This article is part of the guide to FT Globetrotter in New York
This year marks the beginning of our 20th year here in New York City. I remember getting off the plane from France, not knowing anyone, heading straight towards Manhattan, and passing through the door of chef Daniel Bouleaude’s restaurant Daniel. It was one of the most challenging and formative experiences of my career. There, I learned alongside Daniel, a mentor who met lifelong friends, acquired a new American family, and taught me the meaning of hospitality.
Meanwhile, I met my wife Amy now, and together in 2011 we tried to make our dreams come true: we open a small shop on the quiet spring streets of Soho, where we can serve coffee, freshly baked croissants and other French pastries to our neighborhood. Together we painted the walls, put in some bistro tables, built a printed menu, a steamed latte and a small team of four employees. I appreciate the opportunity to welcome people through the door. Somewhere around two years after we opened, our lives were amazed. Suddenly, dozens of people were 100, then hundreds, and then hundreds, and each morning we were stretching the streets to welcome us. Still, there was a small but strong team of four employees.
We bowed our heads, got to work and pushed away every day. We baked dozens of croissants, hand baked glass trays of cronut pastries, piped the finishing touches of cakes and tarts. . . The sound of the sanitary tracks curled outside as the first guests lined up while the city was still sleeping. Slowly, but certainly, our bakery team has grown.
Thirteen years after the store opened, we opened a new one at our university location. I’m French, Amy is Taiwanese. Both of these bakeries are inspired by our children, Cerian and Elise “Mae May.” I’m thinking about the last 20 years in this city as I prepare to open it. There, I built my life, career and family. I think about all the places and food that made New York feel like home.
Here are some of my favourite New York food spots. When you visit them, we hope you make your own memories.
Discover Koreatown as a new New Yorker
In the early days I worked in a pastry kitchen at a Michelin starred restaurant, meaning very late nights (the pastry department always leaves last, as dessert is the final course). In my mid-2000s, in my mid-20s, I was used to the city. I actually thought Times Square was a place where people would go hang out. Eventually, new friends and colleagues introduced us to a proven spot in our cool neighborhood about ten blocks southeast of Broadway.
After service we headed to Koreatown for a late-night KBBQ. At KunZip, you will find Buda Ejigae, a traditional “army stew,” a punchy, flavorful soup filled with kimchi, ramen, spam and sliced hot dogs. Every time I visit now, it’s still my go-to order (how surprising is the love of a 5-year-old and 2-year-old who saw this spicy and comforting stew all over). At Gammeok, which is still open 24 hours a day, Seolleongtang bowls are the definition of comfort food for me. The rich soup is made by boiling beef bones for hours, served with noodles, seasoned with sesame seeds, salt, black pepper and green onions, and is milky almost white soup with sharp, spicy kimchi. Perfect during the cold winters, but I found that I order them all year round.
As the bakery grew, it became the dependable we rely on.
A few years after opening the bakery, we finally had a bit of time to have dinner from time to time (and a very blue month, even on weekend brunch). Quality and consistency are very noteworthy so I’m still back at these spots.
When it comes to the best sushi in town, there’s nothing better than the Omakaze at Sushi Nozz on the Upper East Side. The fish sourced by the chef Noz is incredibly fresh, and the quality and chef’s technique are perfect. It’s really art and you’re sitting at the counter watching him and his team master this craft. . . It’s fascinating. Each bite is better than the next bite.
The King of Soho is always at the top of my favorite list. It’s small and cozy, like a nearby restaurant you’d like to go back to. The menu changes frequently, but always starts with the Cartadis Muja, a Sardinian cracker translated into “Score” (sometimes come with fresh ricotta). Pasta is always a spot. Recently they served gorodlet grill and roasted chicken with British peas on top of thyme, both delicious.
The weekend brunch is located at Hi-Collar, a Japanese restaurant in the East Village, and in the evening it turns into Izakaya, a casual bar with small plates. It’s for me, and for me, I have the beef omeletus bey (sliced Japanese beef slowly cooked in a demi-grace sauce with onions and mushrooms and a fluffy omelette cooked fully cooked on top, and a crunchy cutlet sandwich for Amy (Crispy pork katsu in soft shokupan bread).
In autumn and winter, hot pots often need to travel to warm up. Recently I’ve been visiting Dora Shops in East Village. The Yeast Village has endless add-ins to go with rich soups (gets the chef’s creamy pork soup) and a sauce bar made by yourself (with mine, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and nesicle mining). The more friends you bring, the more diversity you can try and share.
I also love Toshin in Midtown. It specializes in grilled chicken skewers over charcoal. Try sitting at the counter of Yakitori Omakaze’s chef. This way, the chef will complete the individual skewers, gently incite the flames, and carefully spin what each watches carefully, each will watch carefully, and just snugly flip. Tsukune (the soft and juicy chicken meatballs) has always been my favorite course.
Favorite spot for family meals
Lately, during our kitchen and office days, school drop-offs, Cerian’s karate, and Mei Mei’s music classes, we’ve been trying to find time as a family to introduce our kids to the city’s various dishes and neighborhoods. Our absolute favorite weekend outing is a flushing trip to visit Taiwanese people in the Main Street Empire. The kids loved learning about Taiwanese roots and trying out traditional foods. Our go-to dishes are 3 cups of tofu, oyster pancakes, “fly head” (fried garlic chives, pork, fermented black beans – small black beans look like flies), stir-fried mint (dried squid, Chinese cerary, pork), crums and rufa (e.g. oil fields from the type). Bring a large group with you so you can share it with you.
At West Village, Anton serves great Italian cuisine. Order Angel Hair Française: The pasta is very thin and cooked in a buttery chicken Française style sauce. It was one of the first pasta my son has ever tried. I also love the strip stay kirolenz with a rich bordelaise sauce with Shiitake mushrooms.
There’s nothing like fresh pasta. Also, Ruffett, a small beloved Italian restaurant in Soho, has been making it for over 100 years. You can see sheets of pasta cuts that prefer antique pasta cutting machines, and you can pick up homemade sauces (tomato basil and pink vodka sauce are my favorite), fresh mozzarella cheese, ricotta and excellent Italian sausages. It’s a great place to have dinner at home.
Norita’s rough is always fantastic. For breakfast or brunch, grab some tender scrambled eggs, a great salad mitesoise, or yogurt with fresh fruit, fennel pollen and olive oil. While the bartenders entertain your toddler, enjoy the bar, which is a great place for croissants and pastries. Get whiprald, green onion vinaigrette, steak tartare and garlic escalgot for dinner with friends.
Time goes by faster than ever, but the Italians were right in what they said: Tabora’s non-Sie Infecchia, or “not old at the table.” Looking back at the meals I’ve had in New York over the past 20 years, I’ll remember the tables I’ve always sat in and enjoy the flavor of their distinctive cuisine – memories feel timeless and equally tasty.
Papa d’Amour, 64 University Place, New York, New York 10003
Have you dined at one of Dominique Ansel’s favorite New York eateries? Please let me know how you found them in the comments below. Follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @ftglobetrotter
FT City
FT Globetrotter, an insider guide to some of the world’s largest cities, offers expert advice on food, drinking, exercise, the arts and culture.
New York, Paris, Rome, London, Tokyo, Lagos, Frankfurt, Singapore, Hong Kong, Miami, Toronto, Madrid, Melbourne, Copenhagen, Zurich, Milan, Vancouver, Edinburgh, Venice
