Welcome to Where to Eat, the restaurant newsletter that doesn’t split checks. Here’s what we’ve got for you today:
ALWAYS BE EATING The best things we ate in JulyNo month embodies summer quite like July. No matter where you live, school is out, and life feels a little slower. So it’s no surprise that our July was marked by tacos at the beach, vacation potatoes, mango paletas and the season’s juiciest nectarines — hallmarks of a summer well-spent. Keep scrolling to see everything we loved eating last month. Fish tacos and carnitas tacos at Tacoway Beach Mother Nature humbled me to my core last month when what I thought would be a cloudy beach day turned into a complete wash out. My friend Carly and I decided to just take the L (the loss, not the train) and head back home, but not before tucking into the consolation prize of lunch at Tacoway Beach — soggy clothes and all. NIKITA RICHARDSON 3-02 Beach 87th Street (Rockaway Freeway), Far Rockaway, Queens Croissants at Birdee and Dominique Ansel Bakery This month, it’s a tie between two croissants, which I had all but sworn off eating after putting together last year’s roundup of the city’s best. What pulled me back into the flaky fray was the churro croissant at Birdee Bakery, which is still as crunchy, sugary and perfectly honeycombed as I remember. Then, when I heard that Pierre Hermé was in town for a collaboration with Dominique Ansel, I dutifully stood in line to get my hands on a limited edition Ispahan Cronut. That blend of rose, lychee and raspberry is one of the most brilliant pastry pairings of all time. MAHIRA RIVERS Birdee, 316 Kent Avenue (South Third Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn Dominique Ansel Bakery, 189 Spring Street (Sullivan Street), SoHo, Manhattan An electric transition at Jacaranda I’m still thinking of this one particular sequence early in the meal at Jacaranda, Daniel Patterson’s new restaurant in Los Angeles, where we went from a floral, herbal and super juicy green bowl of grilled and raw vegetables straight into the intensity and richness of a cured and poached egg yolk with caviar and creme fraiche. A jolt of beauty and deliciousness. TEJAL RAO 6623 Melrose Avenue (North Citrus Avenue), Los Angeles Linguine al ragù at Somssi You never know how it’s going to be without a reservation. But at Somssi from the Atomix team, an Asian-inflected bistro that regularly books up, walk-ins were scoring good seats the other evening. I’m still thinking of my linguine al ragù, a tangle of soft noodles topped with savory pork and mustard greens kimchi. The greens were key, lending a welcome tartness to cut through all the meatiness. It’s the sort of creative-yet-easy-going pasta I would eat every day, and given the walk-in situation, maybe I can! RYAN SUTTON 79 MacDougal Street (Bleecker Street), West Village, Manhattan The Jim Spud at Pioneer Saloon A little something to contrast with my usual picks (salad, cocktails): Earlier this month, my mom and I were in lovely Sun Valley, Idaho, for a writer’s conference. On our last night, we had one goal in mind: big potato. That’s what we found in the Jim Spud, a football-sized potato stuffed with cubed steak, sour cream and shrouded in melted cheese. I love you, Jim Spud. I’m coming back for you, baby. BECKY HUGHES 320 North Main Street (Sun Valley Road East), Ketchum, Idaho Green mango paleta at Cholados y Mangos Demand at Cholados y Mangos is so intense in the summer that its two Jackson Heights stores — barely 10 blocks apart — can both have lines out the door at the same time. Most people come for Colombian cholados, towers of shaved ice and tropical fruit sweetened with condensed milk, or partake of mango biche (underripe mango) in every form possible. I love the green mango paleta, a cone-shaped Popsicle plunged, upside down, in a plastic cup that gets drowned in lime juice, salt and Tajín. Try it while mango season is here. LUKE FORTNEY 81-09 Northern Boulevard (81st Street), Jackson Heights, Queens 88-15 37th Avenue (88th Street), Jackson Heights, Queens A Goldbud Farms nectarine Last month I had a Goldbud Farms nectarine that cut like a mango, all silky sunburst flesh. This mutant peach, one gene removed from its fuzzy cousin, is more delicate, more honeyed. Let others queue for frozen yogurt; I wait for Goldbud drops. They release their fruit only at peak ripeness, but they do ship nationwide. My nectarine cost $11, and I’d gladly pay that again. LIGAYA MISHAN
