Over my spring break I took my very first trip to New York, an experience that was so much fun to share with my family and my neighbors. Since my neighbors are very familiar with NYC, they decided to take us to try all different types of food, and may I just say that the food there was anything from normal. This sounds a little bit alarming, however I am happy to report that almost everything I ate in the Big Apple was super delicious! Read on for my ratings of each of the items I ate, and read all the way to the end for a specific dish that ended in a traumatizing experience.
- chicken noodle soup from Sarge’s 8/10
This is one of the huge sandwiches from Sarge’s
Sarges is a Jewish style diner and is one of the most well known restaurants in New York. They are mostly known for serving sandwiches with a HUGE amount of meat on them. I knew I was not going to be able to eat even half of a sandwich, so I settled for the soup. The broth was so flavorful, the noodles were cooked perfectly al dente, and the portion was still massive. The only complaint I would have about this soup is that I had no vegetables in it; it was simply just broth and noodles.
- rainbow bagel from Liberty Bagel 9.5/10
According to a TikTok I recently viewed, apparently Liberty Bagel is one of the best bagel shops in the city. Since this source isn’t exactly the most credible, I had to try it out of myself. When I walked in, they had a huge array of bagels and different types of cream cheese. But then I laid eyes on the most amazing thing: a rainbow bagel with birthday cake cream cheese. I immediately ordered it and it was so delicious. The cream cheese actually tasted like cake, but they really piled it on so it started to get a little too sweet.
- Regular New York style bagel 10/10
Many of you probably know that New York is famous for their bagels, explaining where there is a huge variety of shops throughout the city. But, the best bagel I had on the whole trip was from a local grocery store’s bakery. It was the perfect mix between chewy and crunchy, and I added the perfect amount of cream cheese to make it the best bagel I have ever eaten.
- Bread and butter 5/10
This may sound like a simple snack, but according to some locals having a roll with butter on it is a very common breakfast for many New Yorkers. But there just isn’t a little slab of butter, there’s like a whole pound of it on the roll. Although I enjoy a good piece of bread and butter with a meal, having that much butter caked on made me feel a little bit sick.
- Ice Cream Sundae from Serendipity 10/10
Serendipity was one of my favorite stops we made on the whole trip. The small restaurant had floor to ceiling decorations of all things colorful and sweet related, it truly was a little kid’s dream place. When we got seated I was handed a huge menu that listed just about every type of ice cream concoction you could possibly think of. I decided on a unicorn sundae, thinking it would be made for children. Oh was I wrong. The waiter placed in front of me a sundae that was bigger than my head, covered with whipped cream and sprinkles. I didn’t end up eating it all, but I definitely tried to savor what I could.
- Lobster 0/10
This one comes with a story, so let me set the scene for you. It was Sunday and we were hanging out at my neighbors house at their house Breezy Point, and they decided to get lobster shipped to the house for dinner. I didn’t plan on eating the lobster since I knew I wasn’t going to like it, but I planned on trying a tiny piece. When the lobsters arrived in the box, I opened it to see that they were very much alive. My neighbor took one out to show me, but I slowly backed away from the lobster as it stared me in the eye. Throughout the day as I stared at the box, I kinda felt bad for the lobsters. They were just sitting in a dark box waiting to be someone’s dinner. I jokingly told everyone in the house not to kill them because I was concerned that they have families and feelings. This joke was funny and became all too real in a matter of seconds. Even though I am not vegan, when it was time to cook dinner I ran to the bathroom to take a shower so I didn’t have to witness the murder. As soon as I locked the bathroom door, I broke down in tears. I’m not sure why I all of a sudden cared so much for the lobster, but let’s just say that I did not try the lobster that night like I had promised.
I hope you enjoyed all of the dishes you ate on your spring break, and didn’t have any unexpected emotional attachments to a slimy crustacean like I did!
Hi Tess!
