COVID-19 Takeout and Delivery Ideas

SITE UPDATE/COVID-19

I obviously do not need to tell you what is happening in the world. I just wanted to mention that if you read this website but are not following us on social media, the @EattheWorldNYC Twitter feed has been going through each and every restaurant ever written on these pages and figuring out if they are offering takeout and/or delivery options right now.

Please follow us on Twitter for more:
https://twitter.com/EattheWorldNYC

If you are having reservations about ordering food right now, that is understandable. I found this article recently published on Serious Eats to be very informative concerning the safety of prepared foods right now and what you can do to keep yourself safe:
https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/food-safety-and-coronavirus-a-comprehensive-guide.html

I hope you all are very well, and thank you for reading these pages over the years. I can't wait to get back to it.

I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!

2017 Champions League Finals: Real Madrid C.F. vs Juventus F.C.

FOOTBALL ⚽

The final match of Champions League takes place this Saturday in Cardiff, Wales. Juventus will be playing Real Madrid starting at 2:45pm ET. If you want to watch the game with fans of each team or country, or even certain players, here is a list of places we recommend for the best atmospheres and chances to eat and drink your culture.

ITALY 🇮🇹
Ground zero for Italian national team football and Serie A games in New York City is Ribalta Stadium, the name of Ribalta Pizzeria (48 East 12th Street, Greenwich Village) during big matches when the projector screen comes down. In Brooklyn, the unofficial meeting place for Juventus fans is Caffe Sportivo (7502 18th Avenue, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn). Check out their Facebook page for details about the pre-match BBQ they have planned. Other time-tested places for great experiences are Mulberry Street Bar (176 Mulberry Street, Little Italy) and right across the street Grotta Azzurra (177 Mulberry Street).

Juventus Club NYC meets at The Football Factory (6 West 33rd Street, Midtown).


SPAIN 🇪🇸
I have always found the best support options at smaller restaurants like La Nacional Tapas Bar (239 West 14th Street, Chelsea), which also has watch parties upstairs sometimes but appears not to for Champions League. Nearby Cafe Riazor (245 West 16th Street, Chelsea) also has a small but friendly bar, and if you happen to be in Newark, definitely head to Casa d'Paco (73 Warwick Street, Newark NJ) for perfect football atmosphere.

The official Peña Madridista group has two locations, check their Facebook page for more info.


GENERAL
Smithfield Hall (138 West 25th Street, Chelsea) is New York City's best football bar, and will have a great atmosphere as always. Woodwork (583 Vanderbilt Avenue, Prospect Heights) is great in Brooklyn.

Fans from Colombia 🇨🇴  will have their allegiances split between James Rodriguez (Madrid) and Juan Cuadrado (Juve), but expect Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights, Queens to be packed with fans in its many football bars. Good bets are Teatro Restaurante Blvd (82-24 Northern Blvd), La Pollera Colorada II (82-13 Northern Blvd), El Rumbero (82-05 Northern Blvd), and El Paisa Bar (87-05 Northern Blvd). On 37th Avenue, newcomer Barriles (83-14 37th Avenue) is a fantastic sports bar with good food.

Fans of Ronaldo 🇵🇹 will be at O Lavrador (138-40 101st Street, Jamaica, Queens) or in Newark, NJ. Try Madrid & Lisbon Bar & Restaurant (325 Lafayette Street, Ironbound) or Coimbra (637-641 Market Street, Ironbound).

Costa Rican 🇨🇷 fans will be cheering on Real Madrid and their goaltender Keylor Navas from their home bar Olga's Place (214 LT Glenn Zamorski Drive, Elizabeth, NJ). If you have the chance, this is a fantastic place to watch football.


⚽ ⚽ ⚽

Happy New Year

Happy new year!

Often times during a global tragedy, besides direct donation, I use my meal money in New York City to put extra cash in the hands of people that most likely have friends and family that will benefit from their remittances. As 2016 turns to 2017, we are unfortunately entering a time of uncertainty and possible ongoing tragedy for already vulnerable peoples.

I will assume most of the people that follow this page have a positive opinion of immigration and immigrants in the United States, and if not, sorry to offend. For these people enriching our country with culture and food and grace, the next president seems to be a man that wants to inflict this tragedy on them, based on his own language and promises. For me, no matter the location or situation, NO ONE IS ILLEGAL. People are not illegal. An escape from persecution is not illegal.

In New York City, we are lucky to live in a place where the chances are lower for someone to be swept up and deported, but unless you have lived with this fear, it should not be doubted even in a "sanctuary" like ours. Now more than ever, law-abiding families have more to fear and any security provided them in the form of higher income will help, however small.

There are many organizations that tackle this work everyday, and I urge you all to help them. In the meantime we all have to eat, so making the conscious decision to eat more often in restaurants owned and operated by vulnerable people is not so much a sacrifice, as a form of support and indirect protest.

Please take a look through the pages published on this website over the last eight years. Use the map feature to find good food nearby wherever you might be. No matter their specific legal status in this country, most of the people at the over 600 places written about will be dealing with these issues if not for themselves than for their family, friends, or employees. At the very least, the cultural exchange and appreciation after a wonderful meal is enough to enrich all parties involved.

Please keep reminding yourself on a daily basis that this is not normal. Stay involved, and stay aware.

