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.
I admit the description on the menu of the ajo blanco ($25) didn’t originally catch me — a bowl of crema didn’t seem fitting for an early dinner on a sunny Summer Friday. But our server insisted it was the hit of the menu at the new Spanish restaurant, Bartolo, and boy, he wasn’t wrong. The almond crema, almost like Spanish tahini, was served with a scoop of honeydew sorbet topped with balled melon. It was a stunning bite, rich and fresh at the same time, something I wanted to put in a to-go cup and sip as I strolled along the river. 310 West Fourth Street, near West 12th Street, West Village — Jaya Saxena, correspondent at Eater
You can’t get more seasonal than a tomato and zucchini gratin ($20), a side with main-dish aspirations at the new Lex Yard at the Waldorf Astoria from Gramercy Tavern chef Michael Anthony. The homey dish wears some cheffy details, like the perfectly mandolined coins, the artful layers, and the even-handed dusting of Parmesan. For an after-work light bite, get it with the citrus-cured sea trout ($28) and a summery white wine at the bar. Read more about the scene at the restaurant over on Eater New York’s new Substack. 550 Lexington Avenue, between East 49th and 50th streets, Midtown — Melissa McCart, lead editor, Eater Northeast
I was dazzled by Bar Kabawa last week: the smart but subtle jerk daiquiri, the fiery red shrimp, the hearty and zingy pepperpot patty. But the dish that resonated the most for me involved two words I don’t normally gravitate towards on a menu: salt cod and okra. Chef Paul Carmichael brings them both together with his pickled okra in salt cod XO sauce ($14). The okra achieves just the right texture — firm, with bite, and gets blanketed with a sauce offering mild heat and assertive umami. I couldn’t stop eating it, and it’s officially inspired an okra kick for me — I just picked up a batch of green and purple pods over the weekend at the farmers market for further experimentation. 8 Extra Place, at East First Street, East Village — Missy Frederick, cities director
We trekked to upstate New York for the day to attend the Outlaw Music Festival to see Wilco and Bob Dylan. We got there early for lunch, so we hit up this bakery from my husband’s youth. He recounted how he used to walk over to pick up bread for his dad and stepmother when he was a teen. We shared the Yaddo sandwich ($14.99) and the Chicken Lisa salad ($14.99). The former is a beautiful sandwich of turkey-bacon-cheddar cheese-spinach-chipotle ranch, which is built with shaved turkey packed together, sticking together with ooey-gooey cheese, and the zingy sauce, in between slices of sourdough bread. The salad came with a big plop of chunky chicken salad atop greens, walnuts, and dried cranberries, for a nice hearty side to our lunch. 65 Spring Street, Saratoga Springs — Nadia Chaudhury, editor, Northeast
While visiting the Bronx and my new baby niece, I had to stop at Arthur Avenue and help stock my younger sister’s kitchen as they experienced all the bliss and sleepless nights that come with tending to a newborn. There’s a lot of love at Madonia Bakery, from cannolis filled in front of you to delightful Italian cookies. But the garlic knots stood out. On the surface, they’re not the sexiest item, nothing that could compete with a shower of rainbow sprinkles on social media. But just one whiff of the buttery-garlic goodness hooked me. These simple knots were complex, more satisfying than most pizzas. You could taste a tradition of 106 years of baking with each bite. I thought about breaking out some marinara, but it truly didn’t need it. I didn’t expect garlic knots to be the best thing I ate on a visit that included high-end sushi, premium Korean barbecue, upscale Indian food, and more. This was an upset and a wonderful surprise. 2348 Arthur Avenue, between Crescent Avenue and East 186th Street, Belmont — Ashok Selvam, lead editor, Eater Midwest