The 131 best cheap eats in New York City (and Westchester) right now
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Just as New York City’s dining rooms are welcoming more diners, Michelin has announced 131 of the best local places to celebrate with a not-too-expensive meal.
The timing of the international guide’s Bib Gourmands, or “cheap eats” list to its vaunted stars, follows the May 3 announcement by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that the city’s indoor dining capacity can expand to 100% starting May 19.
Among the 30 new additions to the list are the Brooklyn bakery Winner, which makes a superb BLT one of our most memorable meals of 2020 and Manhattan’s Thai Diner, from the owners of the beloved, now shuttered Uncle Boons. The 2020 guide had 133 spots around the five boroughs and Westchester County. Michelin had expanded New York listings to include the suburban region, full of tony bedroom communities just north of the city. It turned out to be opportune timing for people living (and mo
The 2021
Michelin Bib Gourmands are here, marking the Red Guide’s return to New York City as the COVID-stricken hospitality industry slowly continues the process of rebuilding itself. The famously anonymous inspectors, who did not issue ratings last year during the height of the pandemic, will drop their more prestigious starred selections on Thursday. Today, however, the guide unveiled 131 standout dining options on the more affordable side of the culinary spectrum, 30 of which are newcomers to the list.
Among this year’s biggest additions to the Bibs are Thai Diner, the all-day Southeast Asian-American spot from the team that used to run Uncle Boons; Nami Nori, the popular Greenwich Village temaki restaurant; Xilonen, the vegetable-forward Greenpoint Mexican venue by chef Alan Delgado and the Oxomoco crew; Winner, chef Daniel Eddy’s Park Slope cafe; For All Things Good, the heralded Bed-Stuy masa spot; Rangoon, chef Myo Moe’s Burmese spot in Prospect Heights; and Bolero,
Dhamaka, the city’s hottest new Indian spot not owned by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, is the rare modern Manhattan restaurant to offer gurda kapoora, a mix of chiles, goat kidneys, and testicles. Outside of sweetbreads or pate, the wondrous world of soft tissue offal stomachs, gonads, brains doesn’t tend to occupy a ton of real estate at cool-kid venues like this one. It’s a shame, really, as the snappy, slithery, and sometimes custardy textures of these viscera, which don’t boast the same steak-like meatiness as, say, grilled hearts, often bring an added layer of complexity to a dish.
of eulogizing the past 12 months. In 2020’s final days, Eater NY will be posting questions about New York City’s restaurant scene in the past year, with answers from food writers, photographers, chefs, restaurateurs, entrepreneurs, and even a few local legislators who helped to support the industry through this enormously difficult year. Now, we ask: What newcomer on the scene excited you this year?
Erika Chou, co-owner of restaurants including Wayla and
: Pecking House. I’m from the South raised on fried chicken and my mama’s excellent Chinese food, so this concept really hits home! It is also an inspiring message of hope to see a family’s lineage continue and grow, even more so during a year of hardship.