Afternoon, everyone. (Or does 4 p.m. fall under the evening banner? I welcome your feedback on the issue at wheretoeat@nytimes.com.) Thanks for joining us for another Tuesday edition of “Where to Eat.” Here’s what’s on the agenda:
What we ate (and absolutely loved) in SeptemberThe first rule of restaurant coverage: A.B.E. Always be eating. That also means not every meal we enjoy throughout the month makes its way into a review or a “Where to Eat” dispatch. So, I asked some of the Food desk’s team to share their favorite bites of September, most of which were enjoyed right here in New York City. The wedge salad at Keens SteakhouseI went to Keens as background research for my steakhouses story and finally understood the appeal of a wedge salad: that blue-cheese funk against the fresh, fresh crunch and the glory of the lardons, all smoke and dark sugars and salt, in mathematically perfected ratios. LIGAYA MISHAN 72 West 36th Street (Sixth Avenue), Midtown Golfeado at Caracas BakeryI loved this over-the-top and extremely satisfying version of the Venezuelan yeasted bun: sweet and salty, very gently spiced, drenched in brown sugar syrup and capped with a big slab of soft queso blanco. (And I loved that the server gave me a knife along with it — I needed it.) TEJAL RAO Multiple locations, Miami Banana cookie at Tin Building by Jean-GeorgesI fancy myself a gourmet grocery store aficionado, and wasn’t feeling particularly inspired by my stroll through the Market, the Tin Building’s sleepy showroom of packaged goods. Luckily, on the way out, a banana cookie caught my eye at the bakery by the exit: The chewy, caramelized-edged poppy seed cookie topped with a glistening knob of bruléed banana was enough to change my tune on the place. BECKY HUGHES 96 South Street (Fulton Street), Financial District Blueberry pancakes at Sadelle’sI woke up on a Friday morning last month and decided I really needed a personal day. (If you’ve been thinking of doing the same, take this as your sign.) My sister and I met up at Sadelle’s for brunch, and more than two weeks later we haven’t stopped talking about the incredible pancakes — crispy on the outside, melty and buttery on the inside with jammy blueberries stuffed in the middle. The waffle scales fell from my eyes. NIKITA RICHARDSON 463 West Broadway (Prince Street), SoHo Chicken biryani at KebabwalaThis is one of the few dishes that could get me into a food hall before noon. Laden with chunks of tender chicken and baked under a crisp, heavily spiced dough shell, it’s easy to see why the limited number of biryani it serves go fast each day. LUKE FORTNEY 124 East 14th Street (Irving Place), inside Time Out Market Union Square
THE RESTAURANT REVIEW Emeril’sAre restaurant nepo babies a thing? And if so, does Joe Bastianich count? What about Hallie Meyer? Or does the sheer difficulty of operating a successful restaurant make this industry one of the few arenas immune to nepotism? You’ll have to figure that one out while reading Tejal Rao’s review of Emeril’s in New Orleans, which quietly became a high-end tasting menu restaurant three years ago under the culinary vision of the 22-year-old E.J. Lagasse. (The “J” stands for junior.) Read the review → OPENING OF THE WEEK Wild CherryIt’s actually a banner week in openings — call it the magic of October. Today, Flynn McGarry’s new California-influenced restaurant, Cove, opens on West Houston Street. In Hudson Yards, the chef Nicolas Lopez is now serving dry-aged rib-eye burgers at Txula Steak inside José Andrés’s Mercado Little Spain. But the banner opening will surely be Wild Cherry, the latest restaurant from Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson (Frenchette, Le Rock, Le Veau d’Or), inside the Cherry Lane Theatre. They’re serving fairly straightforward food — Caesar salad, steak for two, coconut cake — for a restaurant backed by one of the weirder film studios: A24. There’ll also be popcorn to munch on while you catch a showing of whatever talker of a film A24 is screening. More restaurant openings →
RESTAURANT LIFE One year, one restaurant, infinite issuesIn the world of daily newspapers, it’s not that often that you get to let a story develop for nearly a year. But Priya Krishna did just that in the form of a colorful interactive article that follows Mouleena Khan, a rookie restaurateur, as she raises funding, applies for permits, creates a menu, hires staff and works late nights to open the restaurant Cheeni in Brooklyn. The story took Priya months to report, but it’ll take you much less time to read. Thanks for joining us and see you on Thursday. Read the story → Have New York City restaurant questions? Send us a note here. Follow NYT Food on TikTok and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.
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