My NYC Food Adventures

05/30/2026

05/26/2026

I was meeting my daughter for lunch and found out about the new location for Utopia Bagels. Since it's a block north of an existing Ess-a-Bagel location, we decided to do a taste test. For several years, I've considered these 2 companies the best bagel makers in NYC, so to have 2 locations so close was an opportunity I couldn't pass on. We started at the Ess-a-Bagel on 3rd Avenue between East 50th and 51st Streets. It was 3 pm, so the place was pretty empty. We grabbed 1/2 dozen bagels for my daughter to take home and ordered a tuna sandwich on an onion bagel. It was terrific! Overflowing with tuna, not too mayo-ey, with some lettuce on it to give it the idea of being healthy. The bagel itself was huge with a crunch to it, but soft on the inside. The same bagel I've touted as NYC's best for years.
We then headed to Utopia's new location on 3rd Avenue and East 52nd Street. A beautiful, shiny spot that I can imagine will soon be packed on weekdays for both breakfast and lunch. It was pretty empty when we got there and ordered another 1/2 dozen bagels to go. After the huge bagel sandwich at Ess-A, we opted for a garlic bagel with scallion cream cheese. Here, the star was the delectable cream cheese. Yes, the bagel was good, but not great. definitely not up to the quality of the Ess-A bagel we had just had, but that cream cheese was terrific!!
So, you ask, which shop was the winner, which place has the best bagels in NYC? The answer was clear, it was Ess-a-Bagel, but to be fair, if I was rushing to work or wanting to grab something for lunch, I could go with either of these wonderful shops and know I'm having a bagel at the very top of New York's bagels. A bagel worthy of New York City.

05/23/2026

A spot many miss when they visit Coney Island is Williams Candy Shop. In business on Surf Avenue, just down the block from Nathan's, for 80 years, Williams is a treasure trove of the candy you grew up on, or should have grown up on. Several items are made in house and those are the ones I love. Their caramel corn, their nut clusters, pecans, peanuts or cashews around a marshmallow center, are treats for all ages. I've been going to Williams since the mid-1970s and the place remains the same. in a world that's always rushing forward, it's so nice to take a step back in time and treat my tummy and my taste buds to true greatness. During the summer, Williams is open until 11pm, or later.

05/20/2026

St. Marks Place has been the beating heart of the East Village for well over 300 years. Dating back to Peter Stuyvesant's farmlands, the area became a magnet for artists, poets and musicians. A wonderful book about the area is Ava Calhoun's "St. Marks is Dead", which tells the stories, from the original immigrants communities through the punk rock era and the ultimate gentrification of the neighborhood that now commands some of the highest rents in the city. Dotting St. Mark's Place are dumpling shops. Cheap food for the college students from NYU who make up at least half the population of the area. They range from The Bao and Nan Xiang on the high end to Dumpling Man on the more affordable end. Doing a dumpling crawl here is a treasure trove of flavors.

05/17/2026

Last night was a family celebration, so it was back to L&B Spumoni Gardens and this time for something more than just pizza, don’t worry, we got a pie as well. We started with the garlic bread parmigiana and the fried zucchini. Both superb. Then chicken parm in portions so big, everyone will have a 2nd meal tonight. We finished off with a serving of Spumoni for the table. The food, the service, everything about this place just hits all the right notes. And the fact that at 9pm it was still crowded is a testament to the quality they exude.