new york eats

Since it was my first trip to New York, I decided to stick to the classics. Every meal basically consisted of some variation of bread, cheese and/or some type of meat. I probably should mention that, until recently, I hadn't eaten red meat in over 12 years. The reason I decided to start was so that I could enjoy a New York hot dog, which is just as arbitrary a reason as the one that made me decide to stop in the first place (I just felt like it).

Here are a few highlights from my NYC food adventures:

On our first night in New York, we went to Lombardi's for dinner, where I received an embarrassing amount of attention (and a free drink!) from the bartender and, more importantly, had the best pizza of my life. This is saying a lot, since I consider myself somewhat of a pizza connoisseur. I've been to the best pizza joints in California (Northern and Southern), Las Vegas, Chicago, Seattle, and New York. Of course I expected New York pizza to be the best, by far. It did not disappoint. This slice of pizza is the slice against which all other slices will be compared.

Gray's Papaya. This is what I gave up over a decade of red meat abstinence for. And you know what? It was worth it. My friend and I got the recession special: two frankfurters and a drink for $4.45. There is only one frankfurter in this photo because my friend stole the other one before I could get my camera out.

B.L.A.T. sandwich from Friedmans Lunch. This wasn't a planned visit; we just got hungry while walking around Chelsea Market. This sandwich was a nice surprise, though. A bit heavy on the L, but the addition of A (avocado), plus a good amount of herbed aoili, made up for that. I just had my very first B.L.T. a few months ago, but it's already my favorite sandwich.

On our final night, we had dinner at S'Mac. S'mac is a delightful restaurant in the East Village that serves macaroni & cheese...and only macaroni & cheese. There are four serving size options: Nosh, Major Munch, Mongo, and Partay! How could I not love this place? My friends and I shared a Major Munch-sized "Garden Lite," which was incredibly good. It was packed with veggies, so it wasn't just the constant taste of cheese and more cheese, which could get overwhelming after a while.

We ate much more than this. These were just the things that I decided to take photos of. Even after all this gluttony, I somehow managed to lose weight during my trip. How the hell did I manage this? My feet would probably tell you that it's because of all the walking we did, but I'd like to think it's because New York is just that amazing.