10 Iconic NYC Restaurants To Visit When Social Distancing Is Over | Legendary Eats Marathon

if you're anything like us you're probably stuck on the couch this week it's weird but once life gets back to normal and here are some of our favorite places to eat in New York City join us on a virtual journey to 10 iconic restaurants to see what makes these places a rite of passage for locals and tourists alike our first stop is a hundred and thirty two year old deli on the Lower East Side or the go to is pastrami on rye there's nothing more New York than a pastrami on rye and no one does it better than Kansas I've tried to eat me deli all over the world the only place to happen is New York City I have to have New Castle's [Music] hey guys it's Spencer and I'm outside Katz's delicatessen this is one of the most legendary places in New York City it's been here since 1888 so I'm gonna go try their famous pastrami on rye and see if it lives up to the hype [Music] Katz's delicatessen has been a New York institution for over a hundred and thirty years the old-school deli is like a living museum not only is it the oldest Jewish deli in New York but it's one of the only delis of its kind still in operation at all [Music] coming Katz's is a as a throwback it's a snapshot in time it's being connected to your parents to your grandparents to your great-grandparents to your great-great grandparents because they all came here [Music] we do not believe in changing pretty much anything from the walls to the neons to the pictures to the staff to the food to the recipes we don't really believe in changing it you come here because you want that nostalgia and that tradition and that food that you know and love Jewish deli food dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries when waves of Eastern European Jews immigrated to New York's Lower East Side bringing traditional Eastern European foods like cured meats and pickled vegetables along with them delis became a meeting ground where tradition blended with new American culture [Music] at one time kosher style delis like Katz's were a dime a dozen but thanks to things like gentrification and changing food trends Katz's is the only one that's been able to survive the ages part of its success is due to exposure over the years Katz's nostalgic setting has been the backdrop for countless movies and TV shows the most famous of which is Meg Ryan's iconic scene in When Harry Met Sally I'll have what she's having Hollywood Fame aside Katz's success is also thanks to the fact that their food is really just that good the menu has all the classics you'd expect from a Jewish deli but most people show up for their legendary pastrami and corned beef can you describe what raw meat it's about treating these bits of meat like you would a child and knowing what to do with it and how to take care of it from start to finish that makes us so special we could get longer than anyone else we could get so long that it would fall apart if you tried to put it in a slicer so it's so juicy so tender that you have to carve it by hand their hand sliced approach means each sandwich is expertly carved to order to keep the crowds moving Katz's is set up with multiple carvers at multiple counters and let's just say you better be prepared to order when you get in line [Music] when you walk in you're gonna get a ticket that's our system we've been doing it the same way for 131 years be to me be prepared because if you get all the way to the front of the line and don't know what you want you're gonna get yelled I would like pastrami on rye but you're weird you know what you want you want to push on me you want some Rock does you want some matzo ball soup you're good no problem don't worry about that was the easy part finding a seat is the hard part [Music] I don't know I might have to eat it standing up which I would so we have here the pastrami just classic juicy perfect Fanta you can't go wrong do you have any tips for digging into this monster of a sandwich just do it just embrace it just go for it yeah Cheers [Music] oh no part I mean not me all right that an unreal mm everyone owes napkins I gotta fix my face so this is the juiciest pastrami I've ever had thank you how is that possible 131 years a'practice that's how it's Bob eating that sandwich was a religious experience I'm talking mouth-watering perfection even still it almost took a backseat to the actual experience of just being in that noisy chaotic room literally surrounded by Katz's history photos from everyone who's come before and signs from a near forgotten era all of it a reminder that Katz's will always be here for you just as it always has timeless in a city barreling toward the future [Music] there's nothing like nostalgia I mean there's nothing more powerful than within those traditions I can't believe that this is my lifetime and this is what we get to do for a living is to preserve a tradition and make people happy hopefully it's it's humbling and it's a wonderful wonderful place to be our next stop is a short walk away where the streets are crowded with college students many of them go to Ray's candy store for milkshakes egg creams and other sweet treats in a city that never sleeps bodegas carts and diners are routine hotspots for late-night eats but one 24-hour joint in New York City stands out as a sacred site for all things junk food and it's been there for decades it's named Ray's candy store this is a staple of the Lower East Side like this is an awesome place to just come afterwards grab an ice cream yeah I'm a cue date or something it's like it never really changes so it's kind of like this timepiece it's almost like an oasis for people here it holds the community together [Applause] we're here at the heart of the East Village at Ray's candy store as anyone in the neighborhood if you haven't had raise for some late-night munchies then you're really missing out ray serves deep-fried Oreos fries soft serve and ice cream so we're gonna take a look inside see how it's made and meet the legendary Ray himself step into Ray's candy store and you instantly travel back to the 80s the Naro shop