THE FORBES 2018 ALL-STAR EATERIES IN NEW YORK
High-tech stocks are giving shareholders severe indigestion, but the gastronomical bull market for ever more innovative and outstanding Big Apple restaurants continues to reach new highs and shows no signs of stopping. Portfolios may be pummeled, but palates are being pampered as never before. Our stellar team of discerning tasters—Forbes’chief content officer, Randall Lane, Forbes contributor Richard Nalley and preeminent media maven Monie Begley, as well as brothers Bob, Kip and Tim—herewith unveil their list of where you can enjoy the city’s most savory comestibles.
The new Bouley at Home serves up ingenious, creative dishes with French and Asian influences in a sleekly modern setting: You sit at counters, watching and chatting with the chefs as they prepare and serve the food in a fun and informal atmosphere. Le Coucou is a Gallic gem that will sweep you off your feet with French classics that are pure joy. Manhatta is more a constellation than a Four Star; the spectacular view (the 60th floor of the former Chase building) is dwarfed only by the culinary delights within, such as the sublime soufflé with butterscotch sauce. The Four Seasons closed in 2016, but it has reopened and is an elegant and slightly smaller version of the original. The
excellent people-watching is exceeded only by the fine food impeccably served. Aska offers an exciting and eye-opening dinner that is unique in New York. Per Se continues to present a breathtaking culinary experience: Two seemingly endless nine-course tasting menus, with each course resembling a miniature painting by a master, followed by ten “nearly” petite desserts. A meal of a lifetime. Sophisticated simplicity is the order of the day at Blue Hill, one of the pioneers of farm-to-table cuisine—and highly pleasing to the palate, at that. Del Posto’s presentation—the staff reverently delivers each dish with a solemn explanation of same—rivals the quality of the food itself.
Nur, the best Middle Eastern restaurant in New York City— and probably the U.S.—debunks the idea that an ancient cuisine can’t also be mouthwateringly modern. Between the dazzling presentation and the fact that no taste bud is left untouched, Gem’s
12-to-15-course tasting menu keeps one wishing for more. Cult chef Missy Robbins’ sure hand in making the simple perfect is on display at Misi,a
new, sleek and spare loft-size pasta- and vegetable-focused eatery, whose hallmark is an ever-changing, date-stamped menu that offers ten antipasti and ten pastas. The homemade pastas are so tasty and chewy-perfect that you’d be happy eating any of them with nothing but a spot of olive oil. The happening Greenwich Village trattoria L’Artusi serves up a “modern take on traditional Italian cuisine.” The branzino with roasted lemons, honey and olives, for instance, is groundbreaking. Tocqueville
remains a refreshing contrast to its higher-profile, showier peers. Maialino, Danny Meyer’s tantalizing tribute to true Roman cuisine, remains packed from breakfast to late dinner. An evening at The Simone makes one think of an exclusive country-house dinner party in England or France—only 11 well-placed tables. The Venetian/Northern Italian offerings at Antonucci Cafe never waver in quality. Ai Fiori offers soul-satisfying choices in Italian luxury foods. Carnivores love the meat dish called the “Agnello,” a rack of lamb cooked in a crépinette of foie gras and lamb sausage wrapped in caul fat that will have you calling your cardiologist. The dishes that really throw off sparks from Vaucluse’s classic French menu are the perfect pastas with their astonishing flavors.