I F*** With Baohaus – The Best Restaurants in NYC
The first time I tried Baohaus I’d never heard of Eddie Huang. Not that my new-found affinity for its owner would affect my objectivity even if I had. Gua bao and I have actually had an on-again-off-again long-term relationship, and I’ve sampled some of the best in Taiwan. In case you were fiending for […]
Gahwa – The Best Restaurants in NYC
29-32 Union St, Flushing, NY The purpose of this series, dear traveler, is to open your eyes to a culinary experience you might not find if you trusted only the tourist guidebooks. It’s true, some of the restaurants you’ve heard about from guides and television shows really are that good – Second Avenue Deli, […]
SriPraPhai – The Best Restaurants in NYC
64-13 39th Ave Woodside, NY 11377 I first heard of Sripraphai in the upper echelons of basic cable, on a now defunct channel that showed reruns of Korean soaps, Japanese gameshows, and the occasional Pride match, and had, to my recollection, exactly one show worth watching, where the hosts profiled Asian restaurants around New York’s […]
Defonte’s – The Best Restaurants in NYC
261 3rd Ave, Manhattan, NY Beside its groundbreaking high-end eateries, Asian restaurants, and burgers, New York excels at another type of nosh – artisanal sandwiches. Sure, you can find the foo foo organic, whole-grain variety, and some very good versions of it, but when you’re in the mood for an unapologetic fling with a […]
Minca – The Best Restaurants in NYC
536 E 5th St New York, NY 10009 It’s infrequent that I’ll go so far as to do research in order to write a restaurant review, especially in New York. Tell you the history of the burger? Heck if I know, but I’ve eaten a metric ton of them in my day. Steaks? Brunch […]
Shake Shack – The Best Restaurants in NYC
For my return journey to Shake Shack, I decided to challenge the prevailing assumption that the lines are too long, so I set my stopwatch the moment I stepped into line. It wasn’t until I had successfully navigated the line, ordered, waited for my order, sherpa’d it over to a vacant bench, taken my […]
Metro Cafe – the Best Restaurants in NYC
4924 8th Ave Brooklyn, NY 11220 Cliche-avoidance-be-damned, Sunset Park is a treasure trove. We at Smart Getaways actively encourage readers to get out of Manhattan to experience the best restaurants New York has to offer, and you sure don’t have to go as far as Flushing or Sunset Park to find great eats, but […]
Atlantic City 2 – Weekend Getaways from NYC
In part one of this series, I floated the controversial idea that perhaps Atlantic City warranted inclusion in a list of six smart weekend getaways from New York, both because of its well-earned reputation as well-worn tourist-trap and in spite of it. Come for the amazing Asian food, wineries, beaches, and…dare I say it…shopping, […]
Atlantic City 1 – Weekend Getaways from NYC
Forget everything you think you know about Atlantic City. Don’t get me wrong – it is all that. Playground of broken dreams, Ozymandian vestige of ostentatiousness, neon-stucco-and-chrome found-object monument to a time when Roger Moore was Bond, Trump’s hair was real, and you could still get a hot meal on a transcontinental flight. AC’s […]
Voula’s Offshore Cafe – What to Eat in Seattle
658 NE Northlake Way Seattle, WA 98105 Voula’s is just about as directly opposite The Fat Hen as you can get within the confines of deliciousness. For starters, it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives. High falutin this is not. (And good damn riddance.) Amid spartan surroundings, Voula’s cuts-to-the-chase, serving up big portions of […]
