Classic and Contemporary Takes on 11 Favorites of the New York Kitchen
We’ve categorized some of the city’s iconic food staples, comparing the oldies with their au courant equivalents. All of them, we’d wager, would pass muster with the most discriminating grandma as well as a Smorgasburg-crazed 20-something.
*This article appears in the November 10, 2014 issue of New York Magazine.
Related: The New Guard of Grocers: 44 Specialty Food Shops That You Need to Know
The city’s Ur-pickle, barrel-brined and fully soured, made by a former Guss’ man who runs the last remaining picklery on Essex Street.
The city’s Ur-pickle, barrel-brined and fully soured, made by a former Guss’ man who runs the last remaining picklery on Essex Street.
The Pickle Guys, 49 Essex St., nr. Grand St.; 212-656-9739; $6.75 for a quart.
Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA plus hop oil give these cukes their irresistibly funky flavor.
Brooklyn Brine, 574 President St., nr. Fourth Ave., Gowanus...
Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA plus hop oil give these cukes their irresistibly funky flavor.
Brooklyn Brine, 574 President St., nr. Fourth Ave., Gowanus; 347-223-4345; $10 for a 16-ounce jar.
Rao’s Homemade marinara sauce. You may never get to eat there, but you can slosh Rao’s piquant sauce over your spaghetti anytime.
At Whole Foods, var...
Rao’s Homemade marinara sauce. You may never get to eat there, but you can slosh Rao’s piquant sauce over your spaghetti anytime.
At Whole Foods, various locations; $10 for 32 ounces.
Available in sweet or hot styles since 1925.
Salumeria Biellese, 376–378 Eighth Ave., at 29th St.; 212-736-7376; $18.50 per pound.
Available in sweet or hot styles since 1925.
Salumeria Biellese, 376–378 Eighth Ave., at 29th St.; 212-736-7376; $18.50 per pound.
Everything that’s wrong with trashy hipster hybrid food, and everything that’s right.
The Meat Hook, 100 Frost St., at Meeker Ave., Williamsburg; 718...
Everything that’s wrong with trashy hipster hybrid food, and everything that’s right.
The Meat Hook, 100 Frost St., at Meeker Ave., Williamsburg; 718-349-5032; $15 a pound.
The progenitor of the thick, tangy, strained yogurt trend; no less a connoisseur than Monsieur Eric Ripert is a fan.
At Whole Foods, various location...
The progenitor of the thick, tangy, strained yogurt trend; no less a connoisseur than Monsieur Eric Ripert is a fan.
At Whole Foods, various locations; $1.59 for 5.3 ounces.
The best new yogurt on the market is made by a former attorney and her luxuriously mustachioed Iranian-born father.
At Foragers City Grocer, 300 W. 2...
The best new yogurt on the market is made by a former attorney and her luxuriously mustachioed Iranian-born father.
At Foragers City Grocer, 300 W. 22nd St., at Eighth Ave.; 212-243-8888; $6.49 for eight ounces.
Russ & Daughters’s belly lox. Joel Russ sold this salt-cured salmon from a pushcart as far back as 1907.
179 E. Houston St., nr. Orchard St.; 212...
Russ & Daughters’s belly lox. Joel Russ sold this salt-cured salmon from a pushcart as far back as 1907.
179 E. Houston St., nr. Orchard St.; 212-475-4880; $36 a pound.
Shelsky’s house-cured Szechuan kung pao salmon. Picking up where pastrami-smoked salmon left off.
Shelsky’s, 141 Court St., nr. Atlantic Ave., Cobble...
Shelsky’s house-cured Szechuan kung pao salmon. Picking up where pastrami-smoked salmon left off.
Shelsky’s, 141 Court St., nr. Atlantic Ave., Cobble Hill; 718-855-8817; $12 a pound.
This is the good, faintly sour, Jewish-style caraway rye once considered a given at New York delis.
Orwasher's, 308 E. 78th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212...
This is the good, faintly sour, Jewish-style caraway rye once considered a given at New York delis.
Orwasher's, 308 E. 78th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-288-6569; $4.25.
The Ridgewood-born mustard won gold at the 1931 International Fancy Food Exposition in Paris, and is still earning raves.
At Bklyn Larder, 228 Flatbu...
The Ridgewood-born mustard won gold at the 1931 International Fancy Food Exposition in Paris, and is still earning raves.
At Bklyn Larder, 228 Flatbush Ave., nr. Bergen St., Park Slope; 718-783-1250; $3 for eight ounces.
Small-batch hot sauce infused with Sonoma wine—the thinking man’s Sriracha.
At the Ploughman, 438 Seventh Ave., nr. 15th St., Park Slope; 718-369-759...
Small-batch hot sauce infused with Sonoma wine—the thinking man’s Sriracha.
At the Ploughman, 438 Seventh Ave., nr. 15th St., Park Slope; 718-369-7595; $15 for 6.4 ounces.
Buy one Bergdorf-lavender box for your host, two for yourself.
Li-Lac Chocolates, 40 Eighth Ave., at Jane St.; 212-924-2280; $22 for an eight-ounce box.
Unroasted, organic single-origin Bolivian beans sweetened with New Hampshire maple sugar—practically health food.
Raaka, 64 Seabring St., nr. Van Bru...
Unroasted, organic single-origin Bolivian beans sweetened with New Hampshire maple sugar—practically health food.
Raaka, 64 Seabring St., nr. Van Brunt St., Red Hook; 855-255-3354; $8 for 1.8 ounces.
They weren’t known as hipsters back then, but Brooklynites have been quaffing this caffeine-amped, cane-sugared, Williamsburg-made rocket fuel since 1...
They weren’t known as hipsters back then, but Brooklynites have been quaffing this caffeine-amped, cane-sugared, Williamsburg-made rocket fuel since 1895.
At Caputo’s Fine Foods, 460 Court St., nr. 3rd Pl., Carroll Gardens; 718-855-8852; $1.75 for a ten-ounce bottle.
Savor the local terroir: The veggies were grown on MoMA PS1’s roof.
At saladforpresident.com; $13 for eight ounces.
Happily, the recipe hasn’t changed since Caruso sang at the Met.
Raffetto's, 144 W. Houston St., nr. Macdougal St.; 212-777-1261; $4 for a one-pound ...
Happily, the recipe hasn’t changed since Caruso sang at the Met.
Raffetto's, 144 W. Houston St., nr. Macdougal St.; 212-777-1261; $4 for a one-pound box.
Jewish appetizing meets artisanal pasta-making.
At By Brooklyn, 261 Smith St., nr. Degraw St., Cobble Hill; 718-643-0606; $8 a pound.
Sweet and fragrant and always startlingly fresh.
Casa Della Mozzarella, 604 E. 187th St., nr. Arthur Ave., Belmont; 718-364-3867; $9 a pound.
Remarkably flavorful DIY mozzarella from cultured curds, or cagliata.
At Saxelby Cheesemongers, 120 Essex St., at Delancey St.; 212-228-8204; $24 a p...
Remarkably flavorful DIY mozzarella from cultured curds, or cagliata.
At Saxelby Cheesemongers, 120 Essex St., at Delancey St.; 212-228-8204; $24 a pound.