Category Archives: Restaurants

Peking Duck House

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Photo by Katie Ligon

For duck in NYC there is no other place than Peking Duck House,  now with two locations on Mott Street (preferred), and Midtown (good enough!). The duck is served whole and sliced in front of your eyes, then placed on a plate alongside cucumber and scallion slices, hoisin and homemade tortillas. A wrap is made with these ingredients along with a few slices of duck, and one bite into this creation yields several layers of crunch, texture and flavor that is unique to the peking duck experience. Both locations also have typical Chinese-American fare, but the focus should remain on the star of the show. Lovers of rich, flavorful cuisine and unique flavors will definitely be pleased.

Favorite Things: Ihawan Indulgences

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Ihawan Restaurant (70th & Roosevelt in Woodside, Queens) is the place to go for authentic Filipino food in New York. Known for their pork barbecue skewers, we also frequent this place their other specialties, namely Daing na Bangus (fried milkfish), Crispy Pata (fried pork knuckles), and sisg (sizzling pork facial muscles and ear).

The Daing is perfectly fried and the serving is very generous. Served whole and butterflied and deboned, it is a favorite breakfast treat eaten with rice and dipped in spiced vinegar.

The Crispy Pata is just fried pork personified. The photo is self-explanatory.

And finally, the Sizzling Sisig is an explosion of taste. A famous drinking dish, finely chopped cheek muscles are sauteed in onions and sprinkled with lemon juice before serving. I don’t think you’ll find anything quite like it.
I’ve lived in NY for a decade and have sampled several restaurants in the tri-state area, but nothing comes close to Ihawan in authenticity and value. And I haven’t even mentioned the avocado shake yet! (Say what?!) Notice I didn’t mention anything about decor and ambience. It’s a Filipino restaurant. What do you want? 
Mangia!

Tom’s Restaurant, Brooklyn

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Don’t you love it when places seem to be frozen in time? Tom’s is one of those places, with menu boards and handwritten signs for their daily specials. The food is cheap and lovely, and they open at 6 am, perfect for your hungover self. Lines get long on weekends after ten in the morning so expect to wait. It’s definitely worth it, especially with the very nice touch of being handed coffees and treats (cookies, beef sausages, fries) while standing in line. Why don’t other restaurants do that? That’s a smart way of keeping guests entertained, pleasant, and hooked on a menu item even before they’re seated.  Tom’s is an institution in Brooklyn, and there’s a reason the hundreds of brunch places haven’t changed that.


The legend’s decor speaks for itself.


Awesome crispy fries with what seems like Tex-Mex sauce.


French Toast and Sausage

Mexican Chicken Omelet

Huevos Rancheros and Beef Sausage

Belgian Waffle and Sausage.
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Ham Ji Bach Restaurant

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Ham Ji Bach Restaurant in Flushing serves crispy pork belly cooked over a hot iron plate. This a special treat for fans of Korean food and pork belly. Their side sundobu chige is also the best I’ve had anywhere. I haven’t been to any other Korean restaurant and NYC that serves pork belly this way, so going to Ham Ji Bach is definitely a unique experience each time.
Several slabs of pork belly await cooking by your table’s attendant.

Exceptional banchan (side dishes)

Cooking time.

Browned and crispy-fied to perfection.

Each piece is wrapped in a thin slice of pickled daikon with scallions, pickled onions, and dipped in sesame oil and tofu sauce.
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Peter Luger’s Burger – #1 in NYC

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NYT once ranked New York City’s burgers and decided that Peter Luger’s burger is #1, an added bonus to making it to PL for its steak. I recommend saving one day for burger day because you won’t enjoy the burger when it’s next to an awesome steak. We made it one day with the objective of trying their burgers and agreed with the popular judgement.
Peter Luger’s burgers are the best simple no-frills burgers – independently tasty patty and bun, which are hard to beat even with all the fixins and sauces and sides that other places may offer.
A tip for solo or two-person eaters – burgers can be served at the bar for quick seating without reservations. I recommend having the PL burger for lunch rather than dinner to avoid the snide remarks of the waitstaff who are known for the humorous brashness and macho behavior.

Once a friend ordered a burger at PL and was asked what kind of cheese he wanted.

“Do you have Swiss?” he asked.

“No. We’re not that nice here,” was the answer.

Mangia!

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