is splattered with a collage of ray snacks pictures with celebrities and friends news clips of high praise and of course lots and lots of junk food that's as good a ramen widely known in the neighborhood as BAE Alvarez ray came to the United States in 1963 after abandoning the Iranian Navy jumping off a ship that was docked off of a Virginia without any papers I was gonna adopted a proto Rican identity and worked odd jobs at restaurants until he scrambled enough money to buy a store ways candy store has now been serving late-night munchies in the East Village for over 45 years in ray who is now 86 years old works the overnight shift waking up at 4:00 in the afternoon to run his shop until the next morning I work seven days a week I work from proplugger afternoon till next morning no they are no vacation at first the candy store sold only eye creams coffee and french fries but with the rise of rent prices each year they added new items to the menu to make ends meet I like to make things that people like I enjoy when they are happy that's my reward but diversifying his menu wasn't enough in 2010 they faced increasing pressure to close down his shop as rent tripled members of the local community stepped in and started a crowdfunding campaign to keep raise open with an elevated social media presence and local financial support raised candy store was saved people came and they donate money they helped me save the rain you know everybody they had a music save the rain people just want to come in and support and they care about they care about ray and they see that he cares about that me he puts like real love into his food oh this is my favorite thing in the world hey subha [Music] young man [Music] so the reason I actually came to race is because Anthony Bourdain came to race in one of his episode and that's what I'm here to try the egg cream I've never had their cream I didn't know what it was so it's my first time trying that there I just walked across into Tompkins Square Park and I was like to try Ray's deep-fried Oreos for the very first time I'm really excited because I'm a big fan of Oreos and I've never had a deep-fried so let's just see how it is okay which one do I pick I like this one the one with the powdered sugar ready [Music] oh my god this is a habit [Music] my favorite thing is the fraud or is yeah they're magical it's good good with a newly painted storefront in his East Village family in tow ray and his candy store are here to stay over in Soho you'll smell fresh baked goods wafting from Dominique Ansel bakery storefront the most famous treat here is the cronut a mash-up between a doughnut and a croissant this is the cronut one of New York City's most legendary desserts this hands-down might be one of the best things I've ever eaten [Music] the doughnut croissant hybrid was created by world renowned pastry chef Dominique Ansel in 2013 now if you aren't familiar with chef Dominique's desserts he is famous for his frozen s'mores his watermelon soft-serve his cookie shots this DKA but really the famous one is the cronut we're here at 7:00 a.m. to get in front of the line so we can get a head start the cronuts are extremely limited in quantity and very very popular and I want to do what all the hype is about let's go so when I first launched the connect it was in 2013 for Mother's Day in there the team at Dominique Ansel bakery wanted to create a doughnut shaped dessert for the occasion but didn't have any recipes for doughnuts so a chef and Sal made a laminated dough similar to a croissant to fit the bill it took him over two months to perfect his cronut recipe a food reporter from grub Street tried the pastry by chance and it went viral people started lining up outside the next day and traffic to the bakery's website went up 300% it's been six years now and the cronut obsession still isn't over so what makes the cronut so iconic first of all it's limited in quantity you're not guaranteed one hence the lines everyday by noon all 500 to 600 of them are sold out this is partly because making the cronut is such a painstaking process it takes three days from start to finish [Music] chef n sell finally revealed the home cook version of the recipe in his cookbook in 2014 and it proves just how much work goes into making them the proofing and ganache are the most time-consuming parts you're honestly better off just buying one at the bakery each cronut is proved then deep-fried it's filled with two different fillings then it's rolled in sugar and glazed the team changes the cronut flavor every month and no flavor is ever repeated the reason why I keep limiting the quantities just because I want to preserve the quality I always tell everyone that I don't want my creation to kill my creativity when we visited in July the cronut of the month was Meyer lemon and wildflower honey [Music] I've been wanting to try this since 2013 and here we are mid 2019 first bite of the corona I'm so proud to this hands-down might be one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life that's so good that is so but it definitely for me it tastes more like a croissant than a doughnut it's denser than a doughnut and it has these little very thin layers like you get from a croissant and it's extremely buttery but still very light and airy drip powder sugar like everywhere on my face I can see why people line out the door two hours before opening just to have this dessert now because it's fluffy its Airy it's buttery its crunchy it's all of the adjectives that you want in a dessert just embodied in this one one thing one cronut [Music] it is messy though this rightfully owns the title of the best river in New York City a lot of people ask me if I knew that this was going to happen and you know what I was expecting of of course it you know of course no one can plan for this in a city where new food trends are popping up almost every day there are still no signs of the Coronas popularity is slowing down the obsession has spread throughout the world with coffee cronuts and recipes found everywhere even Dunkin Donuts introduced its version in 2014 imitation may be the best form of