subject: New York City Cuisine [print this page] Much like the cultural demographics of The Big Apple, the cuisine of New York City is a melting pot of innumerable racial populations from all over the world. Each borough has its own collection of ethnic neighbourhoods, where anyone can find genuine foods from the "old country". There isn't a singularly defining dish or type of food representing the city, just as there cannot be a defining stereotype for the 22 million people living there.
Manhattan
As the most densely populated and arguably most famous, borough of New York City, ten enclaves lay among the streets - all unique to their area. On the Lower East Side there are the Kosher deli's, Puerto Rican bakeries and other Latin American bistros. Empanadas are a mainstay of Latin cuisine, but each Latin country has their own version. They're easy to find on the Lower East Side. Meanwhile, the Upper East Side offers more European fare such as German, Czech and Hungarian foods. On Murray Hill the West Asian crowd produces the best of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cuisine. Need a good curry fix? The place to be is Murray Hill. Chinatown and the East Village are laden with East Asian restaurants, deli's and noodle houses. Find all the best Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese dishes there.
The Bronx
This is the home of the Yankees, Yankee Stadium, hip-hop culture and the largest metropolitan zoo in the US. Then there are the Jazz clubs, Off-Off-Broadway productions, Museum of the Arts and so on. There is so much history in this part of New York; it's hard to focus just on the food. In Belmont, we find Little Italy, while Woodlawn is the proud Irish part of the borough. Deli's, bistros, and Puerto Rican and Dominican groceries stores are easily found in the South Bronx. not to be forgotten is City Island, the Bronx answer to fresh seafood!
Brooklyn
More than 2.5 million people live in Brooklyn, making this borough the most populated of all the New York City neighbourhoods. The population is quite diverse; in fact ethnic census numbers indicated there isn't a single dominant group. So the food is diverse as well! Pick a nationality, any nationality. Bengali cuisine? That would be in Greenpoint, along with Pakistani, Mexican and Polish restaurants. Jamaican? Good Jamaican patties with a Red Stripe beer are found over in Bedford-Stuyvesant, alongside African American foods, Trinidadian, Puerto Rican and West Indian! Craving Russian Borscht? Go to Midwood! Brooklyn has the culture, independent arts, theatre, architecture, and just about any food anyone could possibly crave.
