Hello!
As of recent I have visited the great city (or dare I say the greatest city in the world…) of NYC. When planning this trip it was important to me to keep in mind all that NY has to offer…like AMAZING FOOD PLACES! To be 100% real I am a major foodie and where I live cannot compare to the creativity and variety that NY has to offer. As of all things in life, the best is saved for last. So DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT miss the greatest place of all (which is found at the end). If you read anything, scroll to the bottom. You will not want to miss out on it!
First up, Matcha! I have become OBSESSED with matcha tea! If you are not familiar then you might be living underneath a rock. It’s time to come out from under there and may I welcome you to the present. Matcha is a green tea transformed into powder form. However, I have seen matcha in whole leaf form. It is a very strong green tea though. It will definitely give you that boost of caffeine you need to make it through your ENTIRE day (with just one cup)!
On my visit to NYC I was overwhelmed at the amount of places that you can go and get matcha. Here in FL, the only place I can go to get a good and quality matcha is Whole Foods (if you know of a place though hit your girl up!). That being said I drank a plethora of fantastic matcha and would like to share with you my top two places to get matcha in NY!
- Greecologies
This place is located in Little Italy & East Village and oh my goodness they are the real deal! They focus on serving up these incredible and innovative Greek Yogurt combinations, but on the side they are matcha experts! Serving up cold brew matcha, matcha lattes, matcha shots, matcha lemonade, matcha cortado, and even a rose matcha latte! This is the place to be to satisfy that matcha craving! I had the cold brew matcha and it was the smoothest matcha I have ever had! Seriously make the trip and go hit this place up!
2. Bibble & Sip
After visiting this place, I would move to the city just so I could go here every day. I
cannot stress this place enough! You MUST GO! No excuses people. It is located in Midtown or really Times Square area. It is a small little place adorably adorned with their mascot, the alpaca. This place is everything. The most creative and stunning creations. Oh and do yourself a favor and go at 12 so you can devour the heavenly and huge cream puffs! I was unable to get my hands on one…don’t ask me why (biggest regret of my life). What do I order you might ask? Well the matcha jasmine latte is a CANNOT MISS! Wow literally the greatest combo ever! The two teas join together in this harmonious blend of deliciousness! You will not regret it! The cream puffs are fun and unique flavor combos like matcha white chocolate and earl grey. I also spied a coconut thai tea mousse with carrot cake streusel. Yep you read that right. I’m telling you these people are doing it right!
Moving right along here…I bet you are thinking to yourself where can I get the best slice of NY pizza? Have I got the place for you! The one. The only. Lombardi’s. They have been doing pizza since…well, since forever. Like since pizza was ever a thing. So they know what they are doing. The have this ancient coal fired pizza oven which gets so hot that it take more than a day to cool down. The staff will take you back to look at the kitchen and will tell you all about it so do not hesitate to ask! The pizza! Wow so amazing! We got a meatball and ricotta pizza because to me that is the greatest combination of ingredients to ever put on a pizza (I do not know why people ever put anything else on top of a pizza). So if you are wanting authentic hit up Lombardi’s. They will hook you up.
Next up, Brunch!
Friedman’s in Midtown is the place to be! The menu is so stellar that it took my mom and I thirty minutes of strategic planning to order. I ended up getting the chicken and waffles. But Friedman’s doesn’t make just any fried chicken and waffles. Oh no. They make the most mouth watering, crisp and crunchy, to die for fried chicken on top of the fluffiest, cheddar waffle. I do not know how they make a cheddar waffle all the while maintaining that inner fluff, but they know the secret because it was PERFECT! My mom got the wild mushroom toast and if you are into mushrooms get this! Also the blueberry pancakes looked so incredibly amazing that it took a lot of self control not to order those as well! You cannot go wrong here!
For a hidden gem (well not sure if it is hidden for the NY locals, but it was quite hidden to 
me), hit up the Rustic Table. The place is small and is centered around a…you guessed it…long communal rustic table. This place offers up simple yet hearty offerings. And the flavor combinations! Wow! I still think about my feta and zaatar scone filled with scrambled eggs on the daily. Mmmmmm simply divine!
We are getting down to the end which means the greatest place in NY is yet to be revealed. That’s right I have saved the BEST for last. The winner of the greatest food in NY is Very Fresh Noodles located in Chelsea Market (not sure if they have other
locations). Now, this experience was amazing. I do not have any pictures because it was so incredible and so mind blowing and the food was so good that I did not even think of capturing it. Thats right-it was so good that I did not even pull out my phone! It’s a jaw dropping, phone forgetting type of place. It transports you and makes you desire more. OR actually makes you want to give the owners and workers of the small food stall nobel peace prizes and grammy’s and emmy’s and tony’s and whatever else that can be bestowed upon a place. They are simply the greatest. Forget about moving to NY for Bibble & Sip, this place I would leave at the drop of a hat to go to. I would make the journey to NY everyday to go here. In fact…excuse me while I book the next flight out…Okay okay let’s get into it. Very Fresh Noodles is, as the name suggests, very fresh. So fresh in fact that they make the noodles right there. In the small food stall. Size should not keep you from living out your dreams or creating great things people. If these people can do it, so can you. Well maybe not as quite as awesome as the people of Very Fresh Noodles, but close. They create these incredible dishes of biangbiang noodles. Don’t worry, I had never heard of them either, but they were THE GREATEST! Sort of dumpling textured, smooth, melt in your mouth, hearty, make you want to shove all of them in your mouth yet all the while savoring each and every bite you are so blessed and privileged to take type of noodles. If you go, do not waste your order. Go all out. Be adventurous. You will not regret it. I got the tingly cumin lamb in soup with chrysanthemum tea. Yes chrysanthemum tea. Authentic. Real. And a flavor explosion of greatness in my mouth. I could go on and on and on about this place guys, so to spare you the rest of my rambling, do yourself the greatest favor and go to Very Fresh Noodles. Chelsea Market will want to distract you from getting to this place. But fight the temptation, stay the course and reach the holy grail of food. Your welcome. (Above image taken from here-giving credit where credit is due).
Peace, Love, and Food Adventures,
Haley
Confections of a macaronner 