flattery but the best place to get the cronut is where it all started Dominique Ansel bakery in New York City my moons falafel is considered the oldest falafel restaurant in the city since 1971 it's been a staple for middle-eastern food especially falafel and pita sandwiches New Yorkers of all walks of life love a cheap filling lunch a falafel a deep-fried bowl of mashed chickpeas herbs and spices today you can get a falafel plate or sandwich at food carts and restaurants all over the city but fifty years ago there was only one spot in New York to try falafel and that was my mousse this is probably the best falafel I've had in New York not easy to say we came here because we knew that our trip wouldn't be complete without having some falafels here [Music] hey I'm Meza and we're here at Mullins falafel in Greenwich Village on the historic MacDougal Street New Yorkers highly recommend me Moon's falafel for its authentic taste in rich history so today we're going to try some of the falafels ourselves meet with the owner and learn about the history of the moons tucked in between the world-famous Comedy Cellar in cafe Reggio the moon's falafel has been cooking up its falafel sandwiches since 1971 it's a very traditional recipe but it's done right so it tastes really fresh it tastes really good and I think the falafel itself is the best in the city family-owned and operated since the beginning the restaurant helped popularize falafel by serving musicians actors medians tourists and loyal customers all on the Google Street for over forty eight years but how did Moo moons go from a small hole in the wall operation to a franchise with ten locations it all started in a cramped apartment kitchen of a struggling immigrant Mamoon and Maria chopper immigrated in Europe from Syria and started refining his mother's falafel recipe after working at several restaurants to make ends meet where my family comes from in Syria falafel sort of like just regular sort of street food it's almost taken for granted over there that's Jill al chowder he's one of the four sons and mamoon himself Jalal and his brothers took over the falafel business in 1991 we don't mess with the recipe at all like where my dad left it is where it's going to stay because it's it's just it's delicious in 1971 mamoon opened his first storefront on MacDougal Street the same location they occupy today and served his falafel on makeshift tables with buckets as seats McDougal streets always been like a famous block I mean in the 50s you had the Beat movement in Jack Kerouac in the 60s you had Jimi Hendrix Bob Dylan and all that and the 70s falafel came so I think we added to the pantheon of what makes MacDougal Street both unique and special in the 1970s a new wave of Syrian Lebanese and Arab immigrants came to the United States after the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act which lifted post-world War two immigration quotas but this way is Kim a moon chopper founder of moons falafel as well as a larger air presence in the village you know there were people who would speak Arabic out on the street and my brother learn Arabic from working in the store I learned it too I mean my dad really believes in being a good host and really giving from the heart and so when he would feed people it was it was genuine you know and people would love that but I think that's what started the buzz really I mean you gotta you got to go see the Syrian guy who's like serving food then this awesome food out of a 200 square foot restaurant word spread and soon the moons became known as a Best XI feat in its falafel sandwich famous are the most popular of menu item is by far a falafel sandwich that's two to one ratio for for everything else that we serve combined it's it's simple its elegant and it tastes fantastic when moons falafel sandwiches are all vegetarian made out of pita bread layered with hummus their signature falafel lettuce tomatoes and topped with tahini sauce but before the falafel hit the counters at restaurants they start right here in Newark New Jersey at their very own commissary let's take a look inside of my luhan's falafels facility we have a 10,000 square foot facility here where we produce the falafel the Hamas the baba ghanoush our main items and we have processes in check to make sure that the quality and everything needs our standards my boons legendary falafel recipe starts with parsley lots and lots of parsley it's mixed with chopped onions and garlic and combined with a carefully weighed batch of chickpeas the key ingredient to falafel the herbs and chickpeas are ground up then get mixed with a special array of spices including cumin turmeric and cardamom this batter is then ground once more and finally pushed out into individual packets which are boxed and ready for shipment well set our falafel apart if you go to the Middle East falafels are mostly chickpeas they're not as green and that's a comment we get from all of our Israeli customers or Arabic customers Oh your falafel is so green and that was a dition we did to the falafel market where we added the extra herbs and spices here from the commissary the falafel batter heads to one of ten locations while the batter is prepared off-site at the facility the falafel are freshly fried at each restaurant where lines of people await the savory and crispy taste of the Middle Eastern dish the falafel is probably the best I've ever had it's rhyming honestly the consistency is great it's nice and crispy on the outside and nice and moist on the inside so a lot to love from it Tomas here is amazing the falafel is perfectly fried 100% recommendation with all the customers showering the food with compliments I couldn't wait any longer and had to try the legendary falafel sandwich myself so what I notice what they were doing at my looms falafel is that they actually smashed down each of the pieces of falafel into the sandwich so each bite that you're taking with this falafel sandwich you'll have a bit of a falafel you're not gonna be like duped by having just like a piece of pita bread and none of the falafel with it so here I go this is exactly what I