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Hey all!

Mike_Murray_274705

Hi folks. My name is Mike. I'm based in South Africa and will be traveling to the USA the end of this month, it'll be the first time I ever leave the continent, so I think I'm in for some new experiences.

I'm hoping some of you lovely members could help me plan some culinary tourism. I'll be spending a couple of days in NYC, Baltimore and Washington D.C. If anyone would care to share their recommendations on things a foreigner would enjoy, I would be incredibly grateful!! I have a short to-do list, I'd love to get some american style BBQ as our wood fired culture is quite different and then of course all the cheesy touristy things like a NY slice, some blue crab and old bay, that sort of thing. Lastly, I've never had ramen (besides making some for myself, but that doesn't really count).

I'm open to suggestions! It'd be really cool to have a bit more direction when hunting around these cities!

Thanks
Mike

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Comments

fisher23

Welcome

FrankM_3301

Hi Mike,

I currently live in Philadelphia, formerly lived outside of Baltimore, worked in DC...travel a lot to NYC...will you have a car or will you be relying on public transport? How much time in each area? Will you be staying in places where you can cook, or will you want food prepared for you? The region you describe is a little north for truly authentic American BBQ (some might argue), but the Baltimore area is known for a specialty called "pit beef", you might want to seek that out. If you have a car and are willing to drive a bit south of Baltimore, to Annapolis, I would recommend http://www.cantlers.com/ for a true Chesapeake Bay, blue crab, experience. If you can't do that, there are a couple of crab houses within the city. The possibilities in DC and NYC are really endless, it depends what you are looking for..cheap eats to high end cuisine... So, give us some hints. You should walk through the Union Square green market when in NYC...and I would recommend that you walk the http://www.thehighline.org/

Frank

Mike_Murray_274705

Thanks for the reply Frank!

I will be relying completely on public transport. I'll be in NYC for 2 days, and D.C for 10 days. I'll be staying really close to Times Square in NY and just north of Lafayette Square in D.C.

I'm looking to buy food the entire time, I'll be staying at a hotel so no cooking facilities, but even if given the choice, I'd rather buy from locals.

Fantastic. I've been doing some digging around on TripAdvisor and have a decent list of places I'm looking at. Due to the weak exchange rate, I'm aiming for mid to lower priced eats. As a comparison, I can get a 300g rump or calamari platter for 2 here in South Africa for around $7-8. I'm budgeting on spending around $50 a day on average on food.

After thinking about this a little more, it may be better to ask if you could recommend some quintessentially "local" dishes? I honestly feel it's pretty pointless for me to go to a Greek restaurant when I have a Greek girlfriend whose yiayia can cook us great food, or Indian when South Africa has the largest Indian population besides India. But things like:

Pulled pork / pork butt / American bbq / brisket

Some real Mexican food

Ramen (we have very little far east cuisine here, mostly chow mein / chop suey take-aways)

Grits

Pizza in NY
Pancakes (or flapjacks, whichever

)
Chilli!

I know it's unlikely to get everything I'm looking for, but I'd love to experience local cuisine. Any recommendations in that regard are welcomed and appreciated!

fisher23

You mentioned chili, in Washington DC there are three outlets for a place called Ben's Chili Bowl. I recommend them, I have only been to the one on U street, but there are two other locations. It's not a high end place but it has good chili. In New York everyone has their own opinion on pizza, I like "Original Ray's" . For ramen you can't go wrong with Momofuku Noodle Bar. Pancakes..actually I like Denny's which is a chain, however the best pancakes I ever had were in San Antonio, Texas at a place called Magnolia Pancake haus...they are addictive. I haven't been to BBQ or Mexican places in those areas so I can't say.

pkrotchko

Mike, it's really too bad you'll only make it as far south as DC especially given your wish list. I don't live in NY or DC, but if you search for a good Soul Food restaurant in either place, you might get some decent grits. If you do find such an establishment scan the menu for pig dishes and ask for collards! Even if it New Orleans style soul food you'll be getting close to that southern taste you're craving for. Better yet....when you get to DC, get in a car and drive 6 hours due south to Eastern North Carolina.

Erin_378910

Try Hometown BBQ in Red Hook, Brooklyn (great brisket) for BBQ in NYC. For pizza here, everyone has their favorites but the classic ones are Di Fara, Lombardi's, Grimaldi's (and Spumoni Gardens for Sicilian style)... also great but maybe not "classic" NY pies are Paulie Gee's, Lucali or Roberta's. None of these are corner slice kind of joints - and at many/most you have to buy a whole pie - but they are quality pizza. In my opinion, a lot of the "slice" places aren't great. For ramen, there are tons of places - Gothamist just did a round-up: http://gothamist.com/2016/02/18/best_ramen_nyc.php. Other great resources are Adam Platt's Where to Eat Now (http://nymag.com/restaurants/wheretoeat/2015/) and Eater (http://ny.eater.com/maps/best-new-new-york-restaurants-heatmap)... Anyways, have fun! This is a great city for a culinary adventure.

Erin_378910

More NYC advice: For real Mexican food, you'd be better off visiting California (sorry, I'm from there originally)... That said, there are some great taco places here. I like Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos in Brooklyn and La Esquina in the City (the upstairs taqueria, I've never eaten downstairs). For more upscale Mexican, I like Fonda (Brooklyn location but they have one in Manhattan as well). For pancakes, try Bubby's or Clinton Street Baking Company. I don't eat pancakes, really, but those are two really popular breakfast/brunch spots that serve them on weekdays (not just weekend brunch). I believe they both have grits as well... Enjoy!

Erin_378910

Just saw your budget comment... for cheap eats this is a good place to start: http://ny.eater.com/maps/cheap-eats-nyc-mapped