What I ate in New York City

I have always been a massive foodie and once I knew I was going to New York I made sure to research the best places to eat and made a list of where I wanted to go. This is a food diary of what I ate during my stay.

Monday 8th January

Breakfast-

For breakfast on the first day we couldn’t really sit down anywhere as we had to rush to the Fashion Institute of Technology for a perfume talk so I ran across the street to bread and butter and picked up a chocolate muffin which I can honestly say was the best muffin I have ever tasted and eating it walking around the streets of New York for the first time definitely made it taste even better! Unfortunately, I was too hungry to take a photo of it though.

Lunch-

For lunch I finally got my hands on a shake shack, which I have been wanting to try for years. Plastered all over social media this fast food chain is known for its crinkle fries cheese fries, burgers and shakes. Me and my friends went to the outside shack in Madison Square Park, and although it was freezing the setting was beautiful. I ordered the cheese fries and a shack burger, the food was worth the wait!

Dinner-

For food in the evening we headed over to Times Square to try the legendary Joe’s Pizza joint where the walls are covered with photos of celebrity customers, from Anne Hathaway to Leonardo DiCaprio and the pizza slices are as big as your head. I ordered a margherita slice and a peperoni slice, which were delicious. In my honest opinion though, the pizza was nothing out of the ordinary, but the novelty of the place is worth a visit for sure.

Wednesday 10th January-

Brunch-

For a late breakfast we went to one of the top places I wanted to try. By Chloe In Soho is a vegan plant based café which serves everything from Avocado toast to smoothie bowls and pancakes. The place itself is ‘so instagramable’ and the food was delicious. I tried the iced tea and avocado toast which was covered with toasted chickpeas.

Dinner-

We went to Chelsea market for food In the evening and sat at one of the restaurants which served a Japanese take on Mexican food. I opted for the rice bowl which was really filling, before trying to save my friend from the extra hot sauce she had put on her tacos with bottles of water!

Thursday 11th January-

Breakfast-

On the way to grand central station we quickly popped into a coffee shop. I had a cinnamon swirl and a mango smoothie which kept me going until I had a pretzel outside the MET.

Lunch-

You can’t go all the way to New York and not have a bagel, so we did our research and decided upon Russ and Daughter for lunch. Inside the Jewish museum on the upper east side, this restaurant was quite upmarket, and so were the prices, $22 for a bagel! Although pricey, the food and atmosphere were lovely. We all got their classic smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels which I enjoyed with a cream soda (a drink I couldn’t stop craving!). If you don’t mind spending a little more on food then I definitely recommend Russ and Daughter.

Dinner-

Thursday turned out to be a rather expensive day food wise as we chose to go to The Hard Rock Café for dinner in Times Square. Having not been to one in years it was a great atmosphere busy and serving generous portions. I couldn’t believe the size of their nachos! I had the southwest chicken flatbread and a side of fries to eat and a huge vanilla milkshake. The food was great and VERY filling, after struggling to eat it all we explored Times Square.

Friday 12th January-

Breakfast-

One of the main places I wanted to go for breakfast in NY was Jack’s wife Freda. The all-day bistro serves American-Mediterranean food in a great atmosphere. There was a queue out the door when we arrived (a sign of how good it is), but we were seated soon enough. I had a latte and poached eggs with halloumi on toast for breakfast and it was heavenly. Id love to go back for lunch there as their menu looked so good.

Dinner-

After eating at all the places we had wanted to, we headed to Bubba Gump’s shrimp restaurant in Times Square. Based on the film Forrest Gump it was filled with memorabilia from the film and serves comfort food from the south of America, specialising in shrimp. I ordered shrimp Mac & Cheese which was great. I also finally got a cheesecake slice which I had been wanting for days! However, the best thing about the place was the staff who served us. They were so friendly and when asking them about where to spend our last night in the city, one waiter wrote us a whole list of the best places he could think of for under 21s. It was the best place to spend our last night.

Saturday-

Breakfast-

I ended the trip the way I had started it and got another muffin from Bread and Butter, although it wasn’t as good as the first one, it was also absolutely freezing the last day maybe New York knew I was leaving.

Lunch-

We went back to shake shack one last time, this time in Grand Central Station where I had a double shack burger, cheese fries and a cream soda, I honestly think they use some sort of magic in that place!

Homebound :(

My final meal was in the airport where I had a huge pizza, so I didn’t have to eat the plane food on the flight home. I had the best trip to New York and the food was a real highlight for me. It may sound stupid, but food can really change your mood and exploring new places to eat in such an amazing city definitely made me feel very happy! Until next time New York x