wanted in a falafel sandwich I usually don't like tomatoes but the thing with balloons I just noticed is that decorators are really fresh and they just add more to the flavor of this falafel sandwich and the falafel itself did not let me down it actually has a really good consistency to it really for four bucks this is a great deal what makes this place special to me is I grew up here you know my brothers grew up here and it was always a family sort of endeavor we want to see how far we can sort of take the name and that's really what's what's most important to us it's just sort of making his name grow and you know spreading and the food and the love across the country just a few blocks away from the Empire State Building stands one of the city's oldest steak houses Keens is a meat-eaters paradise known best for its most famous dish the mutton chop [Music] New York is home to plenty of notable steak houses but few can say they've served the likes of Teddy Roosevelt Albert Einstein and Babe Ruth this century-old restaurant is full of fresh beef but it's most famous plate isn't steak people seek it out instead for a dish of aged lamb called the mutton chop this is Keens Steakhouse and it's been standing here since 1885 I brought my nephew and he's had the mutton chops I said it's big you might want to share some no way and he devours it was outrageous [Music] we're in Midtown today just a few blocks away from the Empire State Building and we knew we had a head to keen steakhouse for a few reasons one they're one of the oldest restaurants in New York - they make these legendary mutton chops which is this aged cut of lamb and three they have 90,000 pipes on the ceiling but we'll get to that later so let's go ahead and slide and learn a little bit more about this historic Chop House Keens English Chop House originally spawned from the Lambs Club a theatre group dating back to the 1870s that still exists today the restaurant became a meeting place for actors playwrights and publishers and the go-to spot for a quality mutton chop mutton chops used to be a popular meal in American restaurants in the 1800s inspired by menus at English tap houses in Europe it's said that American soldiers ate mutton chops often during World War two but had grown tired of the meat and its musky flavor upon returning to the US so mutton fell out of favor but Keens continued serving it and built a reputation as one of the only places to make the plate and do it well in 1935 the Chop House had served its one millionth mutton chop why do you think the mutton chop in particular though became so synonymous with this restaurant well I think that people also like to try something that's unique and then it's become a signature dish here because you don't see it menu and so when they come they try it you know and and say okay that's great and I can't even believe the size of it when when it's put in front of them each mutton chop is made up of a sheep's loins tenderloins and belly flap and weighs about a pound and a half it's just seasoned with salt and popped into the broiler for each side to brown allowing the natural sugars and the meat to caramelize and about how many orders of these nine chops do you guys do in a day or a week in a day maybe 70 80 in a week hundreds and hundreds chef Billy Rogers says customers who enjoy lamb will likely enjoy mutton too would you describe this as a game ear meat or a game your flavor it's it you know if you like lamb you're gonna love this it is a cross cut saddle of mature lamb or sheep it's about a year plus in age and that's what that's what makes it mutton as opposed to lamb you've never had lamb particularly or mutton before especially this is a fattier piece of meat it's very easy to cut into it's very easy to bite into it's just very soft it does not need salt it does not need pepper this is so juicy in itself so flavorful on its own and of course you can also get steak the sirloin is another popular order at Keens but quality red meat isn't the only reason the Steakhouse is considered an institution the restaurant is hosting one of the largest collections of clay pipes in the world back in the 17th century it was an English tradition to check one's pipe before sitting down for a meal and once finished patrons would call for a pipe worden to return their pipes for some of those early famous faces that have had pipes here well I guess the earliest Babe Ruth Teddy Roosevelt Will Rogers it goes on and on the steakhouses list of loyal customers has grown considerably since Babe Ruth visited its legend it's one of the oldest establishments in Manhattan so you know so there's that history and you feel it when we the minute stop in on a normal day and you'll find tourists and longtime regulars alike this is my table how did you first hear about Queens or why did you start coming oh it's just it's a New York institution it's the place to be people come from around the world emails from around the world about how they'll be coming and where they're coming from so really to be a destination for those people is a special thing which we really try and live up to their expectations if you see everything all of the photographs on the walls you could just go back in time and realize that where you're sitting where you're dining where you having a beautiful glass of wine is where so many decades of so many people have had the pleasure of enjoying Street food is an undeniable part of New York's eating scene and while hotdogs are one of the most common cheap eats you can find papaya king stands out as the first place to bring the tropical juice and frankfurter combo to Manhattan [Music] hotdogs are as true to New York as bagels pizza and pastrami on rye but only one spot has been serving their Franks with tropical drinks since 1932 the winning combo has spawned many imitators over the years but tourists celebrities and loyal customers still seek out the original this is papaya king I've been coming in here since I was maybe nine ten years old and I'm 69 now but this place is always big tops and everybody that's from this area of New York knows about my fight [Music] we're in