My 75-year-old neighbor took me to Oinomageirion Tsopanakos for the first time and I was impressed, if by nothing else than by the décor. It’s packed with memorabilia. The name means “the shepherd,” or “little shepherd,” and so it stands to reason that this is a place to come for Greek-style meats, specifically their chops. Oinomageirion translates to “wine-cooked food” restaurant, a very specific type of eatery that was once found all over Athens but has all but disappeared. There are only a handful of places left like this: simple, inexpensive, specializing in home cooking, casseroles, Greek classics, and some finger-licking grilled treats.”

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Dishes to look for—in the book, and elsewhere in Athens

Kasseropita kourou (Kasseri cheese pie)

Where to get it: Dodoni, on Lykourgou Street, near Omonoia

“This is Athenian street food at its most indulgent. Kourou refers to a pastry that’s more like a short crust than a typical olive oil-flour dough. It’s crumbly and mostly made with feta, but the kasseri filling, found in a few downtown spots, makes it crumbly and melty. It’s an indulgence that I only partake of when I know I’ll walk it off.”

Galaktoboureko

Where to get it: Kosmikon, which has been producing this creamy Greek-Anatolian dessert since 1961, and Galifianakis, which began producing its version of galaktoboureko with a kataifi (shredded wheat) crust in 1973

“Galaktoboureko, a semolina custard–filled phyllo pastry moistened with simple syrup, is a dessert that people associate with Athens, even though there’s no real regional association beyond just being beloved and having some very good renditions in a few sweet shops. We used to seek out the galaktoboureko from a place in Patissia when I lived here in my 20s, and getting it warm was a treat.”

Poor Man’s Plate of Greek fries with ground meat sauce and grated myzithra

Where to get it: Leloudas Taverna in the Botanikos neighborhood

“The Poor Man’s Plate is from a cult taverna, one of the oldest ones in the city, in an old working class neighborhood. It’s just so simple and over the top at the same time. Greek fries are piled high with a spiced ground meat sauce (the same one that goes into pastitsio and moussaka) then topped with shavings of myzithra cheese, the traditional, sharp grating cheese of Greece— long before parmigiana entered the language!”

Green, rolling hills shaped by the Ice Age; sandy beaches washed in art-inspiring light; and fertile farmland feeding Michelin-starred chefs and pioneering winemakers—this isn’t Tuscany, but Denmark’s Odsherred region, just an hour’s drive northwest of Copenhagen.

“When I first came here in 2009, there were no proper restaurants, and the region didn’t have any sense of pride in their offerings,” says Claus Henriksen, a Michelin-starred chef who left world-renowned Noma for life—and work—in Odsherred.

For centuries, Odsherred was known as Copenhagen’s pantry, supplying ingredients that landed on the city’s tables. Chefs still revel in the exceptional ingredients found here, but now, the region is more than just a purveyor. Increasingly it has become a culinary destination in its own right, thanks to a string of exceptional new restaurants that are rooted not just in Odsherred’s terroir, but its community and identity as well.

For Henriksen, Odesherred has provided an unlikely setting for his own restaurants. Turning down a majestic avenue of century-old poplars, I arrive at Anneberg Kulturpark, where the red-brick buildings with crawling vines once housed a mental asylum with 1,000 patients and an equal number of staff. A few years ago, a private investor decided to give the complex a new lease of life and turn it into a hub for food, art, and culinary entrepreneurs. Henriksen, and his restaurant, Mota, was among the first to move in.

“Seeing the scale and the potential of this place, I couldn’t resist,” says Henriksen. At Mota, which earned a Michelin star within 8 months of opening in 2022, the menu is a showcase of hyperlocal products. There are dishes like hake baked in sugar kelp from seaweed pioneers Dansk Tang (Noma’s seaweed supplier), seaweed beer from Deeper Roots, brewed in the asylum’s old fire station, and sauces made with Nordic tempeh from Contempehrary.

All of these entrepreneurs have joined Henriksen in the complex, operating in buildings just across from the restaurant. Henriksen, meanwhile, has also added two more ventures of his own into the former aslyum: Fru Klausen, serving smørrebrød, and Erba, a pasta restaurant running on local grains.