THE BRIEF REVIEW Bar Chucho★ | Critic’s Pick
At Cantonese spots, chefs skilfully deploy XO sauce, a heady condiment forged from dried shellfish and cured ham. At Bar Chucho on the edge of Chinatown, the chef Fidel Caballero goes a step further, adding a Mexican twang. Sure, he uses scallops, but also grasshoppers and smoked corazón for funk and umami. And he tosses the salsa with maple-slicked rice cakes before sending them out with toothpicks. It’s a funky, chewy snack that pairs smartly with the Malverde, a Jolly Rancher-hued tipple that tastes of booze and candied cilantro. Chucho, by the team behind the fine-dining restaurant Corima, doesn’t want to be just a drinks destination with limited-supply Wagyu patties that influencers queue up for. It’s a chill hang for fancy libations and discount burgers, a place where the tequila slushy machine casts a neon glow. But what makes Chucho especially satisfying is knowing it belongs to a class of Latin cocktail dens reshaping the cantina experience, with more of an eye toward Mexico City’s edgy dynamism than old-school margarita joints. Just as Dolores introduced hip Brooklynites to fiery papadillas, Chucho riffs on the street snack that is the chilindrina, airy chicharrones de harina that Caballero layers with kombu cueritos and undulating sheets of silky bluefin. Sure, there’s guacamole, but most patrons, the bartender quips, “don’t realize it comes with tripe.” For the best! The soy-tinged stomach, crisp on the outside and wobbly within, sits above a mash of avocado so soft it channels a verdant congee. Smart diners will skip the greasy gringas in favor of the brisket burgers; they’re misted with dry-aged garum (for sweet funk) and anointed with chiles toreados (for earthy heat). The price? Just $18. Chucho, however ambitious, makes sure it’s still a neighborhood bar. And that’s why it truly shines. Address: 37 Market Street (Madison Street); no phone; instagram.com/barchucho.nyc Recommended Dishes: An ideal meal consists of the rice cakes, the guacamole topped with norteño-style tripe, and the small dry-aged beef burger. Price: $12 for the rice cakes (currently off menu but returning soon) to $18 for the burger. Cocktails are $17 to $20. Micheladas run $13 to $14. Wheelchair Access: A portable ramp allows for a step-free entrance to the restaurant; the restroom is A.D.A. accessible.
FROM OUR CHIEF CRITICS A bold new fine-dining story is being written in New Orleans
The dishes I’m still thinking about from my meals at Dakar NOLA: the intensely delicious soupa kanja; whole Gulf shrimp and thiere in a tamarind glaze; a perfect tomato salad with a grilled peach dressing. My first meal there was last summer just after I first started this job, and I could see how the chef Serigne Mbaye was drawing our attention to the West African roots of Louisiana Creole cuisine. My most recent meal was this summer, after the team moved into a bigger space with more room to cook, serve and experiment. I realized Mbaye has been doing so much more than just annotating the great dishes of New Orleans. He’s creating something new, something personal and alive and still very much underway: a modern Senegalese American restaurant, totally inextricable from its place, where the rules of fine dining are his to subvert. Read the review → ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO EMAIL A few stories you might have missed in the haze of summer
RESTAURANT AT HOME Bordo’s sweet corn carbonaraMarfa, Texas, isn’t like Jackson Hole, Wyo. — a moneyed playground cosplaying as a small town — you really can see most of the artsy West Texas town in one day. (Even the famous Prada Marfa isn’t technically in Marfa.) Accordingly, there are only a handful of restaurants, but the Italian deli Bordo is one of the best. With sweet corn season fully in swing, now is the time to try the chef Michael Serva’s take on carbonara featuring leeks, salami and Calabrian chile paste. It’s not traditional, but neither is Marfa. See the recipe → |
.png)