Manhattan where hot dogs are basically around every corner in the city and we're gonna head to the place that New Yorkers have been going for practically the last 90 years the fire came but before they were selling hot dogs they were selling something much different so let's go find out papaya Kings hot dogs have been called arguably the best hot dog in New York City by food icon Anthony Bourdain there's nothing that a papaya King to tamp it all down send me off into the arms of morpheus properly it's the gold standard and praise for the restaurant has led many imitators across the city to serve a similar tropical drink and hot dog combo but contrary to popular belief these look-alikes have no connection to papaya king the biggest misconception New York City and I deal with it every single day of my life is that oh you're on 72nd Street oh you're on 14th Street and first out of it this is the original papaya King a lot of the younger generation has no idea no clue which is which the thing that's all the same but I guarantee you you go through these other places totally different product before papaya cane became a destination for hot dogs it wasn't papaya king at all it started as a juice bar called Hawaiian tropical drinks opened by Greek immigrant Gus Poulos he's stumbled upon the most unbelievable melon in the world the papaya melon on vacation in Cuba came back in Cuba he said oh my god I have to open up something in New York City that I could use the papaya fruit so Hawaiian tropical drinks was born and we are the first juice bar in America so all these other guys came 65 years after us but two years later a customer walked in wanting more 19:34 a customer came into the store said what do you have for lunch I'm starving he's like well I bought some frankfurters from home the guy said I'll take them and the rest is history so in 1963 it was renamed papaya King no longer Hawaiian tropical drinks as they focused more in the combination of salty sweet and fresh fruit so it's not like the devil on the angel in the same location hotdogs are delivered each morning at 6:00 from a local factory papaya King employees wearing bright yellow shirts undoubtedly made to match the shops signature neon sign ready themselves for the lunch rush on an average Monday through Wednesday we go through 250 to 300 pounds of hot dogs a day all right it's 10 to a pound so 3,000 hot dogs a day on the weekends we go anywhere from 4,000 hot dogs a day to 4,700 hot dogs a day a day Wayne says the most popular order is the original combo two hot dogs with relish sauerkraut or New York onion sauce and a papaya drink honestly from the moment I opened that box I could smell the vinegar from this sauce for sure I really liked the sauce because it was like zingy was the way that Wayne described it to me kind of tangy you really get that vinegar although hot dogs are the assumed star of the show papaya king's signature juices are just as popular what about this combination of juice and hot dogs do you think is so appealing to customers well you have a salty and a sweet kind of concept so our drinks are fresh they're natural it is digestive as you can see on the machines it sounds crazy we're having a beef hotdog with a fresh juice or a tropical drink but it works the best combination for me I enjoy every time anything up I'm not a fool after I go I'm just right the food is a staple it's not just a snack and the papaya is great with vodka all day we've been talking to people and they for the majority said that they don't get their dogs with the New York onion sauce and they always get the papaya drink that was unexpected I expected it to be a thinner juice but it's actually a frothy err fruit drink but I think it's honestly refreshing creamy and not too heavy and it does like every other person who said compliment to savory out the got the sweet drinker clearly the combination works place has been around grading seven years we're from Amsterdam and we came to papaya for the hotdogs because we heard from Google it was the best this kind of thing appeals to everybody I have politicians I have Martha Stewart Woody Allen de Blasio comes all the time we have ton of doorman firemen school kids older women people that have been coming for generations generations of families it appeals to everybody everybody still eats hot dogs no matter what they say out there if you are looking for authentic Southern cuisine there's no better place than Sylvia's restaurant in Harlem it's a New Yorkers favorite for soul food serving some of the best fried chicken and waffles around [Applause] when you're in New York City and you're craving soul food you head to Harlem and anyone that grew up in this neighborhood knows that Sylvia's is the place to get it okay guys we're in Harlem about to try some of the most legendary soul food in New York City Sylvia's and we're even gonna see how they make it so let's dig in from ribs and collard greens to chicken and waffles Sylvia's has been dishing out southern comfort food for 57 years and people love it I love love love love the fried chicken seven days a week locals tourists and even celebrities crowd around these famous tables like our barbecue ribs and our pork chops big fan will be hands-down loves it Chris Rock canyons macaroni and cheese everyone loves our cornbread from the Clinton President Obama the list goes on Jennifer Lopez Nelson Mandela Muhammad Ali Beyonce so what's the secret to almost six decades of Sylvia's success Sylvia herself she was the mother of Harlem she was the perfect mixture of best friend confidant cheerleader grandma mentor everything just rolled into one beautiful beautiful chocolatey package Sylvia's like she's mama Harlem queen of Harlem and coming in here was always like going home originally from South Carolina Sylvia Woods moved to Harlem in 1944 and got a job working as a waitress at Johnson's luncheonette 18 years later Johnson offered to sell the restaurant to Sylvia with a loan from her mother she opened Sylvia's restaurant in 1962 Sylvia passed away in 2012 entrusting her family with her tradition of persistent hospitality and love cooked