Hurricane Matthew, Haiti, and New York City

HAITI

Photo credit: Reuters

I will not even bother writing a number of the people reported dead because by the time you read this it will climb. Haiti is also a tricky country when it comes to relief efforts, for many well-documented reasons. I leave it up to you to read about them if you want and decide for yourself.

One option we have though, and always have in times like this, is to funnel our money to the people who know best how to use it. In this case, Haitians. Taking your business to a Haitian restaurant tonight, or tomorrow night, or for every night next week will put money into the hands of family members that can find ways to help through the most efficient means.

Here is a list of Haitians restaurants in Brooklyn I know about:

BROOKLYN:
BG Cafe Creole 1366 Flatbush Avenue
Chez Macoule 1115 Rogers Avenue
Combite Creole 1728 Flatbush Avenue
Dana Caribbean Cuisine 2026 Nostrand Avenue
Football Restaurant 1727 Nostrand Avenue
Grace Divine 1368 Flatbush Avenue
Grandchamps 197 Patchen Avenue
Immaculee II Haitian 1227 Nostrand Avenue
La Caye 35 Lafayette Avenue
Le Banquet Restaurant 2281 Nostrand Avenue
Solide Rocher 3011 Beverly Road
Tonel 1236 Rogers Avenue

If you prefer New Jersey, try EthnicNJ.com, which has five more options for you.

In addition, do a Google search plus the location you want to eat. There are many Haitians in and around NYC. You will find them. Enjoy your dinner!

SPECIAL REPORT: Chiles en nogada

MEXICO

Almost 10 years ago in Mexico City, sometime in September, I came across a dish I loved so much I vowed to eat it every day for the rest of my life. Unfortunately this proved harder to fulfill than I thought, as when I returned to New York City I could not find it anywhere, during any season, nada.

After a few months of searching online and through menus wherever I landed, I gave up and decided I had done myself a disservice to live in a city without the dish (and many other regional Mexican dishes, unfortunately). Last year I had the chance to visit Los Angeles for the first time since having the dish in Mexico, and was able to eat at the wonderful Casita Mexicana. Their version of chiles en nogada (below), was almost as divine as I remembered.

The chile here is a Poblano pepper, stuffed with a ground beef picadillo and topped with a walnut (nogal) sauce that gives the dish its name. It has a debated history, but is traditionally eaten around Independence Day in August or early September because the colors of dish, red, white, and green, represent the colors of the Mexican flag.

When I returned from this trip, my inspiration was returned but again I found the dish to be unrepresented on Mexican menus in the five boroughs. I have a small restaurant around the corner from me in Sunset Park that I often order Seamless from and also stop in for a quick bite from time to time. I would not call them excellent, but they are my safe place, and figured out the wonders of online ordering. I have a good relationship with the guy that runs the place and teased him a few times to cook the dish. To my amazement, one night as I went to pick up laundry, there it was on the specials board out front.

The dish that came is pictured below and only cost $8 including rice and beans, an absolute steal for this meal. It did not have the flavors and intensities the plates in Mexico or Los Angeles did, but it got me smiling nonetheless. Unfortunately they quickly stopped preparing it, but promise to add it back in the future, depending on the freshness of pomegranate.

Walking in Sunnyside a couple weeks ago I noticed a new restaurant opened in the space of a former Irish bar called Bliss Street Pub. They called themselves Chihuahua Mexican Restaurant and my hopes were high for some regional food from this northern Mexican state. I brought a group of five back a week later to test it out.

Unfortunately despite some dishes including Chihuahua in the name, this turned out to be more of a reference to the restaurant rather than the state. We tried a few dishes and had a decent meal, but the range of food was neither unique nor spectacular. What they did have though was another version of chiles en nogada (below), this time priced at $17.

It was the worst version of the dish I have had, but that is not saying much, I still loved it. I think the other members of the group did as well, and I hope readers of this page get the chance to try versions here in New York and further away. We at least have two versions made nearby, and I invite anyone to send me leads if they find it at other locations.

[For the record, there are a few "upscale" places in uptown and downtown neighborhoods of Manhattan that prepare this dish, sometimes only around August/September. They would be worth trying, but are not part of the beat of this website.]

Isabela Mexican Cuisine

SUNSET PARK Brooklyn

4412 4th Avenue

Chihuahua Mexican Restaurant & Cantina

SUNNYSIDE Queens

47-02 Greenpoint Ave

MAP of Eat the World NYC

Use our Google Map with your current location to see what great food is around, or simply explore your next destination neighborhood before going.

Mobile users use THIS LINK for your phone, and open it in Google Maps. Save the map to "your places" and you can turn it on and off whenever you need to use it.

Web users click the map below. On that page you can also click through to the full map:

Winter Break/Migration

Eat the World New York City will be away for a couple months, eating the world in its natural environment. Inspirations from Hong Kong, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos are about to be had, and I will see you all in February! Thanks for the great year!

-Jared.

Eating the World Cup

It has been an absolute pleasure eating this world while the World Cup has been contested. I have used the opportunity to eat with fans from Mexico, Uruguay, USA, Paraguay, Germany, Netherlands, Nigeria, Brazil, Chile, and Switzerland.

A German fan at Zum Schneider

This is the first day since the beginning of the tournament on June 11th that has seen no matches played, and it does seem as though our city and the world are taking a quick breather before action resumes in the quarterfinals on Friday. Good luck to all the teams remaining, and if you have not done so already, join those fans at their restaurants to add a little more excitement to your World Cup.