New York City · United States
The New York City food cheat sheet
One page from Chef Amazing · November 2026
The dish to eat
A boiled-then-baked bagel with cream cheese, silky cured salmon, capers, red onion and tomato.
Best at Russ & Daughters, East Houston Street, Lower East Side. Get: The Classic: Gaspé Nova, cream cheese, tomato, onion and capers on an everything bagel
Five places, and what to order
- Mei Lai Wahbakery · ChinatownGet: Baked roast pork bun (char siu bao)
- Fong Onfamily-run · ChinatownGet: Savory tofu pudding with dried shrimp and pickled radish, then the sweet pudding with taro balls and red beans
- A&A Bake & Doubles Shopcounter · Bedford-Stuyvesant, BrooklynGet: Doubles (add a fry bake with salt fish or a goat roti)
- Manna Onefor baked roast pork bun · Two BridgesGet: Baked pork bun
- Katz's Delicatessenfor pastrami on rye · Lower East SideGet: Hand-carved pastrami on rye
The market
Market hall. Seafood, tacos, artisan food
The line worth it
L'Industrie PizzeriaWest Village
Get: The burrata slice, a plain cheese slice to compare
Expect: Usually 30 to 60 min, longer on weekend nights. Beat it: Go mid-afternoon on a weekday.
In season this November
Peconic Bay scallops
How it works here
Tip: Tip 18-22% at sit-down restaurants, a dollar or two a drink at the bar.
Book: Book the hot places on Resy or OpenTable, often the day tables drop (2-4 weeks out); counters and slices are walk-in.
When locals eat: Lunch noon-2pm, dinner 6-9pm; it gets late only in the big cities.