“Why import when I have everything here?” he says, motioning toward his neighbors. Henriksen also insists on making his own dishware, while the floors, the intricately ornamented ceilings, and the furniture are all crafted in Anneberg’s carpentry workshop. After dinner, guests can stay onsite in Gæstehuset, where the wardens’ former rooms have since been converted into a guesthouse.

Though Anneberg has all the trappings of a great weekend getaway, it’s just one anchor in Odsherred’s blossoming scene. Half an hour’s drive away through rolling hills, a cobblestone path leads to Dragsholm Castle, a 800-year-old fortress turned Relais & Châteaux-member hotel with an encircling moat and views of the Sejerø Bay. The castle sits on the Lammefjord, a polder drained by the castle baron in the 1800s, a move that turned the seabed into some of Denmark’s most prized farmland, famous for carrots, potatoes (some of the culled specimens are reborn as premium vodka at the nearby Nordic Soil distillery), and farmer Søren Wiuff’s sought-after asparagus.

The best Korean restaurants throughout New York City are a mix of old and new: Korean-American mainstays that have been barbecuing meats or slinging bowls of soups for decades, as well as imports of hot spots straight from Korea, plus modern restaurants serving innovative riffs on classic Korean fare. As a Korean American who grew up eating my mom’s home cooking and visiting Seoul every summer, I can’t go more than a week without getting my Korean food fix in New York City, where I now live. Thankfully, with the rising popularity of Korean food, culture, and drinking, there’s an ever-growing list of spots to check out. Confused on where to start? Let me be your guide—I literally wrote the book on how to eat and drink like a Korean with my new cookbook, Soju Party, and run Orion Bar, a Korean American spot in Bushwick that’s equal parts K-town boozer and American dive bar.

Whether you’re gathering in Manhattan’s Koreatown (a section of 32nd Street, known as Korea Way, and its surrounding neighborhood), making a pilgrimage to Flushing to hit up some old school spots, or looking for comfort food in Brooklyn, these are my favorite Korean restaurants in New York City.

Read our complete New York City guide here, which includes:

Tal Bistro

32 W 32nd Street Floor 3, Manhattan

At this new addition to Korea Way, the chef and owner of Tal Bistro spent nearly a decade honing his chops at the nearby Jongro BBQ. Tal Bistro is more of a Korean drinking pub, focusing on classic pairings like makgeolli (a milky rice wine) with kimchi pancakes, beopju (a clear rice liquor) with acorn jelly salads, and soju with spicy stir-fried pork and kimchi. The must-order here is their sweet potato makgeolli, an in-house specialty, in which the creamy earthiness of the Korean sweet potato (known as goguma) shines through the sweet and tangy libation.

Gopchang Story

312 5th Avenue 2nd Floor, Manhattan

Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura—or Micha, as he is affectionally known to most—has gone from being a Limeño champion of Japanese-Peruvian nikkei cuisine to, this year, the chef of the Best Restaurant in the World, according to World’s 50 Best.

His destination restaurant Maido embraces nikkei techniques and culinary traditions of the Japanese diaspora, with flavors from every corner of Peru—fish from the waters of the Peruvian Amazon; chilis dried in the Andean sun; and fermented beverages made with endemic fruits that pair perfectly with ingredients like bluefin tuna, carved tableside like a Spanish jamón. “We really don’t want to be just a check in your life,” Tsumura says, of the 16-year-old restaurant’s dining philosophy. “We want to be the place you go back to. That’s what Maido means: Thanks for coming again.”

Sitting in Maido’s dining room, you can really feel that mentality at work. There’s not just a tasting menu here, but also à la carte options—something you don’t often see at elevated establishments like it. There are travelers who have traveled far to experience Maido, as well as locals hoping to score a seat at the bar. Maido is part of the city’s fabric, as is the team behind it. So, when asking Lima-born Tsumura for his favorite places to eat in Lima—beyond Maido’s walls—we knew we were in for an expert tour of this food-loving city. And a fun one.

