New York is a city with constantly changing food trends. INSIDER, a lifestyle blog, has featured the most popular of 2016 in viral videos for INSIDER food. I decided to see if the hype was real. Here's my ranking of five INSIDER featured foods in New York City.
5. Frosé at Bar Primi
Bar Primi is a restaurant in the East Village that offers frosé, a cocktail that took NYC by storm this summer. Frosé, short for frozen rosé, is made with strawberry purée, wine rosé and a splash of vermouth. The mixture is then poured into a slushie machine to create the ultimate summertime drink.
When I got the menu at Bar Primi, I couldn’t find frosé anywhere. Instead, my friend and I had to ask the waiter for the drink without knowing the price (which is $14, by the way, steep even for New York cocktails). It was surprisingly bland and got watery far too quickly. The strawberry purée was virtually undetectable and left something sweet to be desired. It also came in a wine glass that was half-full, which, for its price, was kind of a rip-off. Basically, I felt like I was drinking regular, watered-down rosé. So save a couple bucks and just get regular rosé. Or you can get really watery rosé, if you’re into that.
4. Cacio e pepe at Cacio e Pepe
Cacio e pepe is an Italian dish served at the restaurant Cacio e Pepe in the East Village. It features tonnarelli pasta, pecorino cheese and whole black peppercorns. The allure of this dish is how it’s prepared at your table. Hot pasta is thrown into a partially hollowed cheese wheel. Contact with the hot pasta creates a melty cheese coating that could tempt even the most lactose intolerant. The waiter does some intricate pasta twirling with a fork and spoon (watching it was almost therapeutic) and then plates it for you. And of course, you’re viewing this entire process through a cell phone camera because you’re Snapchatting/Instagramming the sh*t out of this.
Once I put my phone down and decided my body was ready, I took a bite of the pasta. The gates of heaven didn’t open up, and I was kind of let down. The peppercorns were way too strong and dominated the dish (which, honestly, should have been an immediate red flag because I hate peppercorns). Peppercorn hate aside, they were still way too strong (I had my boyfriend check just to confirm) and I felt like there wasn’t enough cheese. At a restaurant literally named Cacio e Pepe, I thought they would do cacio e pepe better.
3. Xiao Long Bao at the Drunken Dumpling
Xiao Long Bao is a Chinese steamed bun that holds meat and soup. These tiny buns of deliciousness are typically served with a saucer of tangy dark rice vinegar and slivers of ginger. The biggest challenge eating these dumplings is slurping up all the soup that seeps out from the first bite. At the Drunken Dumpling in the East Village, Xiao Long Bao comes in XL and XLB sizes.
As a part of the Flushing faithful, I’ve tried the best in soup dumplings and wanted to see how the Drunken Dumpling stacked up. I found the buns to be too thick, but the soup was delicious. I also appreciated that the restaurant is proudly farm-to-table. The quality ingredients do translate to the price, though. As someone that doesn’t really value farm-to-table that much, I would rather get Xiao Long Bao in Flushing. Just as good (maybe even better, honestly) and easier on the wallet.
2. Sushi Burrito at Pokeworks
Pokeworks in Midtown is a Hawaiian fast food joint that offers the sushi burrito. The menu features a build-your-own option with different choices in protein, topping and flavor. A condiment bar has different sauces to dip (or drown) your burrito in.
As a lover of sushi and burritos separately, I think the sushi burrito is a match made in heaven. Pokeworks has a great variety of filling options that are packed into a roasted seaweed wrap. The burrito comes in two sizes, regular and large. I found the regular to be pretty filling. It’s a delicious lunch meal with unlimited combinations to try. Although the sushi burrito tastes refreshing, the fish is frozen, not fresh.
1. Artichoke Pizza at Artichoke Basille’s Pizza
Artichoke Basille’s Pizza is a New York staple that offers the life-changing artichoke pizza slice. Made with a secret creamy sauce, artichoke pizza comes in huge slices with plenty of artichokes and cheesy goodness. Seriously, it's some of the best pizza I've ever had. I've eaten at almost every NYC location and will keep coming back. You can’t beat the price, either. A slice will set you back only $5, and a whole pie comes in at $30.
Moral of the story: Some NYC food trends will come and go, but artichoke pizza is FOREVER.