into every bite today Sylvia's children and grandchildren run the restaurant this is her grandson Marcus one of the chefs of dishing out Sylvia's original recipes I asked him to show me how it's done starting with one of my favorite dishes we are here in Williams kitchen with the chef Marcus he's gonna show me how to make their famous world-renowned ribs I put the first step first things first I like to just give them a little pat dry you know you have a lot of stuff still long I'm gonna just make sure that they're nice and clean a lot of you're making these I hope my whole life honestly as long as I can remember I've been trying to help seasoned food with my grandmother I do want to make sure you rub it like you're like I put a motion on a baby you want it to get in each little crevice okay all right I'm a loss of the baby now yes absolutely treat me like a Dewar's best that's what either love that's how you really get get involved with your food and really make it make it make it a love type of thing very very intimate the ribs then go into a brine of water vinegar and some secret ingredients for four and a half hours then they're baked [Music] next up Sylvia's most popular dish the chicken and waffles if this your mother's recipe yes this is her recipe that's all her I mean everything doctor how you seasoned did we all learn from her each chicken breast is seasoned and drenched in flour by hand excess flour is knocked off and then it hits the fryer for about seven to ten minutes those pieces come out crispy golden-brown perfect for topping on waffles everyone that's coming in it's like ordering chicken waffles we cannot fried a chicken fast enough the poor waffle machines are just like constantly I feel like if they had a voice they're just screaming like oh my god moving me alone Sylvia's is also known for their collard greens a Janet Jackson favorite to get rid of the pesky sand or grit that the greens growing they have to be washed multiple times finally they're cooked and the same big pot soleus has been using for almost 60 years but no meal is complete without a side of their poor cheese mac and cheese and their classic corn bread now that I played my part and serving up a little Sylvia's love I had to go eat this looks incredible I'm getting so many flavors just in my nose already been tasting it right now and I just literally smell the love coming off of this plate the ribs are what's grabbing me right now the meat is completely fall-off-the-bone tender and even though there were cooked three times they're still so incredibly juicy which is astounding to me I see nothing I just I need the whole stack of napkins so food isn't meant to eat daintily just got it you got to go for it the ribs were phenomenal and that chicken had me singing so crispy so juicy and stacked on top of a thick waffle it's been great it's still gonna be great and I mean I I guess you guys can leave you probably don't want to see what I'm about to to all this food right now see ya the last time I came to Sylvia's I was ten years old but the flavors haven't changed the energy and the comfort inside hasn't gone anywhere and even as Harlem keeps changing around it I'm confident that with some damn good food and a whole lot of love this restaurant will continue to be an anchor for the community and Sylvia forever the queen of soul food over in Brooklyn Peter Luger is the pinnacle of steak houses another century-old location the restaurant is famous for its porterhouse cut in New York City's rapidly changing landscape few restaurants can stand the test of time so how has this legendary Steakhouse survived for over 130 years hey guys Spencer and we are here at Peter Luger steakhouse in Brooklyn New York if you're looking for the quintessential old-school New York City Steakhouse experience this is the spot [Music] Peter Luger Steakhouse is an old-school German beer all styled steakhouse where we believe in as my great grandfather would say simple goodness and what I mean by that is we have a small menu but what we do we try to make sure that we get perfectly the family-owned restaurant is one of the few michelin-starred steak houses in the city and it's made the GATS list of best steak houses in NYC for 30 years and counting most surprisingly though is their ability to last in a neighborhood that seems such significant changes over the years Peter Luger was opened in 1887 as car Lugar's cafe and billiards and my great-grandfather had a metal factory right across the street and every day he would come in for lunch and have a steak in a martini and what it was put up for auction he poked his head in there wasn't much going on and without knowing anything about the restaurant industry he kind of took a gamble on it people knew they could come here for a great meal great service and it was reliable in a part of the town that wasn't as reliable now the neighborhood has changed drastically I think it's been kind of a perfect storm of energy that has pushed us from a little fake house right over the Williamsburg Bridge to hopefully a destination restaurant in the United States every steak is handpicked by a family member to ensure it meets their rigorous standards what defines a Peter Luger steak is we only start with USDA prime which is the highest grade the USDA will hand out from there we will only select a very small portion of it once it's brought to the restaurant we dry agent in-house for an undisclosed period of time I'm afraid I can't tell you guys that but once it's been dry-aged we then butcher it in-house we sear it and we want that steak going out sizzling hot and so from there it's just going through table and hopefully as quickly as possible [Music] plate comes out boiling hot and it's actually still cooking when you get it just fantastic hey very well very excited so right off the bat it smells unreal you could smell it from like a mile away it looks like it cooked perfectly it smells amazing but the question is how'd it taste it's incredibly tender I [Music] think when you have a steakhouse that's been here for 130 years you know they're doing it right and I can tell you it's