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’m a sucker for fried shrimp, especially when they’re fried whole, crisp from head to tail. When they’re done right, they rival my favorite snack: a bag of shrimp chips. The tôm chiên at Mắm, the Vietnamese restaurant that’s gradually expanded along Forsyth Street, certainly delivered in this regard. The shrimp are crunchy but not greasy, and they’re savory with what the restaurant calls a “northern spice mix.”
The restaurant uses modestly sized shrimp here, though a generous number come with an order ($15). Their smaller size is favorable since it yields the ideal ratio of crispy, flavorful coating and sweet, bouncy flesh in each bite. I was glad that my dining partners and I had sprung for two orders of shrimp instead of just one. 70 Forsyth Street, between Hester and Grand, Chinatown — Bettina Makalintal, senior reporter
The cinnamon bun at Tall Poppy. Nadia Chaudhury/Eater NY
Life is short, so why not enjoy ginormous pastries? I was walking around Manhattan before a work event, looking for some coffee, when I realized I was near this bakery that’s been on my radar for some time. Though Tall Poppy is known for its croissants, I went for a glorious late afternoon breakfast of a cinnamon bun ($8.50) with a cold brew. Even though the array of flavors was enticing (I’ll save the strawberry miso one for a later visit), I opted for the classic. It was such a ridiculously pillowly and tall cinnamon bun that’s made using its leftover croissant dough, and it shows, resulting in this pastry that’s pull-apartable (I have a very specific way of eating cinnamon buns so that I can have the doughy center last). It’s the perfect meal to have on one of the outside tables on a nice day. 156 West 20th Street, at Seventh Avenue, Flatiron — Nadia Chaudhury, deputy dining editor, Northeast
The La Llarena arepa at Coppelia. Rebecca Roland/Eater LA
La Llarena arepa at Coppelia
Late-night hunger pangs brought me into Coppelia this weekend, a 24-hour pan-Latin diner with retro touches. The restaurant was bustling, even in the middle of the night, as guests sipped on mojitos while digging into plates of pancakes, Cubanos, and churrasco steak. The La Llarena arepa ($14) caught my eye, stuffed with skirt steak, queso fresco, avocado, and tomatoes. While sometimes, 24-hour restaurants rely more on charm than the food itself, that is not the case here. The steak was cooked to medium rare, well-seasoned, and tender. The arepa had a pleasant crisp on the exterior, and the avocado and tomatoes were ripe. The queso fresco was just salty enough to bring it all together. Even after just one visit, I know this is going to be in my regular late-night Manhattan rotation. 207 West 14th Street, near Seventh Avenue, Chelsea — Rebecca Roland, deputy editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
The Kanto fried chicken at Naks. Nicole Adlman/Eater
Kanto fried chicken at Naks
Let me start by saying that the claypot adobo rice that arrived at the table next to ours at Naks smelled heavenly. Our heads turned instantaneously in its general direction as a server delivered it from the kitchen. But my dining partner abstains from pork, so this is about the pyramid of Kanto fried chicken ($16) that adorned our table, which we demolished inside this slip of a restaurant after a long day of travel. The chicken seemed, to my untrained eye, to be exclusively dark meat and might as well have been chicken tenders, since each piece arrived thin and thoughtfully deboned with a crisp, ruffled battered exterior. It was juicy and well portioned, with a side of creamy, pale yellow garlic aioli ready to receive each morsel. Did my gluten-intolerant dining partner risk her precious stomach health for this dish? Maybe, but please don’t tell our waiter. 201 First Avenue, near East 12th Street, East Village — Brenna Houck, dining editorial manager
The shishito peppers with duck sausage at Claud. Stephanie Wu/Eater
Shishito peppers with duck sausage at Claud
Every time I go to Claud, I find a new dish that surprises me and gets added onto my must-order list (if you’re wondering, that list also includes the sizzling shrimp, the chicken liver agnolotti, the foie gras terrine, and the chocolate cake). This time around, it was the shishito peppers ($17) — fried with a light, airy batter and stuffed with duck sausage, it reminded me a bit of Via Carota’s famous sausage-stuffed fried olives. The peppers were served with a dill sauce on the side for a kick, and were an absolute stunner for our first bite of the night, followed by many, many more wonderful dishes across the late-summer menu. 90 East 10th Street, between Third and Fourth avenues, East Village — Stephanie Wu, editor-in-chief
The callos madreliños at Bartolo. Melissa McCart/Eater NY
Callos madreliños at Bartolo
Tripe with blood sausage at the newly opened Bartolo from the folks behind Ernesto’s is actually glorious. A saucy, savory dish ($36) with a cut of morcilla, scented by garlic and brightened with tomatoes, is a great crossover dish to fall. Don’t worry: there are plenty of reminders of summer in the rearview mirror — gazpacho ($9) and an appetizer in which honeydew is the star ($25), among others. I ordered with a cuttlefish main and a side of beans with housemade chorizo ($22) for an exciting dinner out. The bar, by the way, is tiny and enthralling, with the front of two rooms as snug as the cabin of a luxurious sailboat. 310-312 West Fourth Street, near West 12th Street, Greenwich Village — Melissa McCart, dining editor, Northeast