According To The NYT, These 4 NYC Restaurants Are Among The 50 Best In The U.S.
Over the last 12 months New York Times reporters and editors have been eating their way all across the country, digging into everything from hyperlocal dishes served out of a trailer in rural Virginia to Creole fare served in a strip mall down the road from NASA in Texas, on their annual hunt for the best restaurants in America. And we already know there’s no list without NYC.
Of the 50 restaurants that made the cut, 32 are new and have opened since the 2023 list was created. But, of course, the list also features a number of longstanding restaurants that are no strangers to the list. And of the 50, four are New York City’s very own restaurants! The four NYC restaurants among the 50 best in the U.S. are as follows:
Blanca
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Those who dine at Blanca will be treated to Michelin Star, upscale New American tasting menus in a small, reservation-only loft space with an open kitchen. After closing at the start of the pandemic Blanca reopened mid-January 2024 with Victoria Blamey helming the kitchen.
NYT food critic Pete Wells stated:
Blanca, in Brooklyn, is the closest thing you’ll find to an avant-garde restaurant among New York’s tasting counters, most of which seem to make a religion of playing it safe. Not that Victoria Blamey’s cooking is particularly experimental or confrontational, but it is complex and, at times, challenging…Blanca will fill your head with strong flavors in ways that other places charging these prices seem afraid to do.
Tasting Menu
261 Moore St.
Penny
Penny is a raw bar and seafood counter in New York City’s East Village from the duo behind Claud (Penny is located just up the stairs from Claud in the same building). Take a seat at the seemingly endless white marble counter as you dig into dish after dish of insanely fresh seafood.
Pete Wells stated:
The section up front is the raw bar, where fresh oysters and clams are popped open; pink sheets of tuna are dressed with cipollini onions and olive oil; and the best shrimp cocktail you’re likely to find in New York is arranged over trays of ice. The far end of the counter is where the cooking happens. Squid bodies filled with tuna and chard are carefully grilled over charcoal, and tall golden columns of puff pastry are set on top of steaming bowls of oyster pan roast.
Seafood
90 E 10th St.
Shaw-naé’s House
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Shaw-nae’s House is an intimate dining experience beloved for its soul-stirring dishes served with love. The seasonal menu is the brainchild of American Chef and Food Alchemist Shaw-naé Dixon who infuses herbs grown on-site, local produce, and even CBD into her creations.
Pete Wells stated:
The soul food at Shaw-naé’s House…is as high-spirited as the six-table dining room, where customers invariably skip the short wine list in favor of a house rum punch or a pitcher of sangria. Almost every dish is a party in its own right…Shaw-naé Dixon, the chef and owner, got her start in catering for movie shoots, and she still knows how to lay out a spread that can excite a crowd.
Soul Food
379 Van Duzer St., Staten Island
Bungalow
We had the pleasure of dining at Bungalow ourselves where Michelin-starred Chef Vikas Khanna is cooking up absolutely mind blowing dishes. The Banarasi Puri, Yogurt Kababs, Chicken Amrit, Spice Roasted Pineapple, and Garlic Naan were some of our favorites–along with all of their desserts, of course–though we’ve been dreaming about going back ever since to try what else the menu has to offer!
Priya Krishna stated:
What happens when Indian food stops trying to cater to a white audience and finally gets to be itself? You get Bungalow, a for-us-by-us restaurant, where the chef Vikas Khanna weaves ambitiously through India’s lesser-known regional dishes, putting personal, creative spins on each…Mr. Khanna is one of the most famous Indian chefs in the world, and each night he strolls through the dining room to pose for selfies and sign cookbooks. But the boldness of these flavors shows he’s so much more than his celebrity charm.
Indian
24 1st Ave.
For context, the NYT reporters and editors visit unannounced, pay for all of their meals, and either use regular reservation booking tools or walk right in, so there’s no bias when it comes to creating this list. The full list can be found on New York Times’ website.
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