New York Food — The Classics
New York has a culinary identity that has produced its own icons — dishes that can be found here and only here in their authentic form:
New York Pizza
The New York Pizza is thin, crispy, with a slightly oily cheese layer, and is eaten folded in hand — never with cutlery. A slice costs $1–3.50 at a regular pizza shop, $4–6 at the famous places. The best:
- Joe's Pizza (7 Carmine Street, Greenwich Village): The gold standard. Thin, cheesy, perfect. Slice: $3.50.
- Prince Street Pizza (27 Prince Street, SoHo): Famous for the "Pepperoni Square" — thicker, Sicilian-style pizza with crispy fried pepperoni. Always a line.
- Di Fara Pizza (1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn): Many say: the best pizza in the world. Dom DeMarco has been personally cutting the basil since 1965. Worth the pilgrimage.
- Scarr's Pizza (22 Orchard Street, Lower East Side): Hand-milled flour, classic New York style. Hip, yet authentic.
Bagels
The New York Bagel is an art form — crispy on the outside, chewy-soft on the inside, with a hole in the middle. The secret: New York's soft tap water (allegedly). Standard order: "Bagel with cream cheese" or "Everything Bagel with lox" (smoked salmon). The best: Russ & Daughters (179 East Houston Street, since 1914 — Lox Bagel, $16), Ess-a-Bagel (831 Third Avenue), Murray's Bagels (500 Sixth Avenue).
Pastrami Sandwich
The Pastrami on Rye at Katz's Delicatessen (205 East Houston Street, since 1888) is one of the most famous sandwiches in the world: beef cured, smoked, and steamed for days, hand-sliced and piled high on rye bread with spicy mustard. Price: $24.95 — and worth every cent. The famous "fake orgasm" scene from "When Harry Met Sally" was filmed here. The sign "I'll have what she's having" hangs on the wall.
Hot Dogs
The New York Hot Dog from a street stand ($2–3) with sauerkraut and mustard is an iconic experience — even if the quality varies. For the best: Nathan's Famous on Coney Island (since 1916, the original hot dog stand, $5).