as good as it looks there's a reason they've survived the ages this is the reason right here [Music] Cheers the meal is finished with one of their classic desserts served alongside a heaping bowl of homemade Schlag followed by some official Peter Luger Steakhouse chocolate gold coins people have just so come to expect that that if we don't have that it's not completed with your experience [Music] we go out of our way to really ensure that each piece of meat is as good if not better than the next and we keep the menu really condensed and tight and so it's bare-bones but at the same time it's the perfect way of experiencing a classic New York City Steakhouse meal this list couldn't be complete without the most legendary pizza in New York customers brace the cold or the heat waiting in lines for warm pie from Luke alleys brick oven in Brooklyn [Music] if I could only was from one pizza place for the rest of my life I think I would have to say it would be look Ali I'm still trying to figure that out ah I guess I make a good pizza this is mark Iacono he opened Luke Ally in 2006 since then Pizza fans from all over the world have been flocking to his restaurant even some celebrities what do you think is the best pizza in Brooklyn this is something I talk about a lot of alleys okay every afternoon at 5:00 p.m. hopeful diners wait in line anywhere from two to four hours to put their names down on the list for the night please start taking names at 5:00 they finish around 5:45 and that's it we're both it's definitely worth the way it's definitely worth getting there at 4:30 even if you're not gonna eat until 7:30 we don't have a reservation policy we're a really small restaurant we only have ten tables or over four hours a night you know it has to be you know well one person gets up the next person has to be waiting to sit down so what makes Mark's pizza so legendary no I had no culinary experience it wound up being that like I figured it out as I went along as I went along like I says I had zero experience you know I really didn't know the science behind it I didn't understand like yeast and how it worked and the effects it had on the dough and the proofing x mark figured out how to make a delicious pizza and the restaurants history is just as rich as his food I was born and raised the I still live here I lived here my whole life and you know this the pizzeria we stand in today was a an old candy store that I grew up in that I that my dad would bring me and my brothers here Louie's candy store after Louie passed away his wife Rosemarie put the place up for rent at the spur of the moment mark decided to sign the lease since opening Luke alley gradually built a strong base of fans the first time that I went to the Kali was probably about seven years ago so I've been eating pizza there ever since and I heard about it through word-of-mouth just people saying like you've got to try this pizza it's that you hadn't Ducklin well we don't have much you know it's just pizza and calzone you know joking around you know we will always you know goofing with the customers pizza and calzone leave them alone that's all he makes to get a better idea of what makes Lou collie pizza so great I had to step into the kitchen and learn how mark makes his pizza is my pizza making skills are so subpar you're gonna roll dough you want a lot of flour and you want to kind of start almost from the Senate and roll out there a reason why you use a wine balance I'm rolling yes because I don't know how to make pizza as I mentioned earlier I never made pizza before and it was the very beginning I was probably open a week and then I screwed the dough up people were screaming at me they want the damn pizza I was really slow at the time I didn't understand I was like why won't it stretch so I called my brother was like who lives right around the block I was like bring me grandma's rolling pin hurry up and he just took forever so I just grabbed a wine bottle and just started rolling it out with a wine bottle and just stuck does it do anything for the taste yeah the parties do come out a lot crispier to it don't put too much thought into it I think it's coming perfect okay you're doing a great job and then like spread your hands hold it up see what you got perfect you done look you stretched the perfect dough you make it look so easy I've knew thousands of these things the dropper right in the center the whole thing okay now at the bottom you want to just make good grab it they're gonna do a little circle I just looked like you know like you're making a spiral push it out yeah you have to work in here a month your forearms will be like public yeah I can't really let me just dollop it everywhere oh yeah you know slam dunking the basketball look it's a ginger Lee please that's just throw it on that's it you're done you did an amazing job you're so good no no you really did you know you did yeah I think it's an even distribution after that the pizza goes into the oven and is topped with parmigiano-reggiano and fresh basil people have been coming here and I think because it's so hard to get in here they have the pizza they don't want to waste the experience on a calzone and like I'll send the calzone older they don't order the pizza anymore now they just thought of the calzone so we're gonna do a calzone what's the best way to order the quel cell calls on a little garlic and we make a hot pepper sauce [Music] and now the moment you've been waiting for the eating portion of this video I never thought that this moment would come I have tried coming into Luke Ali's so many times and I just haven't nailed the tactic yet I think I need to come a little early and to have the pizza made by Marc himself is just almost too good to be true this is everything that I wanted the claws it just came to me whether normally I have something to say after the first bite but I truly don't want it to end so I'm gonna talk to after I finish this slice it's like just the perfect pairing of flavors truly mine very I am astounded not bad when you say it's not bad looks like truly the biggest understatement of the year and to top it off I