Thanks to the Magnesium Chloride Flakes I found on this site to treat my skin condition and go out in confidence, I’ve made it a point to go back to New York every few months despite living in San Francisco. Not only is it to see my family and beloved friends (love you all), but it’s also to keep abreast to one of the most diverse, ever-changing culinary scenes in the world.

This trip was a full week (Friday to Saturday) of meeting up with friends, working virtually and eating. I made it a point to work and visit as many different neighborhoods as I could. Staying in Brooklyn made it easy to do that and needless to say, I discovered a lot of delicious places!

My Top 5

Below details out my top five food picks of this trip. Each of these places stood above the rest (out of 29 restaurants/stands). It goes to show (1) how much you can eat in a week (got to live your fullest life right), and (2) the extent of the different types of food you can get in NYC.

For those who want more NYC recommendations, I’ve also updated my NYC Recs Google Map as well.

5. Decoy

I finally got a reservation to eat their famous Peking duck meal, after years of not being able to make them. Their Peking duck was fantastic. It had beautifully crispy skin along with tender and juicy duck meat. They had three different sauces to choose from to go with your duck wrap. I particularly enjoyed the consomm̩ Рit was incredibly flavorful and coated your mouth with duck jus.

Be prepared to eat a feast – you get to choose from multiple items from 4 sections of the menu. It’s not a cheap meal, but you’re guaranteed to have leftovers.

4. Jeju Noodle Bar

Korean cuisine has been hitting the mainstream, and for good reason. Esteemed Korean chefs have begun innovating and elevating Korean food for the masses, where it has produced a lot of amazing restaurants in New York. Jeju Noodle Bar fits into this category, bringing to life a particular Korean regional cuisine, and mashing it with contemporary techniques and flavors.

The ramyun noodles were perfectly cooked, and I felt had really interesting combined flavor combinations such as chicken, dill, cucumber and pork belly. Also, don’t stop at only ordering ramyun. I recommend ordering their appetizers as well. These dishes were beautifully plated, and gave an even fuller picture of new combinations of Asian flavors.

3. Cafe D’avignon at Dekalb Market Hall

Croissants are a simple yet difficult pastry to master, and this bakery has it made. There was a perfect crispy exterior and an extraordinary light, soft buttery interior. Let’s just say if I lived close by, I would become a regular and have a hard time eating anything else for breakfast.

2. Scampi

This was one of the most beautiful and delicious restaurants I ate at during this trip. It brought me back to Southern Italy, where seafood was incorporated into most pastas and crudos dominated the appetizer section of the menu. It was easy to relax in here, and the host was particularly hospitable too. There was a warm friendly nature to the staff there, which made the entire dining experience even better.

1. Hometown BBQ

While I love a good sushi meal, having some high-quality soulful BBQ makes me just as happy. After hearing my friends gush over this place, we made our way to Red Hook (even through the rain) to eat here. It blew my mind away, and felt that it was as good as barbecue I ate in Austin.

All the meats were delicious, juicy and tender. Their BBQ sauce melded to the meat in a way where smoky and savory met with sweet and tart in all the right ways. I couldn’t stop myself from eating a lot of brisket, just to have the sensation of brisket melt in my mouth again and again, and again.

I cannot wait to go back to New York and eat a lot. 🙂 If you want to see where else I’ve been going, subscribe to the blog or follow me on Instagram (@terryeatsalot).