“You need at least two weeks of eating in Lima,” says Tsumura. “And you still won’t try everything. There’s nikkei food, Italian-Peruvian, chifa (Chinese Peruvian), regional cuisines, and creole cuisine. They are all very different, though there’s some shared Peruvian DNA, like the chilis we use.” He describes it a bit like a roller coast, going from one meal to the next in Lima, bobbing and weaving through dishes with roots as far-reaching as Asia, the Amazon, and Europe. But all of these flavors from throughout the world, and country, come together in this one city. “Lima’s food scene is very diverse,” he says.

His favorite way to eat? Around a sunlit table laden with ceviches and cocktails, enjoyed over hours with friends. At a 50 year-old family-run restaurant where the homestyle stews never disappoint. Or maybe, quickly, at a casual chifa or pollo a la brasa (he even opened his own rotisserie chicken spot, called Tori, honoring one of Lima’s most casual and beloved foods). In a city where new restaurants are constantly popping up, Tsumura keeps his finger on the pulse—but enjoys returning to the classics over and over again.

When thinking of New York City’s most iconic foods, most minds instantly go to a chopped cheese or bacon, egg, and cheese from the bodega on the corner, a fluffy bagel with lox, or meaty pastrami on rye. But the city is many things, and one of them is a mecca for vegetarian dining. There have been pockets of vegetable-forward restaurants since the ‘70s, with places like the much-loved, but long-gone, Angelica Kitchen and Pure Food and Wine. Those forerunners birthed a movement because today, even classically carnivorous steakhouses and burger joints cater to diners who avoid meat, but there are also enough places dedicated entirely to vegetarians.

If you’re looking for somewhere where you’ll have no shortage of choices, you’re in luck because the city is awash with exclusively vegetarian restaurants. They range from those that specialize in ultra spicy Szechuan dry pots to seven-course tasting menus. Here are some of our top recommendations where everyone from a diehard carnivore to vegan (find our vegan-only roundup here) can enjoy.

Read our complete New York City guide here, which includes:

Head to Prospect Heights to sample some of the city’s best Ethiopian, which just so happens to be vegan. Husband and wife team Romeo and Milka Regalli opened their spot in 2020 to bring their family’s recipes to the neighborhood. They’ve taken a modern and meat-free approach to the cuisine. Expect dishes like injera nachos topped with a housemade berbere cheese sauce, black beans, guacamole, and pico de gallo as well as tibs, normally made with stir-fried meat, but here made from either mushrooms or seitan. Food here is best shared, but if you’re not with a group, get a sampling of it all with one of their platters that offer a handful of stews and stir-fries accompanied by rice or injera, the spongy flatbread made from teff flour that’s naturally gluten-free.

If you’re a lover of veggie burgers—we’re not talking the Impossible kind either, but the kind made with real vegetables—this is the place for you. In 2015, Brooks Hedley, a former fine-dining pastry chef, traded it all in to open his much-loved burger shack that was originally housed in a tiny hole in the wall on 9th street. It was an instant hit, drawing lines for its platonic-ideal burgers, burnt broccoli salad, and some of the city’s best gelato. It has since moved around the corner to a much bigger restaurant with ample seating on Avenue A, and the menu has expanded to present all sorts of farmer’s market vegetables in satisfying, innovative ways. No meal at Superiority Burger would be complete without its namesake burger—a house-made patty made from a vegetable, quinoa, and chickpea blend that comes topped with shredded lettuce, ketchup, pickles and cheese (vegan or not). Don’t overlook anything made with yuba, either, or whatever quirky sides Brooks and the team are making on the day, as well as the dessert. The cakes are legendary, and almost always vegan, as is most of the menu.

Canadian chef Amanda Cohen has been operating her Lower East Side restaurant since 2008. It originally occupied a tiny 18-seat sliver of a space in the East Village, but she’s since moved to Allen Street and has been thriving there for a decade. The restaurant is the only Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant in the city. Her five-course tasting menu is vegetarian by default, can easily be made vegan by request, and changes quarterly with the seasons. On each of the menus, one can expect to find elevated, yet playful dishes like tomato twinkies filled with smoked feta cheese and corn crepes with seaweed caviar and eggplant oysters. You may finish with mousse made from miso-glazed eggplant served in a chocolate shell—yes, you’ll even find vegetables in dessert, and it works. It’s serious food that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

In a city that loves to eat out as much as New York, what makes a food truly iconic? Adulating fans come and go, and lines around the block aren’t necessarily indicative of staying power. Given the city’s vast culinary scene, memorable bites can also be found on most streets. It’s somewhere in the combination of these things—great taste, high popularity, and the ability to maintain both of over time—that we consider worthy of icon status. There are some dishes that simply define New York, and punctuate everyday life for locals while also dominating the must-see lists of Big Apple visitors.