Reading your post made me extremely hungry, but that’s what a good blog post will do to you. I went to NYC last spring break, but that was for a college visit, so I wasn’t able to try any of the city’s signature cuisine. I do regret missing out on Sarge’s meat sandwich though, as a massive sandwich made entirely out of meat sounds more than a little bit awesome (if not like a heart attack waiting to happen).
My family has been to the east coast a couple of times over the years, so I’ve been able to try a few east coast eats – we went to Boston in seventh grade and Maine in sixth grade. We tried the famous Boston cannolis from Mike’s Pastry, and although overpriced, they for sure lived up to the hype. We went to Acadia National Park when we were in Maine, and there was a field of wild blueberries that visitors could pick – to this day, those blueberries remain the best pieces of fruit I’ve ever eaten. They just tasted so much more fresh, sweeter, and flavorful than the regular grocery-store blueberries. We also tried the famous Maine lobsters, which your unfortunate lobster-related anecdote just reminded me of. I’m not a fan of seafood in general, so I thought these coveted crayfish were a bit overrated.
Tess, I am writing this as I am eating, and I am now wishing I were eating what you describe except for the lobster of course. I do not prefer lobster anyway, but I’ll get to that later. Your bagels that you had sound amazing. I have two bagels with cream cheese every day for breakfast. Each day, I look forward to my bagels, and they never get old-at least thus far. I have to ask what a rainbow bagel is. I see the picture but does it have a distinct sweet taste or how would you describe it. With cream cheese, I prefer plain to all the other kinds so that I can actually enjoy the taste of the bagel instead of the cream cheese overpowering it. Your next bagel sounds just as good, and now we are at the lobster. Seeing the animal being killed before you eat it can ruin the enjoyment of the food. Lobster is not my thing by any means either, and I remember seeing them moving around in the Meijer tanks if you have been there before. Regardless, the bagels and your extravagant dessert seem to have carried the New York cuisine this time.
Hi Tess! First of all let me just say I LOVE NEW YORK! If I could spend literally a whole month in New York and not get bored. Over the summer I visited Columbia and I had the time of my life (especially trying new restaurants). The bet thing I have ever had in New York though was this small little family owned italian Ice place. Normally I am a sucker for ice cream but I could eat this as desert for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I wish I could have remembered the name and told you before you left. Anyways, I love how many new things you were able to try. I feel as though New York offers a plethora of opportunities to expand your horizons food wise. I am so sorry you had such a traumatic experience with the lobsters. I totally get where your emotions came from. But, this may sound bad now, but I absolutely love lobsters. I wish the lobsters weren’t delivered live to you because I have a feeling that you would have been able to tolerate it in a good way. The best way to eat lobster though is in a lobster roll and I will stand by that for the rest of my life.
Hi Tess!
It’s crazy to me how we both went to the same city and yet had wildly different diets. Even though I ate in Chinatown, Little Italy, and an Irish pub, I still feel like I missed out on so much that the city has to offer, and your experience there proves my point.
I’m half Jewish and grew up on bagels, pastrami, lox, and rugelach. If I ever go back and try just one of the places you visited, I have to try Sarge’s. It reminds me of the Schmaltz delis we have here in Naperville, but from what you’ve written it has to be 10 times as good. I’m hungry right now just thinking about it!
Now we have to talk about that bagel. I’m only half-Jewish, so missing Sarge’s is sad but manageable. But to be half-Jewish and queer while missing out on a rainbow bagel has to be some sort of hate crime. I don’t know what side of TikTok you’re on, but we need to put my mom on there as soon as possible so that when she plans another trip we don’t miss out on gems like Liberty Bagel. The fact that they paired it with birthday cake cream cheese is the only thing saving me from melting in frustration.
Lastly, I want to say I’m sorry about your lobster experience, but also that I cannot be held responsible if one ends up in the office while we’re working together this summer. Just kidding, of course, but that breakdown sounds awful and I’m sorry you had to go through it. Keeping the lobsters alive that long preserves freshness and flavor, but you’re right that it’s moderately cruel and an unfortunate experience for those of us that get attached. I hope you do recover at some point though, because lobster rolls are delicious.
Thanks for a great read Tess!