I tried to take full advantage of the NYC food, desert, and coffee scene while I was in NY for two months! Living in the upper-west side and working in midtown, I had the chance to spend a lot of time at places all over and discovered a bunch of great spots. So, If you are planning a trip to NYC soon, I encourage you to check out some of my favorite places! I am by no means a food expert; I am simply sharing a brief post of my favorite places.
Try to not get too hungry while reading ;)
Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner:
Shake Shack
You can’t go wrong with the Shack Burger or the Chicken Sandwich. The burger comes with their special Shack sauce on it, and is delish. If you get the chicken sandwich, I suggest adding the shack sauce because it is a little dry without. When you pair the burger or sandwich with some greasy french fries, it is a yummy lunch!
Fresh & Co
There are so many create your own salad options in New York City, but Fresh & Co. is my fave. Their service is wonderful, and their salads are even better! They chop and toss your salad for you and it is heavenly! I got the buffalo chicken salad and it was very good. Also, they have wonderful infused water options! I had the Lemon, Mint, and Cucumber water and loved it!!
Juniors
Juniors is staple when you travel to New York City. They are known for their cheesecake, which I will tell you all about in the desert part of this post, but my favorite item on their menu is the Pastrami Reuben sandwich. It comes with a side of slaw that goes perfectly with the sandwich. Pair it with their steak fries and you will be full for the rest of the afternoon!
Andrew’s Coffee Shop
Andrew’s Coffee Shop not only serves the best coffee, they have a great lunch menu as well. Their sweet potato fries and BBQ chicken tacos are killer, seriously. Their tacos come with fresh avocado and homemade slaw on top with grilled BBQ chicken. MMM, it was so good!!
By Chloe
By Chloe is a very unique, vegan restaurant. No, I am not vegan, but yes, they have wonderful food, especially their Kale Caesar salad. I added their organic chipotle aioli to my salad and it was very, very good!
Kihsh
Kihsh is just one of the many breakfast + brunch places in the upper west side and if you are in this area, I highly suggest going for brunch! It’s a little pricy, but it was totally worth it. I had scrambled eggs, potatoes, toast, and of course, a latte.
Merchants River house
The location of this restaurant is killer!! It is located right on the river and has a breathtaking view! I am not usually a big burger fan, but I have to say that the bacon burger I ate was delicious! And of course, I had sweet potato fries with my burger and a glass of my fave wine, Pinot Grigio!
Carmines
First things first, you better come very hungry to Carmines and bring lots of friends with you because it is family style. But don’t let that scare you because I promise it is worth it! (Also, make sure you make reservations days in advance) Connor and I got fried zucchini and chicken parm and it was very, very good. And we had left overs for days… so like I said, make sure to go with lots of people!
Coffeeberry
I learned to love brunch places because brunch is the thing to do in NYC, so I learned. Coffeeberry is a small, local breakfast/brunch place that has delicious waffles + pancakes. Just look at all the fresh fruit piled on top of this waffle! It was amazing!
Opry Live Stage
This place was a little piece of home; country music and a Nashville feel. It kept me sane while in NYC, seriously. While you are in this restaurant you forget you are in the heart of the city because of its welcoming atmosphere, country music, and overall country feel. It is AWESOME! My favorite main dish on their menu was the chicken and waffles and their smoked ribs!! Also, their mac n cheese is the bomb, seriously, it is like my Nana’s mac n cheese (which is very hard to compete with). You must try!! Their homemade biscuits are wonderful as well. They also have live COUNTRY music every night. The Opry was most definitely my favorite place to go in NYC!
Sarabeth's
There are several Sarabeth's locations throughout the city and I highly recommend eating brunch at one while you are in NY! It is very pricy, but it is the best food! I had the Apple-Cinnamon French Toast, topped with bananas, and a side of Applewood Smoked Bacon. Oh and a latte to go with my yummy breakfast. All of it was absolutely delicious, and a lot of food!! This was by far the best breakfast I ate in NY and I would highly recommend going to eat at one of the locations during your stay in the city.
Desert + Lattes:
Magnolia Bakery
THE BEST CHEESCAKE IN THE CITY! Seriously, this cheesecake was my absolute fave. I tried the plain and red velvet cheesckaes and being that I am a huge red velvet fan, I liked the red velvet the best. And it goes perfectly with a caramel latte. My mouth is watering thinking about this yummy cheesecake! P.s. Yes, the name is “Magnolia Bakery.” No, it does not have anything to do with Chip and Joanna Gaines, however, the décor and atmosphere of this bakery is very much similar to the Magnolia Bakery in Waco!! Even more of a reason to love it, right?!
Baked by Melissa
I never knew what Baked by Melissa was or how famous it was until a friend in NY told me (she thought it was crazy that I had never heard of it). I tried the red velvet, cookie dough, and cookies and cream and they were all amazing, but the cookie dough was deffintetly the best! They are mini cupcakes, so the best part is, you don’t feel guilty eating 5… or more ;)
Dominique Ansel Bakery
This bakery is an iconic place for cute photos and of course has wonderful, "insta perfect" desert options. The cookie shot is just an awesome concept, but the caramel and PB desert (I forgot the name, oops) was my favorite; 100% would recommend this bakery for cute photo inspiration and yummy deserts!
Juniors
You cannot visit NYC without going to juniors and getting cheesecake, at least in my opinion. You really can’t go wrong with any of their cheesecake, but my personal fave is their red velvet! A bit of advice; one slice can easily feed 4 people!
Nutella per Eataly
The name says it all; Nutella. Everything in this bakery has Nutella in it or on it. So awesome, right? And the desert I had was wonderful (I have no idea what it was called. I was in a hurry, oops). I didn’t eat lunch in Eataly because it was so packed, but it all looked so good and I hope to go back again and eat lunch there.
Birch Coffee
Birch has several locations throughout the city, so you are very likely to find one close to where you are staying. The atmosphere of this coffee shop is so dreamy, “new yorky”, and the latte’s are wonderful. I also tried a banana nut muffin and it was a great mid-day snack!