sat down with Marc and ate the calzone I need out a lot and like and I look ordinary ditches like again this is pizzas just it's ordinary to me but who's doing it the best like you know I grew up with this you know you got a step out of the box like I know like everyone plays favoritism to the future me as they grow up work but you need to go out and experience a bunch of pizzerias and what's amazing about this part what was amazing about this body and just put it all together I just try to take the pizza to another level so that's the secret behind the pizza at Luke alley mark in my humble opinion has perfected the pizza but he sometimes gets a spark for a new idea it spire just made is inspiring me to make a new pie it just got like the eye something I came up with a great idea the first types of pizzas like I got an idea and now like you inspired it do you like coffee like all looks big in Korea are you joking no I don't need a lot of Korean foods I don't know any I don't know way to go take me out for Korean yeah so I'm guessing that this new idea is gonna make something to do with really I may have to name the high fu all right my restaurant is full I need to get back to what do I think part of the charm Holly is to wait in the line and really like build up the anticipation of trying this pizza and this calzone and then once you taste it you're always gonna be wanting it and finally we have an icon both in New York and around the world the original Nathan's Famous location is just a few minutes from the beach at Coney Island quick to make and easy on the wallet hot dogs are a fast way to a New Yorkers heart tons of spots cook them well but one Coney Island icon stands high above the rest this is Nathan's and it's been serving New York's most legendary hot dogs since 1960 [Music] we're here on Coney Island to visit Nathan's Famous hot dogs now I'm super excited because I'm a bit of a hot dog enthusiast I even have a super cool hot dog tattoo now we're here in the offseason which personally for me is my favorite time to come to Coney Island because hopefully it'll be a little bit less crowded and we can get an awesome sneak peek and what makes Nathan's so famous Nathan's is iconic if not the most iconic hot dog in America if not the world and one of the most recognizable things about Nathan's is the hot dog eating contest on the 4th of July for how did that get started well it's a funny story you know he wanted to publicize Nathan's so even have TV and radio in those days in 1916 so you had to come up with a gimmick and Nathan's was pretty smart this is you know what I'm gonna conduct a hot dog eating contest right in front of the store so as people who are walking by he said how many hot dogs can you eat it was like a dozen people and then they would eat if they ate 12 hot dogs it was a lot today crowds packed together closely in the peak heat of summer to see competitors like Joey Chestnut funnel 74 hot dogs in 10 minutes but before Nathan's won over Coney Island errs there was another go-to place for fresh Franks legend has it that Feldman's opened by German immigrant Charles Feltman was the first to introduce the cheap beat to Coney Island in 1867 but about 50 years later one of Feldman's employees found a way to do it better Nathan Handwerker left Feldman's to open his own hotdog stand on the corner of surf and Stillwell avenues using his wife's secret recipe he sold each franc for five cents and customers loved it I'm from Brooklyn not for me yet but I used to bring my children to the pub to the beach and they all come on ER we're going today their mommy won so I got three kids so I had to spend a lot of money from all those years so Nathan owed me a free hot dog now on a good day in the summer yes how many hot dogs do you think you guys are selling we sell anywhere between four thousand to ten thousand hot dogs and one day in one day Wow the go-to order is an all-beef hot dog with deli mustard and sauerkraut plus a side of salty creeper cut fries when you're eating the Nathan's hot dog it's like a full-on experience you've got the flavors and you've never smelled but then you've got that like texture thing with the snaps or just cracks in your mouth it just tastes so fresh and unique I've been coming to Nathan's for 40 years we can't drive through Brooklyn without going to Nathan it's really the nucleus of the neighborhood so Coney Island it really in many ways is Nathan's and Nathan's for many years was Coney Island so what started as a small hotdog stand now encompasses an entire city block behind us so it's it's hard to miss it really is that tentpole to Coney Island Nathan's roots are deep in Coney Island but its name is known across the world the once small stand can now be found at 58,000 stores in over 10 different countries and still locals and tourists seek out the original because the kingís dug in six items it's like quintessential New York when you move to New York you feel you don't fit in and like or you come to New York it's very overwhelming it's very loud there's a lot of like crazy sights and there's something about just like the New York hotdog that makes you feel like you're a part of it so like every time I come out here I feel like I'm not just as kids in the Midwest I'm like I'm a New Yorker now like it makes me feel like I fit in this is what people have been eating here for a hundred years this is my hangout when I was a teenager I used to play hooky yeah it's all about the history it's the longevity you know it's the community it's the loyal customer base almost like a cult that we have that follows us but that's what it's about that's what neat they meet this famous I love it [Music] you

Channel: undefined

Views: 4,534,662

Rating: 4.8541799 out of 5

Keywords: INSIDER, FOOD INSIDER, social distancing, covid-19, restaurants, new york city, nathan's, hot dogs, lucali's, papaya king, Katz's Delicatessen, ray's candy store, dominique ansel bakery, mamoun's falafel, keens steakhouse, sylvia's restaurant, peter luger steakhouse

Id: Qum9GFEecjo

Length: 62min 33sec (3753 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 26 2020