With Eater editors dining out sometimes several times a day, we come across lots of standout dishes, and we don’t want to keep any secrets. Check back for the best things we ate this week.
Strawberry danish from Nick + Sons
I have a theory that two standout Greenpoint bakeries — neither of which, frankly, needs more press — are in cahoots. Radio Bakery and Nick + Sons both stopped me in my tracks this past week with a wallop of nostalgia in pastry form. Strawberries have stepped back into their limelight for the season, and those in the know are capitalizing on it. What went the extra mile for me when it came to these two examples was how they both sent me right back to breakfast before school. Radio’s pastry tasted like a big bowl of crunchy Special K Red Berries with a hearty milk pour-over. The other, this beautiful creation from Nick + Sons, is like a Pillsbury Toaster Strudel. No notes! 892 Lorimer Street, near Nassau Avenue, Greenpoint — Nat Belkov, associate creative director
The cucumber salad, beef on sticks, and Yunnan chicken salad at South of the Clouds in Jersey City. Melissa McCart/Eater NY
The Chinese restaurant scene has become tremendous in Jersey City, with at least a dozen spots, including Chef Tan, Peppercorn Station, Dun Huang, and South of the Clouds — all of which have locations in New York. In a recent visit to South of the Clouds, a Yunnan restaurant former Eater critic Robert Sietsema wrote about years ago for its classic Crossing the Bridge noodles, all of the four dishes we ordered were standouts: those noodles, a mapo squid ($16.99), beef on sticks (tiny, fun-to-eat spicy bites, $13.99), cucumber salad ($10.99), and my favorite, Yunnan chicken salad ($11.99). It was a perfect spicy dish on a warm day, stocked with pulled chicken, scallions, pickled peppers, red onions, and a vinegary seasoning. The only thing I didn’t love about the experience was the QR code menu, which prompts you to set up an account and put in a credit card, so one person does the ordering and the other people at the table have to hunt around for a takeout menu on the website so they can decide what to get. The dining room is sleek and modern, otherwise, and it’s an efficient experience. 313 Grove Street, at Christopher Columbus Drive, Jersey City — Melissa McCart, lead editor, Northeast
The roast chicken at Haymarket. Natalie Black/Haymarket
The roast chicken at Haymarket
When someone makes the claim that their dish is better than a similar dish at a globally known restaurant, I know I have to try it. That’s why I found myself at the just-recently-opened Haymarket to check out chef India Doris’s rendition of the famed Nando’s peri peri chicken. The roast chicken ($39) is pricier than its fast-casual counterpart, but well worth the money. The big de-boned skin-on half-chicken is painted with orange peri peri and white ranch sauces (like a fancy halal cart platter), lending to juicy bites that are actually spicy too (as it should be). The chicken is accompanied by a cute little chicken-shaped serving dish with an also de-boned crispy chicken wing and a snow pea salad, which helps temper the spiciness. It’s a larger dish that’s easily shared by two people. Another pleasant surprise was the braised oxtail with crispy cheddar polenta ($37), made like a shepherd’s pie, that’s rich and hearty. The drinks were fun too — the frothy Hay Barbie ($20) is a mezcal cocktail that’s light and comes with a cute little Barbie doll keychain that I wanted to take, but I resisted. 326 Seventh Avenue, near West 28th Street, Chelsea — Nadia Chaudhury, editor, Northeast
The dahi wali bhindi at Dhamaka. Henna Bakshi/Eater South
Dahi wali bhindi at Dhamaka
I grew up eating okra in my tiffin box for lunch at school. My mom made it chopped and stir-fried with onions and chaat masala, with two rotis on the side. No sauce, it’s Punjabi comfort food. When I saw there was dahi wali bhindi (okra in a spicy yogurt sauce, $34) at Dhamaka, it was blasphemy — there’s supposed to be no sauce on okra! I had to try it.
I’m from New Delhi, and this dish iteration with yogurt is very Rajasthani — the state is a desert, and yogurt is used as a cooling agent in many regional dishes. It is also used to temper the heat in dishes. Rajasthan is known for food so spicy, you can see your ears turn red. Yogurt offers diffusion and creaminess. The okra was left long, and the sauce was layered with heat. The Dhamaka team is not known to hold back on flavors, and that much was evident. It packed a punch, and even with the red chile spices, the okra’s sweet and green flavors were not lost while scooped in a fold of paratha. As you sweat through the spices, be sure to order the nimbu pani (lemonade) for another flashback to my Indian childhood. Delicious. Dinner ended with a text to my Punjabi mom: “Okra in a sauce, you won’t believe this.” 119 Delancey Street, at Essex Street, Lower East Side — Henna Bakshi, regional editor, South
The tsampa parfait at Ngatso Cafe . Nadia Q. Ahmad/Eater
What makes the parfait at Woodside’s new Ngatso Cafe special is the incorporation of tsampa, a meal made from roasted barley flour. It gives the dish a nutty and buttery flavor alongside the tangy and slightly sweet yogurt, honey, and fresh berry topping. Where the granola in a traditional parfait might usually become soggy, the tsampa in this one tastes almost like cake to me, making it great for a light breakfast or a special treat. This dish ($6.25), like its cafe, invites you to take a moment. Have it with a cup of coffee while you reflect under the expansive ceiling (painted by artist Lobsang Tsewang to evoke a Tibetan tent that opens out onto the sidewalk), or before browsing the gift shop that features various Tibetan books and crafts. 39-08 63rd Street, between 39th and Roosevelt Avenues, Woodside — Nadia Q. Ahmad, senior copy editor
The turkey club at Hani’s Bakery. Stephanie Wu/Eater
Hani’s has been packed almost every single time I’ve been there, so I haven’t been able to grab much more than a few pastries to scarf down at a nearby park. But on a recent day off, I slid in around lunchtime to finally try their new-ish sandwich offerings: namely, the revelatory turkey club ($17). Salty pistachio kale pesto is balanced with slices of turkey, with texture coming from bacon and baby greens, plus crunch from the toasted, buttery milk bread. The friendly cashiers will let you know that it takes a bit of time to prepare the sandwich — but trust me, it’s worth the wait. 67 Cooper Square, between East Seventh Street and St. Marks Place, East Village — Stephanie Wu, editor-in-chief