrified recently as a little Manhattan when it comes to NYC living (there are lofts galore), artists and restaurants,” says Phyllis Manetta, chef of the family-owned restaurant.
Manetta’s is worked by three generations of family members at all levels, she explains. “If we were to follow the ‘life’ of a dish, from inspiration/conception, to the buying of ingredients, the preparation of the stocks/sauces, the final cooking, and ultimately the delivery, the care of a Manetta family member is there to ensure the quality,” she says.
Specialties from both North and South Italy are appetizers, Fried Calamari, Imported Buffalo Mozz and Burata, Stuffed Mushrooms; pasta, Gnocchi della Casa, Ling Nere, Pappardelle della Nonna; and Entrée/Secondi, Veal Siciliana, Salmone al Forno, Bistecca dello Chef, Agnello. Pizza’s great, too: Quattro Stagioni, Mona Lisa, Vongole and di Bufala. Daily specials are also featured.
The restaurant was founded in the summer of 1992 by Phyllis; she and husband Mario are from Pignataro Interamna in the Lazio region on the Italian peninsula.
Daily specials feature only grass-fed, hormone-free and organic beef, pork, veal, chicken and rabbit dishes, and the majority of the daily special fish option are wild and pole caught.
“We encourage our guests to pay close attention to our locally sourced daily specials, as this is often the list from which family members will order from when they are in the restaurant,” she says, with a big smile.
At the 59th Street Bridge, slow down and speed up, to Manetta’s.
photo courtesy: Long Island CVB
Long Island, Long on FRESHness
FRESH Hamptons specializes in farm-to table-cuisine, but with a Long Island twist, says owner/chef Todd Jacobs.
“Our menu is broken down so that everyone can create the meal that fits into their specific diet,” says Jacobs, who was born in nearby Nassau County, lived in Manhattan for a few years before moving out to the island in 1987. “We built a ‘bridge’ to a healthy diet.
“I designed the menu differently because we saw a trend in our diners’ eating habits and wanted to get out in front of it,” he adds. “Creating your own meal and eating little or no white flour and more vegetables and less animal products is the main focus of our menu.”
He opened FRESH Hamptons two years ago; it’s about a third of a mile north of Montauk Highway on the Bridgehampton Turnpike.
Kale Salad is the number-one selling item; Jacobs says he eats it daily. Also popular is the Thai Vegetable Curry, Long Island Duck Confit and Roasted local organic chicken with pan gravy and fresh rosemary. For any taste, FRESH Hamptons offers many choices as well as daily specials.
“A person who very rarely eats beef once told me he had a craving for a burger and drove two and a half hours from Brooklyn for one of our grass-fed burgers from Mecox Bay Dairy, which is just down the road from us,” he says.
“We have a diverse menu that delights vegetarians with a diverse selection of vegetables from local organic farms but still has local organic chicken local beef and cheese and an abundance of offerings from our local waters,” Jacobs says.
photo courtesy: Nigel Parry
Manhattan, Eat, Drink and Sing Praises for Le Bernardin
Le Bernardin, New York’s four-star seafood restaurant, and currently 21 on the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, remembers an order of monks who liked to eat and drink, religiously.
Siblings Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze used to listen to their father, Gabriel, sing to them about the gastronomically inclined order, so they opened the world-famous restaurant in 1972 in Paris. That thrives today at 155 West 51st St.; if you can make it there for a dinner of a few lifetimes, hail a taxi, go.
In New York, following Gilbert’s death in 1994, Maguy Le Coze engaged the services of Chef Eric Ripert, a disciple and close friend of Gilbert who joined Le Bernardin in 1991 and who has continued the tradition at the great restaurant, recently redesigned and now including a lounge with a separate menu.
Let’s begin with the Prix Fixe dinner, pairing wines as we go. First, a choice of “almost raw” Royal Osetra Caviar or Golden Imperial Caviar or the “barely touched” Ultra Rare Smoked Sea Trout, Pickled Red Onion, Citrus-Miso Emulsion. Then, for the Main Course, we’ll opt for fish, The Spanish Merluza, garnished with Aki Nori, with Razor Clam Spring Chowder sauce poured tableside.
For dessert, prepared by Executive Pastry Chef Thomas Raquel, the Milk Chocolate Mousse, Dark Caramel, Candied Peanuts, Warm Malted Caramel, sounds sweet.
Le Bernardin has more James Beard Awards than any other restaurant in New York City. And there’s a long list of others: In 1998, Maguy Le Coze won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant in America, and in May 2003, the James Beard Foundation named Ripert Outstanding Chef. And, The Michelin Guide honored him and Le Bernardin with its highest three stars in its 2005 debut and has reiterated that stellar rating each year since.
“For me, food is about memories, feelings, emotions,” says Chef Ripert, “and so is Le Bernardin, and that’s why it’s not just a restaurant.”
Sam’s Soul Food, 718.665.5341; Pacificana, 718.871.2880, pacificanabrooklyn.com; New Asha Sri Lanka Restaurant, 718.420.0649; Manetta’s Ristorante, 718.786.6171, manettaslic.com; Fresh, 631.537.4700, freshhamptons.com; Le Bernardin, 212.554.1515, le-bernardin. For more information about dining and the New York City/Long Island area in general, see discoverlongisland.com and www.nycgo.com.
