A Foodie’s Guide to Finding the Best Places in New York City: 

To my friends at Stonehill I’m known as “The Human Vaccum” since I’m always hungry.

This is no different when I venture to New York City and New Jersey. Over this past year I’ve been in the city and NJ around 5 times alone and have been here several times before.

To me, good food is an essential part to a good trip. I’ve definitely utizlized the power of apps and social media to find NYC and New Jersey’s hottest spots and hidden gems.

Here’s some tips for y’all:

• Follow or look at well known foodie accounts on instagram (NYC.food, nyceats, or just search NYC food on instagram). The best accounts to follow have over 5/10k followers.
• Once you see a place you’re interested in, whether through instagram, Facebook, or just passing by on the street definitely look at Yelp. Yelp reviews are best when there’s over 50/100 reviews written.
• With Yelp, definitely take into consideration both the reviews and the overall star amount. Usually if it’s 3 or below I move on quickly. However, if you’re convinced this place has potential, look through the reviews.
• Reviews on any site will tell you a lot about a place. A lot of reviews will focus on overall experience (atmosphere, customer service, etc). If you couldn’t care less about how you’re treated during the meal- maybe a 3 star reviewed restaurant is good enough for you. If you see a lot of reviews focusing on food quality, definitely move on and find another restaurant.
• In NYC, understand where different types of foods are located. For example, Chinatown and Little Italy are located around Canal Street in Lower Manhattan. In SOHO, you’ve got a lot of organic, trendy bars and restaurants. In and around Times Square is just touristy, overpriced food and should definitely be avoided!
• Try little cafés-they’re hidden gems! For example, Nectar Cafe at 1110 Madison Ave. on the Upper East Side is a little café that I found last year and have returned to a few times. It’s a busy little café with about 5 tables inside and 3 outside. It has AMAZING sandwiches and definitely has a cool atmosphere.
• Try those “trending” places. If you see those Insider Food or Tasty Facebook videos about restaurants or ice cream shops, chances are they’re pretty good!

Here are some pictures from trips to NYC this past year and some of the food I’ve found along the way:

The Sugar Factory, NYC. Located Near Times Square. $30 for this drink for 2. Definitely a great thing to do one time when you’re in the city.

The Sugar Factory drink right after it was poured in front of us. It was bubbling and smoking as we were drinking it.

Just a meal at Shake Shack. Burger, fries, and a vanilla shake. Something quick and cheap if you’re in the city on a budget!

Burger from Black Tap Burgers. Located in Lower Manhattan in SOHO near the World Trade Center.

Awesome atmosphere and cool neon signs all around the Black Tap.This is what I mean by something trendy.

Getting stuff in mason glasses just makes it like 10x cooler these days. (Black Tap)

Hands down the best Waffle I’ve ever eaten. Located in Lower Manhattan in East Village at Wafels and Dinges. A nice Belgian waffle with vanilla ice cream and chocolate fudge, great late night snack with the girls!

Cookie Milkshake at Black Tap Burgers. $15 but definitely worth it. Tip: don’t get this after eating a huge burger, I’d pick one or the other- you won’t fully enjoy this huge milkshake if you’re already kinda full.

Ravioli at La Mela in Little Italy. They weren’t that amazing, but you could definitely tell it was a homemade sauce and dish overall. Definitely a pricey restaurant and would definitely do some more research before I go to Little Italy again. Found this restaurant just because they had a specific dish my mom wanted for dinner (she loved her meal).

Headed to Dō as seen on Insider Food on Facebook. Apparently the line stretches down the street and could have a wait of up to 3 hours but we just walked right in. Good atmosphere but crowded shop. They let you try different flavors which is nice!

This was one scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough with a French vanilla cone ($6.50- $4 for one scoop, $1.50 for the cone). Decided to walk to Washington Square Park, about 2 minutes away from Dō. This cookie dough was amazing but super filling- definitely don’t get more than 1 scoop!

This one was seen on a foodie instagram (NYC.food). I also saw this on Facebook at some point and had to try it. It’s a churro cone with vanilla ice cream and sprinkles. Located on East 10th street near NYU buildings in a small store called Dessert Club Chikalicious. It was $10 for this and I kinda hate myself for it but it was delicious.

Enjoyed this nice French Onion Soup and Ceasar Salad with medium rare steak at Arthur’s in Hoboken, NJ. Steak was cooked perfectly and the soup was decent. We found this as we were walking by- 3.5 stars, I’d say this was pretty accurate as it was very pricey and customer service wasn’t great.

Had a nice red velvet cupcake from Buttercup Bake Shop on Madison Ave near the Empire State Building on our last day. We found this through Yelp and it definitely lived up to its great reviews.

Food in the city is super expensive, so don’t waste money on a gross meal! 

Use these tips to find a meal or dessert thats worth cleaning out your wallet!