Our roster considers a vast spectrum of dishes ranging from the porterhouse steak from Peter Luger, which symbolizes the platonic ideal of a New York City steakhouse, to fresh-off-the-griddle bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, from whichever bodega is closest when you need it most. The city’s most memorable bites are unveiled from silver cloche and crinkled tin foil alike, some requiring reservations months in advance and others ordered on a whim in the dead of night.

Below, we asked our New York City-based editors for their picks of the most iconic foods in New York City. Some have their fame sealed in silver screen history, while others forgo the glitziness and are better known through word-of-mouth. For foodies seeking to explore New York by fork, knife, spoon, and even your bare hands (bring your hand sanitizer) consider breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert served.

Read our complete New York City guide here, which includes:

Liz Clayman/Peter Luger Steakhouse

Porterhouse steak at Peter Luger Steakhouse

Near the underway of the Williamsburg Bridge, Peter Luger is a long-time steakhouse known and loved deeply by NYC locals and visitors alike. Somehow, even after all the hype and all the years, it still feels like a New York essential: With white tablecloths and spot-on waiters who’ve seen it all—it’s no secret that the iconic joint offers up some of the best porterhouse steak in NYC. One side: a New York strip; the other: the fillet—and a center T-bone runs through the middle of the steak. Only serving USDA prime beef, Peter Luger’s porterhouse is cut from a short loin and comes out sizzling, sliced thick, and swimming in its own fat. With crusty edges, perfectly charred, its center stays pink and soft, somehow still structured. Rather than turning to sauces, swipe your meat through the juices pooling at the bottom of the plate. And by the way, the basement of Peter Luger is known to host its long dry-aging room—which ensures its dry-aged porterhouse upkeeps its earthy taste and not-too-tender status. —Jessica Chapel, commerce writer

When it comes to approaching change, prioritizing tradition in the technique seems key: “These days, there are machines for everything,” says Illardi. “But with bread, especially real artisan breads, it will always be better handmade. You need to do it, from start to finish, by hand.” It’s a balancing act that every old-school shop is navigating: keep the core intact while adjusting to a Brooklyn that no longer looks like the one they grew up in.

Walk into Caputo’s Fine Foods, just a few blocks away—opened in 1973 by Sicilian immigrant Giuseppe Caputo and his wife Flora—and you’ll see this play out. Learning from their father, who’s still involved, a third generation now runs the show: brothers Franco and Joseph Caputo, who took over in 2021 after leaving law school and business internships behind to return during the pandemic.

“It was a feeling of nostalgia, wanting to move back, work at the store and take over,” [Joseph] Caputo says. “But our number one question was: How can we modernize the store, bring in new customers, and keep it clean—without ever really losing that ‘it’s been here for 50 years feel’?”

Since, Caputo’s has been subtly renovated and restored with this balanced approach. First, by exposing the original brick, then lowering the ceiling-high old-wire racks to make the brick visible; and opting for a felt-board pin sign the menu. Most recently, they changed the pendant lighting to recreate what it once was: a green aluminum lighting fixture that Joseph found in a vintage shop.

“We know what the store had when we were kids. Little by little, we’re trying to bring that back,” says Caputo. “You really wouldn’t notice the difference—but it’s all how all of these details add up.” And when it comes down to the goods? Caputo’s is the spot for mouth-watering mortadella, arancini balls, and of course, fresher-than-fresh mozzarella. Known for making some of the best mozzarella in the city, the new-age Caputo brothers learned from generations of mozzarella makers. “As young as I could remember, I was taught to know the feel of how mozzarella should be,” says Caputo. “We know what we’re looking for now, because it’s true to our nature—and somehow it ends up on all of these lists for the best mozzarella in the city.”

According to Caputo, thriving as a business in tougher-than-nails Brooklyn is about actually wanting to be a part of the community. “You gotta understand—the community wants you there and they don’t want you to change much; so in order to change—you still need to fit in. All of the old-school Italians that come in—we want to make sure they don’t feel alienated; and that everyone in the neighborhood is happy to chat with us or even try something new,” says Caputo. “I don’t see the generations that have been coming here stopping anytime soon—we’re still their neighborhood spot even if they moved out of Brooklyn years ago.”

You can’t fake prosciutto bread baked on site all day. You can’t automate mozzarella pulled by hand. You can’t mass-produce the feeling of walking into a place where your parents and grandparents ordered the same sandwich you’re about to eat. People notice, and they return. “We have customers who come back every single holiday, even if they moved,” says Illardi. “They want the taste they remember.”

As the temperatures begin to cool, the leaves start to change colors, and the smell of crisp apples and pumpkin spice lattes hits the air, New Yorkers begin gearing up for another cozy fall. Every year at the end of summer, I lock in my plans to visit upstate New York to take advantage of all the activities going on there during my favorite season, whether that be day-tripping to Sleepy Hollow, booking tickets to The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, paranormal investigating at the Shanley Hotel in the Catskills, or sipping hot apple cider at the pumpkin patch. As a lover of scary movies, haunted houses, and Halloween activities, this is the season I wait for all year long, and New York State has plenty of incredible activities worth traveling for (many that are even reachable without a car, for my fellow New York City dwellers).

Every year, the season seems to get shorter and shorter, so it’s best to plan your activities far in advance to ensure you can fit everything in. For those determined to hit all the stops before October 31, I’ve compiled a guide to doing Halloween season in upstate New York right. Read on for where to eat, stay, and play in the area for a ghostly good time.

FAQ:

The dining room at Goosefeather

Courtesy Goosefeather

Where to eat and drink

Upstate New York has plenty of places to dine with haunted histories or Halloween-themed decor and food. When I find myself in Sleepy Hollow, I head to the Bridge View Tavern, which serves casual pub food (albeit to patrons wearing witchy outfits), with a rotating selection of craft beers (including some pumpkin options).

For something a bit more eerie (but still delicious), nearby Goosefeather in Tarrytown (about a 15-minute drive away) serves up exceptional Cantonese fare from a James Beard–nominated chef. While the food itself is worth a visit, the restaurant also has a creepy twist. Located in The King Mansion at the Tarrytown House Estate, it’s said to be occupied by the ghost of Sybil Harris, who passed away near room 293 (which has since been updated). According to the staff, fans of the paranormal will request this room specifically when staying at the property. While I personally didn’t hear any disembodied footsteps while I was visiting this year, there are many guests who have reported unexplainable phenomena like mysterious noises, shadows, and apparitions in white.

Much further upstate, in Northville, head to the Timeless Tavern for a classic, old-timey tavern experience that will feel pulled directly from one of your favorite ghost stories. Guests and staff at the restaurant, which is also home to an overnight inn, have reported a variety of supernatural activities in the vicinity, from ghost apparitions to strange occurrences like lights turning on and off unexpectedly. If you’re lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the otherworldly over your French onion soup and prime rib.

One of the guest rooms in the Shanley Hotel

Steve Shoemaker/AmityPhotos/Shanley Hotel

Where to stay

Staying overnight at a haunted hotel is not for the weak of heart (or the scared solo traveler), so be sure to grab a few friends and a flashlight or two before you hunker down at one of these top picks.laser grid

If you’re looking to be shaking in your boots, I suggest heading to the Shanley Hotel in the Catskills. Book a Public Overnight Investigation (accommodations are included in the price), where you’ll spend four hours with highly experienced staff as they lead you through different ways to make contact with the paranormal in the house, from the attic to the basement. You’ll use a whole array of equipment, from movement detectors to spirit boxes that use radio frequencies, to give ghostly presences a way to interact with you from the beyond. (By the time paranormal investigations were wrapped up when I visited, I all but sprinted to the parking lot since I knew I would not be getting a wink of sleep inside, surrounded by the ghosts that call this place home.) If you don’t believe in the paranormal right now, this might just be the place to convince you.